The past few weeks I have been struggling to work with my university and the professors in regards to a week of classes I will be missing in October. And it really should not be this hard. I have an amazing opportunity to volunteer at a residential program, where I will be the camp counselor for a group of 10-year-olds attending the week-long environmental camp program.

This opportunity will help me gain valuable experience in teaching techniques, leadership styles, natural history knowledge— and most importantly, make friends and make difference in the lives of the campers. This amazing opportunity that I am looking forward to is being shadowed by the difficulty to miss a week of college classes.

In high school, if I was sick, had a field trip, or even a school-approved family trip— all I had to do was fill out an excuse form and hand it into the office. The school would mark my absence as excused as long as the reason was valid, and I was able to make up my missed work and exams, and move on with my education.

In high school I was required by law to attend, in college I made the decision to attend this university and I pay to take classes here. My tuition pays their bills, and yet the attendance policy and policy regarding making up missed work is much more complicated at the university level.

I know not all classes have mandatory attendance. I know there are professors who are willing to work with you and help you make up any missed work, I'm not saying this goes for all professors, though. The university does hold their professors to a certain standard and technically we are only allowed to miss so many days for a very limited list of accepted excuses.

During the week I will be gone, I am going to miss lectures and notes, vital in-class work, several quizzes, and even an exam. This is not stuff I want to miss, but this camp is an opportunity I can't pass up.

While some of my professors have their own form of excuse forms to fill out and make up the work, others have stuck to the "you can use your two excused absences on these days you'll be missing, but if you miss any other days this semester than I will have to start lowering your grade as a result" rule.

If I am a good student and I come to a professor beforehand, with a valid reason for why I am missing class, I should have the opportunity to make up all missed work. Even if that means doing the work before the content is taught and turning it in before I leave. At least I am given the opportunity to earn those points.

This also is an issue for when students are sick. In college it is very easy and very common to get sick, whether it be the common cold, ear infection, stomach bug, you name it. And as a high schooler, you had the "choice" to stay home from school that day and make up the work when you got back. The same should go for college. But if you missed work because you were sick, professors request a doctors not.

Do you know how much a doctors appointment can cost, especially the on-campus health centers? And trying to get an appointment is a whole different story.

Sometimes a little rest is all the body needs, but in order to make up your work, you have to go see a doctor and pay them lots of money for them to tell you to just get rest.

All I'm saying is that colleges should not put such a small limit on how many excused absences a student is allowed. This limit is making an educational experience a very stressful one.