Religious Holidays

In keeping with Goucher College’s commitment to “champion an inclusive community,” the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life seeks to support all students in practicing their sincerely held religious traditions or spiritual paths. The college will make every effort to accommodate religious diversity when possible, including respect for the observance or accommodation of religious holy days such as: holidays, festivals, feast days, fasts, High Holidays, or Holy Days of Obligation.

When possible, faculty and managers should make every effort to provide reasonable religious accommodations to students or student staff who request them.

Religious Holy Days 2025-2026 (PDF)

For Students

We know that many religious holy days fall during the academic year and that class schedules, sporting events, or other required activities may interfere with your ability to practice your religion fully. At times, this may mean communicating your needs to faculty, staff, or coaches in order to assure we can support your needs in order to fully practice your faith traditions. 

To receive support for religious observances, students must submit the Religious Observance Request form (blue button below) at the beginning of the semester or, if possible, no later than two weeks before the day(s) for which accommodation is needed.

Religious Observance Request Form

Discrimination

Goucher College prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion. Our Diversity Statement is as follows:

"We at Goucher College are dedicated to social justice, diversity, and multiculturalism as fundamental components of our mission and ethos. We champion an inclusive community, embrace and respect different perspectives, and value diversity in all its forms and intersections, including ability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, nationality, race, religious and spiritual belief, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Understanding that power, privilege, and other forces of inequality play a role in shaping our individual and collective experiences and identities, we are committed to productive dialogue and meaningful action in addressing our differences. We approach this ongoing work with courage, integrity, care, and respect."

 

Find more information on Goucher's commitment to equity and inclusive excellence.

For Faculty

Below you will find a list of the Religious Holy Days that may impact your calendars in the 2025-2026 academic year. Please keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list. The holidays included are those that may have a significant impact on observant students and could present a conflict with academic requirements. Please avoid scheduling programs, field trips, events, exams, or major projects on these days, as some members of our community could be fasting, limiting work, or observing the holiday in other ways. Keep in mind that some observances require additional time for preparation or travel before and after the actual holy day.

An instructor would not ordinarily ask a student for proof of their religious practice or spiritual path, or whether they are sincerely held beliefs in determining religious accommodation. It is recommended to be in contact with the Office of the Chaplain regarding a student’s stated religious belief for additional guidance and support.

The Chaplain is not responsible for determining if a student should or should not be provided religious exceptions in the form of absences or other requests. Final decisions regarding attendance are at the discretion of the instructor.

Due to the varied nature of holy day requirements, and the dates for holy days fall outside of a student’s control (especially as some faiths celebrate several days in succession that might take students out of class for more dates than is permissible in a course’s attendance policy), we recommend that an instructor consider utilizing the following suggestions in the hopes of developing a plan for a student to both honor their religious traditions and be an active participant in their coursework and course requirements.

Students should be provided support for religious observances to the extent that it is reasonably practical. This could include:

• Making available to each student absent the opportunity to make up any examination (including rescheduling an exam), required work or assignments, or altering the time of a student’s presentation
• Allowing for extra credit to substitute for missed class work or participation
• Visiting an instructor during their office hours for missed lecture and/or instruction
• Provision of flexible due dates for course assignments
• Viewing recordings of class sessions (if applicable or available)
• Be provided make-up assignments equivalent to the material missed
• Or, in some cases, attending class with the understanding that no participation will take place until the religious holiday has concluded.

You may contact the Office of the Chaplain at any time for clarification or guidance.

Religious Holy Days 2025–2026

Key:

* For most religious traditions, the celebration or observance begins the evening before the actual day (sometimes called “eve” or “erev”). In these circumstances, both days are listed for ease of reference. Work restrictions for Jewish holidays begin shortly before sundown on the first date indicated.

# Some holidays in Islam are not fixed to a calendar but based on the actual sighting of the moon and therefore there may be some variance by day.

NOTE: Unless indicated, work is not restricted