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I agree Donna. I also believe they see the school staff as role models. If they see something not the way it should, they think it's ok for them. This is not good. So I believe we play a major role in their wanting to follow the rules.

Joseph, what do you do to encourage this type of student engagement?

What is your attendance policy and how do you consistently convey it, Diana?

I totally agree. Alot of the students feel that as long as they sit in the class, they will have a great job when they graduate.

What techniques do you use, Marion, to change that mindset?

attendance very important topic i feel we teach students everyday by setting time limits on starting times, lunch,and ending times get then ready for the world

I agree. It is essential that the school advise all new students of the rules and regulations of the school and what the expectations are on behalf of the student. Attendence needs to be carefully monitored and held to their standards regardless of what excuses the student gives. I meet with the students on a monthly basis to discuss their performance and attendance. This helps to keep them on time and I continueously stress that no employer will allow them not arriving to work on time due to the lost manhours and lost revenue because they were counted on to be there on time.

Wouldn't it be nice, Sandra, if students were taught the importance of attendance at an earlier point in their educational experience? The importance of being in class is something that many students just don't get, despite all of our best efforts. I wonder if students going directly into the work place have the same issues.

It's so very important that students are clearly aware of attendance expectations from the beginning. That information is covered during our orientation process, however, I do agree the orientation may be somewhat overwhelming, with a lot of information that needs to be processed at one time. We make a point of meeting with our students several weeks after they start school in order to see how they're doing, review valuable school resources and other policies. Of course we continue to meet with our students throughout their program to assist with goal setting and other needed skills. Our instructor's and other staff work very closely together; which is very helpful when working with and idenfying a student who may be at risk for poor attendance or other issues.

Is the attendance policy part of the admissions process, Kathleen? Do you have an early intervention system in place to identify and respond to students who have attendance problems?

Yes, the attendance policy is part of the admissions process; and we do have an early intervention system to identify and respond to students who have attendance issues. However, the key to the early intervention system is the instructor's, they are very instrumental in the attendance process.

Attendance is such an important issue with students. My school has a policy which is covered in orientation and again in our Freshman August Term. Instructors are directed to include this policy in their syllabus, too. We then verbally remind all students of this policy during the beginning of each new semester during class time. However, under special circumstances the attendance policy can be waived. Examples would be death of an immediate family member, severe illness or surgery that can be documented by family or student. We too have seen a drop in absentee issues.

It seems that you get what you measure, Nancy. What is your attendance policy?

College policy dictates that attendance is required at a minimum of three-fourths of all class meetings in order to receive credit in a course.

Policies are one thing; expectations are another. In our school system, we have a policy that states that students need to attend a minimum of 67% of their required hours in a class or risk being dropped. Compared to many, this seems quite low. However, we let students know in orientation, at the beginning of each class, and throughout their time at school that we expect them to attend class everyday.

What happens in this dynamic is we get the best of both worlds. We are not forced to drop a student if their attendance is poor due to a legitimate reason -- which often happens if the policy to too tight. On the other hand, we have few attendance problems with our students because they live up to our expectations. It's been my experience that students live up to the expecations -- whether or not they are the same as the policy.

I think this practice is particularly effective if students feel rewarded by meeting expectations, Brian. It helps if they understand – and support – the WIIFM [what's in it for me]

Are there other areas in addition to attendance that you follow this practice?

Yes -- it can be a very powerful motivator. Back when I used to teach, I was legendary for for being a hardcase. Yet, my classes were always full and had long lines to get in. I usually began my classes with a speech something like this: "I expect great things from each one of you in this class. I know that all of you have greatness inside -- and we are going to get it out of you. If I expected mediocrity, that is what we would get. Nobody leaves my class mediocre. Everyone leaves with the taste of success." Right there, I set the expectation that everyone would do great things. For many of these students, this was the first time a perceived authority figure told them that they too can do great things.

I was always careful not to define what greatness was. This was always an individual assessment of each student. For the student with a string of F's following them, a passing grade was their first step to greatness. For students with a string of A's it would be expanding outside of their comfort zones. This took a great deal of effort on my part to get to know each student individually -- but the results were inspiring.

When I think about this, I think about Mike Tyson. Why in the world does this man still have an entourage and legions of followers? Why do people seek out autographs? My belief is that they just want to say that they met or basked in the reflected glow of the "Champ." My thought is that many people are so desperate to have just a taste of success or greatness that they will do anything to be a part of it. Even if that is dealing with Mike Tyson.

We can create an atmosphere of greatness in our classrooms by creating expectations of greatness and success. Students so want a taste of this and will do almost anything you ask of them -- including improving attendance, grades, or attitude.

We have recently started using Pacific Institutes' curriculum in our programs. It helps to target any problems the students may bring to school with them. By targeting these problems, the school can do what we can to help the student gain confidence, rethink, or overcome the problem. This is proving very effectional.

How do you target these problems, Patsy? Are they part of an exercise for class or does it involve one-on-one interaction with the instructor or support staff?

We offer an online chat room format for our orientation. Each departmant has it's own chat room.

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