<p>I would definitely email professors in advance. Nor would I be suprised if one or two said an absence would be counted as unexcused. </p>
<p>Case in point, I had an immediate family member die on a Thursday afternoon, and was told by a professor to wait until Saturday to go home since I had a Friday midterm that he was not keen on having anyone retake. Further, there are some lecturers who are simply anal about getting their enrollment pinned down quickly given how short Chicago’s quarters are, especially if their courses are oversubscribed. Finally, I would presume that a minority of U of C profs would balk at the idea of requesting days off beyond those schedualed for religious observence, independent of any legitimate academic reasons they may have. </p>
<p>Alas, academic bureaucracy is not always so flexible.</p>