This article is part of the Ask the Principal series  featuring real questions from PR students.

Dr. Koch, would students ever be allowed to have a mental health day?
The first thing I would want to say is I would hope those folks know that our Student Services office has highly trained professionals that are great at helping folks with those issues. Our counselors don’t just make schedules. They help students through any variety of issues they may have. We have other folks down there, social workers, a psychologist, who again can do the same thing. They are there to help students be successful and take care of their social and emotional health and well being. I would want to make sure that folks knew that those people a) exist and b) are really good at what they do.

But, to answer your question directly, students already can.

Every student, you have six times a semester you can call in and get an excused absence. And that resets each semester. So mom and dad can call in and say, “Hey, Nicolette isn’t going to be there today.” As long as it is within those six, we don’t really ask questions. But once you get beyond that, obviously then, things change. Yeah, [if] you want to take a mental health day, you can take your mental health day. If you want more details on that, I would send you right over to the Deans. Ask them.