How to Write a Sick Absence Email to Your Professor

In this blog post, we will look at how you can write a sick absence email, we will also share some best practices and tips. Let us jump in.

Shiva Prabhakaran

Shiva Prabhakaran

Marketing Expert at Routine
Published on

03/13/2024

Missing classes due to illness is common and it is inevitable that you have or might go through that situation in the future. So how do you tell your professor that you will be missing classes due to this?

In this blog post, we will look at how you can write a sick absence email, we will also share some best practices and tips. Let us jump in.

Tips to Remember

  • As soon as you get to know that you are going to miss classes due to an illness, inform your professor promptly.

  • Be honest about your reasons and share what you think is appropriate. Since this is a medical reason, you don’t need to share more than what is necessary.

  • Be polite to your professor and offer to catch up on all missed classes and assignments when you return.

  • Follow guidelines set by your professor or college regarding sick leaves and adhere to it strictly but in case you can not, check with the authorities before sending out the email.

Best Practices

  • State the purpose as a request for sick leave on the email clearly in the beginning and the subject line.

  • Set context and offer medical documentation if required and to the extent that it is required. Different colleges will have different policies, so check with your college staff.

  • Mention willingness to catch up when you are back so that the professor can be a bit more confident that you will not underperform in his subjects.

  • Request his approval and ensure that if you do not get a response from him within a time frame, you follow-up diligently with him again.

Sample

Sub: Sick Leave Request for [Course] - [Start Date] - [End Date]

Dear Professor [Professor's Last Name],

I hope this message finds you well. My name is [Your Name] and I am enrolled in your [Course/Subject] classes.

I regret to inform you that due to illness I will have to miss the [Course/Subject] classes from [Start Date], until [Probable End Date] at least. I will share all supporting medical documentation for my absence upon my return.

That said, I am committed to making up for lost classes as soon as possible by [State Your Plan for Catching Up]. Please suggest ways I can do this better by replying to this email.

Thank you for understanding. It is really unfortunate that I have to miss [Course/Subject] classes since they are one of my favorites, but I assure you that I will make it up.

My family and I greatly appreciate your enduring support.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Student ID Number] - [Class]

Conclusion

Missing classes due to illness can be stressful and informing your professor about it for his approval can help alleviate some of the stress. By using the tips and hacks shared in this post along with the sample, you should be able to write emails for this circumstance pretty comfortably.

Thanks for reading. Check out Routine to improve your time management game.

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