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Attendance
Guidelines
1. RESPONSIBILITIES:
Faculty are encouraged to communicate to students attendance expectations
appropriate for their courses. Students are responsible for reading syllabi
and understanding the policies.
2. COURSE GRADES: Faculty may choose to have or not have
an attendance policy. Those faculty members who choose to have an attendance
policy may figure attendance into course grades. According to the university’s
Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, “Classroom participation
is essential to the educational process in many disciplines. Therefore,
when the instructor indicates in the course syllabus that class participation
is essential to the educational goals of the course, the instructor may
lower a student’s final grade because of excessive absences”
(IV.D).
Such policies should allow for a reasonable number of absences without
grade reductions (the equivalent of one week of class or so, depending
upon the needs of the course). Once absences begin to hinder the productivity
of the student, instructor, or class, or once the student begins to miss
a significant amount of course information or ability to contribute to
the class, then incremental reductions of the course grade may result,
to the extent of a failing grade when the problem becomes excessive.
Faculty may choose to reward attendance by offering credit for every class
period attended or credit for activities conducted during class periods.
3. ARRIVING and LEAVING: Students should arrive on time
and stay for the entire period. Lateness and leaving early may be considered
absences at the instructor’s discretion.
4. CONFERENCES and EVENTS: Required student-faculty conferences
and special events (e.g., concerts, theatre, guest lectures, Book Connection)
may count as class attendance.
5. PARTICIPATION: A student not on task (e.g., doing
work unrelated to the class, coming to class without textbooks or other
required materials, using a computer or cell phone for personal correspondence)
may be counted absent if the conduct persists after a warning by the instructor.
6. MISSED/LATE ASSIGNMENTS: The instructor may lower
the grade of, or decline to accept, late assignments. According to the
Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, “Students are responsible
for familiarity with material disseminated in class and are not released
from this responsibility because they cease to attend” (IV.D). The
student is responsible for all course information missed due to absences,
and absences are not an excuse for missing assignments or coming to class
unprepared.
7. EXCUSED/UNEXCUSED: To respect student privacy, the
instructor may choose not to make distinctions between excused and unexcused
absences. A student who misses several class periods even for a valid
reason, such as serious illness, might need to drop the course and take
it another semester to receive the full benefit of the course.
8. EXCEPTIONS: According to university policy, absences
for religious holidays, subpoenaed appearances in court, military service,
and performance of officially sanctioned duties representing the university
(e.g., Athletics Program) cannot be recorded as absences. The student
must provide documentation that the missed class is officially exempt,
and the student must keep up with course material and submit assignments
in a timely manner agreeable to the instructor. In cases of emergency,
special circumstances, or other school-related activities, exceptions
are subject to the instructor’s approval.
Adopted 29-Dec-05
Two
Perspectives on Attendance
A Professor's Point of View
A Student's Point of View
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