To: All faculty and staff

From: 

Kevin Kregel, executive vice president and provost
Cheryl Reardon, chief human resources officer and associate vice president

Intent: Inform all University of Iowa faculty and staff of the institution's guidelines for religious accommodations. Please review the information below and bookmark the websites for future reference.

Date: Aug. 13, 2025

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Religious Accommodations

The University of Iowa provides reasonable accommodations for faculty, staff, and students whose religious holy days coincide with their work schedules, classroom assignments, test schedules, and classroom attendance expectations.

For details, please review the UI policy manual.

Student Absences for Holy Days

Language regarding student absences for religious holy days is available online and must be included on course syllabi.

Scheduling Events and Examinations

The university recommends not scheduling events or examinations on major religious holy days.

To assist with planning, the BMindful calendar from the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau lists holy days when religious observers are likely to stay home from work or school. This calendar is reviewed and approved by regional interfaith councils.

ITS has provided a quick method to add holy days to an electronic calendar for the next one to five years.

Religious Symbols

The UI is a community whose members hold a variety of religious and philosophical views.

As a public institution, the university must respect the need to maintain separation of church and state, and at the same time honor individuals' right to free expression of thought. Guidelines indicate the UI should not display religious symbols in public areas that would imply university support for a particular religion. However, individuals are allowed to display religious symbols on their personal attire and in private workspaces.

Visit the Office of Civil Rights Compliance to review the complete guidelines on religious symbols.