Attendance Guidelines
Responsibilities
Faculty are encouraged to communicate to students attendance expectations appropriate for their courses. Students are responsible for reading syllabi and understanding the policies.
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.
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.
Conferences and events
Required student-faculty conferences and special events (concerts, theatre, guest lectures, Book Connection) may count as class attendance.
Participation
A student not on task, such as 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.
Missed or 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.
Excused or unexcused absences
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.
Exceptions
According to university policy, absences for religious holidays, subpoenaed appearances in court, military service and performance of officially sanctioned duties representing the university, such as athletic programs, 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.