Colleges may look like environments where students have loads of freedom. After all, class attendance is optional for the majority of the classes.
But while this may be true, students are still responsible for any class activities they might miss. To avoid any challenges, it’s always advisable to identify your professor’s policies on class attendance.
But in case you’ll be absent from class due to illness, it’s always advisable to alert your professor. This ensures that they consider you in the event of a test or other class activities.
So, you need to write them an email to ask for a few days off. If you’re not sure how to structure the email, we’ve got you covered.
This article will provide some tips to help you write the email as well as templates you can easily modify for the purpose.
Tips For Emailing Professors
Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind whenever you’re writing an email to your professor.
Use Proper Title
Always remember to use your professor’s official title in your communication. Identify what their official titles are, before you contact them.
If they’ve officially earned the title “professor”, you should try and use the appropriate title to address them. On the other, you should use “Dr” if they haven’t yet received the “professor” title.
If you aren’t sure what their official titles may be, you can check the course syllabus or the faculty pages of the school website.
Examples:
Dear Professor {{Last name}}
Dear Dr. {{Last name}}
Use School Email
Every tertiary institution provides its faculty and students with official email addresses. If you don’t know the professor’s email address, we’ll show you how to find it later.
Keep in mind that your professor may not respond if you send them an email using your personal email or if you simply send it to their personal emails.
Using your school email also ensures that the professor will get the mail as your personal email may end up blocked by spam filters.
Some professors also try to ensure there’s a balance between their personal lives and work. Any work-related emails, especially from students, to their personal emails would simply be ignored.
So, if you want them to receive and read your email, you should make sure that you use your school email.
Formal Tone
When emailing your professor, it’s important to keep it professional. No matter how close you are to them, you should avoid using any kind of informal language.
Emojis and other slang that you typically use with friends should be avoided. The professor would merely become irritated.
They might simply interpret it as a sign of disrespect so you should refrain from any form of informal tone or language.
So, unless the professor specifically instructs you to use informal language, always use formal language in any official email discussion between yourself and the professor.
Additionally, any signs of overfriendliness between faculty and students could raise red flags as the school has access to moderate these emails.
Correct Grammar
No one enjoys reading horrible grammar. Professors expect students at the tertiary level of education to have good writing skills.
This is especially true when it comes to writing short messages like emails. That said, everyone makes writing mistakes especially when the information is lengthy.
But you can reduce these mistakes by using tools Grammarly which can help identify errors in your writing.
Keep in mind that these tools aren’t perfect, so it’s advisable to read through them yourself or ask a third party to read through them before you click “send”.
Be Polite
Professors are people like us all and have been in your shoes at some point in their academic journey. Additionally, they’ve also had to interact with students with all sorts of concerns and issues.
So, they’re empathetic to your situation so long as you speak to them politely. On the other hand, they would simply ignore any student acting entitled.
Identify Yourself
Whether you’re a new or returning student, you should identify yourself. Professors teach multiple classes and may not be able to remember every one of their students.
You don’t want to give them additional work to do by not identifying yourself. No professor wants to spend the next 30 minutes looking through their student list to identify who you may be.
Either identify yourself in the introduction of the email or include it in the email signature. You can also do both to make things easier.
Clear And Brief
This isn’t the time to show them how verbose you may be. You may have the time to do that but that doesn’t mean they have the time to read through it all. Avoid writing long emails if you want them to read through it all.
Professors receive multiple emails from students, other staff members, publications, and more. Don’t make things difficult for them by writing lengthy emails. Shorten the email as much as possible while also maintaining a polite tone.
Explain Your Situation
Let them know why you need sick leave. If you’ve been diagnosed with something infectious and don’t want to come to class to avoid infecting your classmates, you should let them know.
They can better empathize with you when you let them know why you want the sick leave.
Advanced Notice
Don’t wait till they start class to ask them for sick leave. You should always act early by contacting the professor in advance. Let them know how long you’re going to be absent and any plans you may have to make up for missed work.
If you aren’t sure how long you’re going to be absent, you should let them know that you’ll be updating them regularly. Just make sure you don’t send the email while they’re already in class.
They wouldn’t put you into consideration in the event of a test, as they would not know about your absence and your reasons.
Some professors also take attendance which makes up a percentage of your final grade. They would mark you absent if they don’t receive your email before class. So, it’s advisable to always contact them before they go to class.
Don’t Forget Attachment
Don’t forget to attach any necessary documents if necessary. Confirm this before you click “send” on the email. Can’t remember the number of times I’ve sent an email simply to receive a response that I neglected to attach the necessary documents.
Wait Patiently
Avoid bombarding them with reminders or you can get blocked. If they haven’t responded to your email, don’t worry yourself.
Professors have busy schedules and may take longer than you’re expecting for them to respond to you. You can send them a reminder if they haven’t responded after 24 hours.
Clear Subject Line
Don’t forget to include a subject in your email if you want a response. Professors receive loads of emails daily and subject lines help them identify urgent emails so they can quickly respond.
It makes it easy for them to understand the content of your email without spending too much time reading the full body of your email, which saves them a lot of time.
Example:
Absence From Classes
End Formally
Thank the professor for their time and consideration as you close the email. If you didn’t specify it in the email’s introduction, provide your full name, class, and section information.
Example:
Thank you
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section}}
How To Find Your Professor’s Email
So how do you find the professor’s email address if this is the first time, you’re reaching out to them?
School Website
Check your faculty page on the school website. These pages usually include information about professors including their official contact information.
Course Overview (LMS)
If your school uses some form of learning management system (LMS) you can check the course overview page for the professor’s assigned course.
You’ll find the professor’s official contact details on the course overview pages.
Course Syllabus
You can also check out the professor’s syllabus for their contact information. You’ll usually find the professor’s contact information as well as their attendance policies on the course syllabus.
Other Students
You’re most likely not the only student who had to email the professor at some point. So, you can ask your classmates for the professor’s email.
Even if none of them has it, you can be sure that someone will provide some advice on where they may have seen it along the line.
Sample Emails To Professor For Sick Leave
Template 1: Absence From Classes For Specific Period
Email Subject
Absence From Classes – From {{Date}} To {{Date}}
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this finds you well. My name is {{Full name}}, a {{First/Second/Third/Final Year}} student in your {{Class title}} class that meets on {{Meeting day(s)}}. I was recently diagnosed with {{Sickness}} and will not be able to attend your class from {{Duration (From-To)}} while I recover. I’ve attached the doctor’s note.
To make sure I keep up with class activities, I’ve alerted a friend who will be sharing notes from class with me. However, I am still worried that of the negative effect, my absence will have on my performance, and would appreciate any suggestions you might have to help me keep up with class activities.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 2: Under The Weather – Absence From A Single Class
Email Subject
Absence From Class
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
My name is {{Full name}} and I am a {{First/Second/Third/Final Year}} student in your {{Class title}} class that meets on {{Meeting day(s)}}. I’m feeling under the weather and need to miss class today.
To make sure I keep up with class activities, I’ve alerted a friend who will be sharing notes from class with me. I’m hoping to join the next class on {{Date}} and would appreciate the opportunity to meet and discuss making up for any test I may miss.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 3: Missing Class Due To Illness
Email Subject
Absence From Class
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this email finds you were. My name is {{Full name}} and I am a {{First/Second/Third/Final Year}} student in your {{Class title}} class that meets on {{Meeting day(s)}}. I wanted to bring to your attention that I may not be able to attend class on {{Day/Date}} due to illness.
I’ve been diagnosed with {{Illness}} and have been put on medication for the next few days. I’ve requested a friend in class to bring me copies of the class notes and handouts. Please excuse my absence and I look forward to joining your next class.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 4: Missed Class Due To Illness
Email Subject
Absence From Class
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this email finds you were. My name is {{Full name}} and I am a {{First/Second/Third/Final Year}} student in your {{Class title}} class that meets on {{Meeting day(s)}}. I would like to bring to your attention that I was unable to attend your class on {{Day/Date}} due to {{Illness}}.
I’m hoping to be well enough to join your next class and would appreciate an opportunity to meet and discuss any class activities I may have missed and how I can make up for them. Please let me know what time would be most convenient.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
