Attendance Policy
This policy emphasizes the correlation between attendance and academic achievement. The term “in-class” applies to both in person and online synchronous class meetings.
A student is expected to attend all class meetings of courses in which they are enrolled. Any form of attendance used by an individual professor as a criterion for evaluation must be specified in the course syllabus and presented to students during the first week of classes. For excused absences, Instructors must allow students to make up missed in-class work such as examinations, quizzes, writing assignments, and any other criteria used in the computation of grades. Students who may miss field experiences for an excused absence, such as but not limited to: methods, practicums, clinical experiences, internships and student teacher experiences shall develop mutually agreeable alternative plans (in advance if possible) with the faculty member. Students must provide documentation of an excused absence upon the instructor’s request.
Make-up procedures for excused absences are determined with the individual instructor; they carry no penalty to the student unless the student fails to comply with the arrangements agreed upon. Instructors are not obliged to provide make-ups for unexcused absences. A student expecting to be absent from a class meeting that is a scheduled date for tests, projects, papers, or similar assignments must contact the instructor in advance (if possible) to arrange for making up work that will be missed.
Make-up procedures apply only to excused absences, including those arising from an emergency. Excused absences include but are not limited to: religious holidays, adverse weather conditions, illness, accidents, death in the family, occurrences deemed proper by the instructor, and approved activities. Approved activities include: field trips, scheduled intercollegiate athletic contests, professional and academic conferences, off-campus use of academic resources, authorized special projects, and required military or jury duty.
Excused absences do not exempt a student from the course requirements or from following college-wide policy. A student who misses in excess of three weeks of classes prior to the eleventh week of the semester (for any reason whatsoever) is expected to withdraw from the course. The faculty member may waive this policy at their discretion, but if the faculty member wishes to enforce the policy, they will inform the student in writing, who then must initiate the withdrawal. The student must follow the regular withdrawal procedure. If the student fails to withdraw from the class, the faculty member may withdraw them. Once a student is withdrawn from the class, they may no longer attend the class. Faculty members must note the student’s last day of attendance.
An instructor must take attendance in a course at the first class session. At the beginning of the first class session, the instructor may “give away” the seat that has been reserved for any student who has failed to attend the first class without an excused absence. The faculty member should use Self-Service/Student Planning and under Grading for that course indicate that the student “Never Attended.” The student whose reserved seat has been reassigned must formally drop or withdraw from the course.
Any student who feels that an instructor has incorrectly handled a request for an excused absence has the right to appeal that decision to the appropriate dean. The decision of the dean is final.
