At this point in the semester, we are in the home stretch, a five-week period between Fall Break and Thanksgiving. During this time, it feels like the only option is to put our heads down and keep pushing, but we often forget one of the most quietly transformative updates to the Villanova attendance policy: personal days. With their addition, enacted in January of 2024, students can take a break without feeling the burden of missing class because, sometimes, you just need one, not because you’re sick or traveling, but because you’re human.
To give a brief overview of the policy, it states, “students are entitled to two ‘Personal Days’ for 50-minute classes meeting three times per week and one ‘Personal Day’ for classes meeting two times per week for 75 minutes,” (Villanova University, 2023). Personal days cannot be used back-to-back, before or after breaks or on exam or presentation days.
While a day off from classes here and there may sound minuscule, its implications are significant. Villanova’s inclusion of personal days aligns its rigorous academic culture with its Augustinian values and allows the University to uphold its commitment to have students care for themselves as a whole person.
“I like that they give the freedom to not go [to class] without repercussions,” junior history student Marina McKeating said.
This idea of not being punished for taking a day off from class is one of the most important aspects of the policy. McKeating continued to note a perceived flaw in the policy regarding not being able to use personal days before or after breaks, stating, “that is when I would use them the most since those are usually the busiest times with the most assignments and exams.”
The demands of college life today go well beyond the classroom, especially at an institution like Villanova where students spread themselves thin in extracurriculars. Students balance coursework, service commitments, jobs and the fact they are young adults navigating their world alone for the first time for many. The result of this combination is burnout, which is unfortunately becoming the norm, rather than the exception. The personal day policy directly addresses this reality and gives students space to step back, rest and reset before the stress gets the best of them.
It’s important for students to focus on their wellbeing without having to worry about whether their absence will affect their grade,” junior statistics student Claire Yoo said.
A key element of the policy is that it does not undermine Villanova’s academic standards. Students must take responsibility for all missed material, and they are not automatically granted extensions. Rather, it promotes accountability and open communication. Having personal days instilled into our attendance policy sends a clear message about the University’s care for its students: it’s okay to take care of yourself, but it’s also your job to stay engaged and proactive.
Some may argue that this flexibility opens a door for misuse, but the truth is, we as Villanova students have earned the trust to manage our time responsibility. If anything, the limitations of this policy shed light on how much more Villanova can do. Personal days don’t apply to labs, assessments or one-day-per-week courses which are areas where the burnout can be just as real. While the current policy is undeniably a helpful and necessary implementation to the attendance policy, there is still room to explore adapted versions of it to ensure that all students benefit equally from it.
At the end of the day, the success of the personal day policy lies in the responsibility of students and faculty embracing it. Professors should encourage their students to use their personal days without guilt. Similarly, students should not view them as free days off, but as a legitimate part of maintaining balance. Wellness shouldn’t be something we talk about only after students are already struggling; it should be built into the structure of how we learn, something that Villanova has achieved.
Villanova prides itself on being a community that cares deeply for its constituent members. The personal day policy is a tangible reflection of that care. By trusting students to know their personal limits, Villanova is setting an example that tells its students that it is okay to not be okay. After all, sometimes, the healthiest thing a student can do is take one day off.
