In three and a half pages, the well-crafted document does, indeed, appear to accommodate both students and faculty. However, its effectiveness will be determined by how it is applied.

The policy states that students have a right to have their individual beliefs respected by faculty members and that faculty members have rights to set rules and incorporate content into their classes and make reasonable demands of students. It is sensitive to the concerns of both groups and strikes a fair balance that should improve learning, if both students and faculty adhere to its spirit as well as its words.

The policy is an outgrowth of a settlement the university reached in July of last year with Christina Axson-Flynn, a former U. drama student who refused to recite lines that contained profanity in a class exercise. Axson-Flynn sued the university in 2000, accusing the theater department of retaliating against her, because her refusal to do the exercise was based on her religious beliefs.

The process that led to the Academic Senate adopting the accommodation policy this week is nearly as important to its chances of success as the document itself. For three months, the 102 members of the senate, comprising students and faculty members who are elected by their peers, have revised, amended and debated the policy. The discussion brought to light issues on both sides and helped each group better understand the concerns of the other.

Communication between them is vital. The policy says that students who have to miss a class must let the professor know early, so they can decide together how work can be made up. Students are not allowed to simply "opt out" of a course assignment for any reason.

If a student objects to some aspect of class content because of "sincerely held beliefs," the teacher can try to modify the requirement, but only if there is a "reasonable alternative."

Faculty are not required to alter course content overall or adjust what they teach based on what might conflict with any individual student's beliefs.

Those provisions and another that requires the policy be re-evaluated every two years make the final document a workable consensus that both students and faculty should be able to follow.