Students will be permitted up to three days absence from class, lab, clinical, or other required course participation per semester to accommodate the celebration of a holiday associated with faith, spiritual belief, or religion. Students will have fourteen (14) days from the first day of instruction of the course to request this accommodation. Faculty will accept without question the sincerity of belief and keep requests for alternative accommodations confidential. Students will receive no academic penalty for requesting these accommodations. If students feel that they have not received accommodation allowed by this policy, they should notify the College of any grievance by completing the College’s complaint form. The complaint form, this policy, and a non-exhaustive list of religious holidays shall be posted on the College’s website. A statement will also be included in all syllabi informing students of this policy and the person they may contact for further information.

List of Religious Holidays/Holy Days

(January - December 2023)

*The expectation is that every state institution shall have a policy in place for the fall academic year

Judaism

Tu BiShvat in February
Purim (March 6-7)
Yom HaShoah in April
Lag B’Omer in April
Pesach (Passover) (April 5-13)
Yom HaSho’ah (April 17-18)
Yom Ha’Azmaut in May
Shavuot (May 25-27)
Tisha B’Av (July 26-27)
Rosh Hashanah (September 15-17)
Yom Kippur (September 24-25)
Sukkot (September 29 – October 6)
Shemini Atzerat (October 6-8)
Simchat Torah (October 7-8)
Hanukkah (December 7-15)

Christianity

Feast of Mary Mother of God (January 1)
Christmas – Eastern Orthodox (January 7)
Epiphany (January 8)
Ash Wednesday (February 22)
Lent (Feb 22-April 6)
Orthodox Lent (Feb 27-April 8)
Feast of the Annunciation (March 25)
Palm Sunday (April 2)
Holy Thursday (April 6)
Good Friday (April 7)
Easter (April 9)
Pascha/Easter (Eastern Orthodox) (April 16)
Feast of the Ascension (May 18)
Pentecost (May 28)
Trinity Sunday (June 4)
Corpus Christi Sunday (June 8)
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 16)
Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24)
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29)
Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola (July 31)
Feast of the Assumption of Mary (August 15)
All Saints Day (November 1)
All Souls Day (November 2)
Dia de los Muertos (November 1-2)
Feast of Christ the King (November 26)
Advent Season (December 3)
Feast of St. Francis Xavier (December 3)
Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8)
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)
Christmas (December 25)

Islam

Sabe-Miraj or Lailatul Me’raj (February 18)
Sabe Barat (March 7)
Ramadan (March 22-April 21)
Lailatul Qadr (April 18)
Eid al-Fitr (April 21-22)
Day of Arafa/Haj/Waqf of Arafa (June 28)
Eid-ul Adha (June 28-29)
Islamic New Year (July 19-20)
Ashura (July 27-28)
Mawlid-al-Nabi (September 26-27)

Hindu

Maha Shivaratri (February 18)
Shri Ramakrishna Jayanti (February 21)
Holi (March 18)
Rama Navami (March 30)
Mahavir-Jayanti (April 4)
Raksha Bandhan (August 30)
Krishna Janmashtami (September 6-7)
Navaratri (October 15-23)
Diwali (November 12)

Buddhist

Bodhi Day (January 10)
Lunar New Year (January 22)
Magha Puja Day (March 30)
Vesak (April 8)
Buddha Day/Visakha Puja (May 5)
Diwali (November 12)

Sikh

Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (January 5)
Mahavir-Jayanti (April 4)
Vaisakhi (April 14)
Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib (June 16)
Diwali (November 12)
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib (November 24)
Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib (November 27)

Baháʼí

‘Alá’ (Loftiness) (March 2-20)
Naw-Rúz (March 21-22)
Ridván (April 21-May 2)
Declaration of the Bab (May 23-24)
Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (May 29-30)
Martyrdom of the Bab (July 9)
Birth of the Bab (October 26-27)
Birth of Baháúllah (October 27-28)
Ascension of ’Abdu’l-Bahá (November 28)

Shinto

Gantan-sai (January 1)
Setsubum-sai (February 3)

Other

Kwanzaa (December 26 – Jan 1, 2024)
Lunar New Year (January 22)

David Hermann

For More Information Contact:

David Hermann
Vice President of Student Affairs
740.885.5655
dhermann@wscc.edu