Attendance Policies on the Syllabus
One difficulty I have with planning the syllabus and the policies is the Attendance Policy.
What are the best ways to make it clear on the syllabus that attendance is important? Will assigning additional work to students who are absent help?
Hi,
I am Dr. Dwedar a new instructor.
it gives me a great pleasure to be at your forum.
I learned several aspects from your exchange of strategies and ideas.
Thanks to all of you
Susan,
I like this strategy. This sets the tone for the class and increases the value of being in attendance.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
In order to get students to attend class and be prompt I gave an "Attendance Quiz" that was worth points. Students like getting small rewards for being prompt. Knowing there will a quiz at the start on class, students felt it was their responsibility to attend class. It also eliminates the question "are we doing anything important next class?" Why yes, we are having a quiz that is worth a percentage of your grade.
My school also has a strict attendence policy and I feel bad when its something I understand but with no medical excuse or ok from the head person I have to count them absent
I agree, it is important to let students know up front. They can decide if that Professor is the right one and what is to be expected from them.
Hi Abigail,
Good question because many colleges are working through this issue presently. Our college has recommended to students they remain at home if they suspect that they have the H1N1 flu. The administration has asked that we be very understanding of student absences. This has given many of my students the freedom to catch the "flu" and I am to excuse their absences which I do to stay within school policy. How I and my fellow instructors handle such absences and make up work is to meet with each returning student and give that individual a packet of missed material and assignments. We set a deadline for when those project and assignments are due. If they miss the deadline then there is a 10% deduction each day the material is late so we have closure in 10 days, otherwise the assignments can drag on throughout the course. We have had good results with this plan. The students that want to do well in the course follow up and complete the work once they return. Those that weren't doing as well in the course, seem to catch the "flu" over and over again and don't follow up on the misses assignments. By providing the missed assignments packet and meeting with them upon their return we have fulfilled our obligation of providing support and help to them and it is up to them to provide the effort.
Some students just don't make through the course as a result of not completing missed work or following up so the consequences are clear in that they don't pass the course. It has nothing to do with the flu and everything to do with their effort or lack of it.
Gary
I have explained to all of my classes on the first day that they are expected to be at all class sessions and this is reflected in their professionalism points for that day. However, H1N1 and seasonal flu have changed that somewhat. When students return (preferably with a doctor's note, but with medical advice to stay home if they are sick, I have waived this "doctor's note clause") they are usually given one week to return any missed work and get back on track with full credit. Any days that pass after this time result in a 10% deduction/day, whether class meets that day or not.
However, it's still a wash whether the student actually makes the effort to obtain any missed work or assignments from me when they return! There's the occasional few that work very hard to catch up, and then there's the ones who don't seem to care or ask for help when they fall behind. Any ideas on how to modify my policies and still encourage students to keep up in the class/maintain professionalism? Thanks!
Hi John,
Attendance is cleary stated on the syllabus at the career college where I'm an instructor. To further emphasis the importance of attendance on the first day when the class reviews the syllabus, I give the example to my students that tardiness and absences will be treated the same as if the class were their job. If they are late, they are docked "pay" or points and if they are absent, they let their "work" pile up. It has been encouraging how many students actually take that example to heart and commit to not missing class.
Hi Janet,
Good question but somewhat hard to answer. Much of the answer depends upon the backing you have from your school.
I use a number of in class incentives dealing with time to work on projects to parties. I know these students are adults but I have found that celebrating once in a while gets them fired up and attending.
In my classes my students don't get any excused absences. If they are going to be absent they must talk with me before hand or immediately after returning. My point is when I put in my syllabus that they were allowed one unexcuses absence they all saw it as a free day off. I don't have much of a problem with absences except with those students that are not going to make it anyway. I counsel with them and try encourage them and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Gary
I agree with having the attendance and participation 25% of their grade. At present we have attendance and participation at 10% of their grade, and they can only miss eight hours of class time before they are dropped from the class. My problem is the same students use the eight hours, and are not really affected by the 10% grade. Most of the students that take their time are students with a GPA (A or B). If we can not change our attendance and participation policy to 25% what is another way to motivate attendance?
Gary, Linda,
I have taught many classes in which students are employees of a company that is paying the tuition for the student. The student only needs a passing grade to get reimbursed for tuition, sometimes paid by the student before reimbursement. As a result the student is not so committed to attend all the classes; the company may even schedule a trip out of the area for the student.
In some of these cases, the motivation is not for learning the concepts for the student's own "toolbox" and personal use, but to satisfy a company/supervisor requirement in order for the student (=employee) to get an increase in income; the focus should be in upgrading one's capability to be worth more to themselves and the company.
(By the way Gary, hasn't anybody indicated a concern about the subject title ==> Syllabus or even syllabi)
Hi Carol,
You are right on target with giving the new students the requirements for success in the course. As you say "for warned is for armed". This method also gives you an opportunity to respond to questions and give examples of what is given in print. This will reduce the "I didn't know" repsonse and keep the students focused on the real issues.
Gary
We tried to settle this problem by giving the new students a syllabus and a list of rules for the class including the information on attendance and they are aware of the number of day they can miss before they get dropped from the class. For warned is for armed.
Hi Sheila,
Right on concerning motivation. I try to "sell" my students on the reason they are in the course and that is to change their lives. Their new skills will enable them to enter into and succeed in their choosen career area. If they don't get ahold of this fact then they probably will not be successful. Sometimes these students act like high school students and forget the fact that money is being paid to learn a skill and they enrolled in the college of their own free will. If they don't want to be there then they should move to another setting. If they want to stay I will do everything in my power to help them be successful. I remind them I can't help though if they aren't there.
Gary
At our school the attendance grade itself cannot be more than 10%. What I do is give a seperate lab grade and that way if they are in class they get a 100 but, if they are absent they get a 0. The lab grade is worth 40% of the grade. One thing I have learned over the past 2 years is this. No matter how you grade the student is either motivated to be there or not.
HI Anne-Patricia,
One of things that you are doing with your policy is setting a standard that is reflective of the work world. I do the same as well as I am preparing future workers that must have the discipline to be on the job on time each day.
Gary
My school has a very strict attendance policy and the students must be aware of it. Including the policy in the syllabus insures that the students have the policy in writing. I include the policy just above my grading system. 20% of my grade is for "Professionalism" which include attendance. In addition, I do not accept late homework. Being absent is not an excuse for late homework (unless of course the student was in the hospital or had an emergency). It forces students to catch up on the work they miss by being absent.
Hi Amber,
Right you are. You must inform the students from the very beginning and then reinforce it as the need arises. There can not be any misunderstanding on what the polices are for your course.
Gary
I agree with Amber. The school's attendace policies should definitely be printed on the syllabus. They should also be strongly addressed on the first day of class. It is a strong motivator when attendance is part of the grade. In instances where it is not a part of the grade, students make their own schedules. This makes it difficult to cover all of the course material, review, plan group projects or even invite outside speakers. At my school, I like to stress the importance of attendance as it relates to their financial aid. This usually gets the students' attention.
Cliff
