Attendance Policy, reported by Peter Dendle
There is always a bit of confusion over the official University policy on class attendance requirements, which is understandable – the language leaves some room for subjective interpretation, and the policy itself changes once in a while. Nonetheless, the policy is intended to strike a balance between empowering faculty members as much as possible to administer their own chosen attendance policies, and protecting students who occasionally have legitimate reasons not to be in class for reasons planned or unplanned.
The Senate just made a few changes to the attendance policy, which I’ll outline. But first, this may be a good occasion to review the core policy. Each instructor is fully authorized to craft a reasonable attendance policy of his/her own choosing, that is suited to the aims and content of each particular class. That policy must be clearly stated in the syllabus. Attendance means different things for an online course than for a traditional classroom, but in both cases, it is a key element of student success. Instructors should provide reasonable opportunities to make up work for students who miss class for regularly scheduled, university-approved events (such as athletic events) or for legitimate but unavoidable reasons (such as illness). It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor in advance and to make alternate arrangements with the instructor (for instance, completing work early).
That much we probably all know. Here are a few changes or clarifications:
- Instructors may require documentation for absences if they choose. University policy had backed away from this in the last round of attendance policy changes in 2002, but the language is now clear again: “Students should be prepared to provide documentation for participation in University-approved activities, as well as for career-related interviews, when requested by the instructor.”
- Not all work can be made up: “Missing a class, even for a legitimate purpose, may mean that there is work that cannot be made up, hurting the student’s grade in the class.” This may apply, for instance, to a group presentation – even if the student is genuinely ill, the group suffers, the class suffers, and there is no way to recreate the situation. If the nature of the academic exercise is such that the content could be made up independently, the instructor should work with the student to make such accommodations, but if not, the instructor is authorized to make a determination about whether or not to excuse the absence. This policy is new.
- The scope of university-approved excuses has broadened, to include events for a post-graduate career such as job interviews or interviews for graduate schools. These are not “regularly scheduled” events, but common sense tells us that they are legitimate reasons not to be in class. The policy now says that “post-graduate, career-related interviews” are university-approved. Elsewhere it refers to this as simply “career-related interviews,” so I think most people would interpret this as relating to, for instance, an interview for a summer internship that isn’t necessarily post-graduate.
- As before, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor in advance for absence, as soon as it becomes known to the student: “An instructor might not consider an unavoidable absence legitimate if the student does not contact the instructor before the evaluative event.”
- The policy reiterates that instructors should communicate directly with students if absences may cause them to earn a lower grade or run the risk of failing the course. Often, this communication itself can cause a change in behavior. The university attendance policy is quite strongly supportive of faculty, and now even stronger – but please be mindful of student rights as well. Students can appeal to the DAA’s office if they think an attendance-related penalty has been applied unfairly, and often it may be a good idea to inform the student of that right. The policy reads: “Instructors can determine when irregular attendance negatively affects a student’s scholastic achievement, and thus grade, in the course, even to the point of failure. If class absence constitutes a danger to the student’s scholastic attainment, the instructor should make this fact known to the student. The student may appeal this decision to the head of the department in which the course is offered.”
- Finally, a student should be truthful in communicating to the instructor the nature of an absence: “Requests for missing class or an evaluative event due to reasons that are based on false claims may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity.”
So, those are the key points. Hopefully, the guidelines in this version of the policy are clearer, and serve both to empower faculty and protect students as well as possible.
The Class Attendance policy as it now stands, in full, is as follows:
——————–
42-27 Class Attendance
Regular class attendance is one of the most important ways that students learn and understand course materials. It is a critical element of student success. Accordingly, it is the policy of the University that class attendance is expected and that students should follow the attendance policy of the instructor, as outlined in the syllabus. A student should attend every scheduled class and should be held responsible for all work covered in the courses taken.
Class attendance is expected regardless of the format of the course and this expectation applies equally to students in face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses. Attendance in online courses goes beyond course login and is based on documentable participation in class activities, such as interacting with the instructor, interacting with enrolled students, completing assignments with specific due dates, and/or participate in online discussions on a regular basis. It is the student’s responsibility to complete work early, or make alternate arrangements with the course instructor, if due dates or required work will be missed because of a University-approved absence as described in this policy.
Instructors should provide, within reason, the opportunity to make up work for students who miss class for regularly scheduled, University-approved curricular and extracurricular activities (such as Martin Luther King Day of Service, field trips, debate trips, choir trips, and athletic contests). In addition, instructors should provide, within reason, the opportunity to make up work for students who miss class for post-graduate, career-related interviews when there is no opportunity for students to re-schedule these opportunities (such as employment and graduate school final interviews.) In both cases, students should inform instructors in advance and discuss the implications of any absence. Missing class, even for a legitimate purpose, may mean that there is work that cannot be made up, hurting the student’s grade in the class. Likewise, students should be prepared to provide documentation for participation in University-approved activities, as well as for career-related interviews, when requested by the instructor.
Instructors also should provide, within reason, the opportunity to make up work for students who miss classes for other legitimate but unavoidable reasons. Legitimate, unavoidable reasons are those such as illness, injury, military service, family emergency, or religious observance. Again, it should be recognized that not all work can be “made-up” and that absences can affect student performance in a class.
Instructors can determine when irregular attendance negatively affects a student’s scholastic achievement, and thus grade, in the course, even to the point of failure. If class absence constitutes a danger to the student’s scholastic attainment, the instructor should make this fact known to the student. The student may appeal this decision to the head of the department in which the course is offered.
If an evaluative event will be missed due to an unavoidable absence, the student should contact the instructor as soon as the unavoidable absence is known to discuss ways to make up the work. An instructor might not consider an unavoidable absence legitimate if the student does not contact the instructor before the evaluative event. Students will be held responsible for using only legitimate, unavoidable reasons for requesting a make-up in the event of a missed class or evaluative event. (Conflicts with non-final examinations are covered the Policy 44-35.) Requests for missing class or an evaluative event due to reasons that are based on false claims may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity (Policy 49-20).