XIX. Class Attendance – All enrolled students should attend class regularly. Students need to be present and prepared to work in order to be successful. Instructors must record attendance as mandated by federal financial aid guidelines. Students absent from class are responsible for making up and submitting work to their instructors.
University-sponsored excused absences include the following: documented university service on campus; off-campus representation of the University; documented research, presentation, or field trip; and documented interview for professional/ academic advancement.
Personal excused absences include the following: documented required military service; documented illness with a note from a doctor or practicing medical professional in the area of the student's illness who attended to the student; documented serious illness or death of an immediate family member (mother, father, spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, or (former) legal guardian; and documented court appearance or jury duty.
Excessive unexcused absences can result in course failure. Typically, this means missing a week of class meetings in a semester. For example, a student accrues more than three unexcused absences in a Monday / Wednesday / Friday course or two unexcused absences in a Tuesday / Thursday class. Faculty should include on all course syllabi how absences and / or tardiness will impact the final grade.
For each unexcused absence over the maximum number allowed, the instructor may lower the course grade one full grade level. If an individual instructor or academic unit adopts more stringent attendance policies, those policies must appear in a conspicuous location in the course syllabus and must be announced to the class on the first day it meets.
Regulations on class tardiness are determined by the instructor of the class.
For virtual or hybrid courses, faculty should indicate on the course syllabus what constitutes acceptable regular attendance.
A student who stops attending a class for any reason must contact the Office of the Registrar to withdraw officially from the course. This action must be done on or before the published withdrawal date on the official Academic Calendar for that semester. If a student fails to withdraw from a class, the lack of action will result in a failing grade for the course.
Late registration beyond the University's add/drop date must be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the University Registrar, and the class instructor. Under these circumstances, no excused or unexcused absences will be accrued until the date of the students first official course enrollment. All make-up assignments must be completed within a time period determined by the instructor.
The existing attendance policy is cumbersome and covers a number of issues that should be their own policies, such as how to refer students to student support. CAPS no longer exists, and the procedure detailed in the existing policy for its intervention with students has not been followed.
Aside from recording attendance during the first few weeks of each semester in order to comply with federal financial aid guidelines, faculty should have the academic freedom to devise standards for attendance as they