A message from Executive Vice President and Provost Montserrat Fuentes:

The Iowa presidential caucuses are an important event in our state and in our nation, and the University of Iowa supports all faculty, staff, and students who want to engage in the process.

We do, however, realize the dilemma presented by this year’s caucus date. Previous caucuses have taken place over winter break, which did not conflict with university classes. In 2020, the Iowa Caucuses will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3.

The university rarely, and only under extraordinary circumstances, cancels classes, and will not cancel class for the caucuses.

Canceling class can be problematic when trying to get through a semester’s worth of material, and student success remains a top priority. For example, the cancellation of a three-hour lab class would result in a significant loss of work time and cause class material to be compressed in subsequent weeks.

Instead of canceling all classes, we will leave such decisions to individual faculty members who are in the best position to determine whether canceling a single night class or excusing a student’s absence will have a negative impact on student learning.

We encourage all students who want to attend the caucuses to speak with their instructors to determine if they can be excused from class or make up the coursework outside of class.