The Basics on Attendance
Class attendance is required. Not only is this IUP policy, but consistently attending class is the only way students can successfully complete this or any course. Class members should view being a student as a job and should view regular class attendance as one of the required duties of that job.
My Attendance Philosophy
For a long time now, I’ve wrestled with how to get students to attend class regularly. Why do I care if you come to class? Because experience has taught me that students who attend class consistently do well in courses and those who don’t attend do badly. That’s a simple fact. The idea that some students don’t go to class but still get A’s is just a myth, so don’t get tricked into believing it.
I also know that students hate to go to classes which they feel are boring, useless, or just designed to give the teacher a chance to hear himself or herself talk. So I have worked really hard to create interesting, challenging, and fun classes that I hope you will want to attend. However, I’m not so naive that I believe attending even a good class might not sound as appealing some days as sleeping in or hanging out with your friends. We all have lots of things we like to do with our time, and unfortunately going to class isn’t always at the top of the list.
In addition to making the course interesting, I know there is another factor that counts when it comes to doing something we might rather not have to do. This is, what are the incentives for doing the task. Obviously, with any class once incentive is having an opportunity to learn. That’s a good incentive, but I know it’s not going to always be good enough. Before becoming a teacher, I spent five years working as a professional technical writer. If you think going to class can be tough, wait until you have to get up at 7 a.m. in order to get to an 8 a.m. office job which doesn’t end until 5 p.m. (Believe me, after you graduate, you’ll look back and wish all you had to do each day was go to one or two classes). Ah, but I know what you’re going to say: I was getting paid to go to work. True, I had a monetary incentive. I’m sure if I paid you to go to class, you’d show up all the time. Unfortunately, my salary just isn’t high enough for me to afford to pay you all to come to class. (Too bad I’m not an Enron CEO, then I’d have money to burn.) Now, I can’t give you a monetary incentive, but I believe I have come up with a different incentive that might just help you consistently make the choice to come to class.
2 Personal Days
At any decent job, workers are given a few sick days or personal days to use at their discretion. Everyone knows that there are going to be a few days when it is impossible for you to make it to work. The catch is, employers only give a limited number of personal days and anyone who misses too many days gets fired. In addition to that, most employers actually pay workers for unused sick days when they retire (they often do this by paying for retirement health care days equal to the number of unused sick days). In other words, employers allow for limited absences but also offer an incentive for not being absent. That’s how it was where I worked, and that got me into the office when nothing else would. So that’s the same model I’m going to use here.
You will get 2 personal days for the entire semester. I’m using 2 because that equals 4 hours which equates to slightly over the 3 credits for the class. You may use them as you see fit. However, and here’s how it works in the real world, I need to know, in advance, that you are using a personal day. That means you should notify me ahead of time when you need to use a personal day. You can do this in class or by email. In the case of an emergency or last minute illness, you need to call my office and leave a message (724-357-4788). In other words, you don’t just miss work. That’s how you get fired. In the professional world, you need to get permission to take time off. Even in the worst crisis, if I had to miss work, I would call in or call someone and have them call. I expect the same professional courtesy from you.
How Personal Days Work
You get 2 personal days. You may use a personal day whenever you like. Just notify me in advance that you need to use a personal day. No explanations are necessary (no need to fake a cough when you call my office). Why you need a personal day is your business. Only the fact you need a personal day is my business.
Attendance Tracking
I will take attendance every day. If a worker is missing without prior notice, the boss isn’t happy. If you’re missing, I’m not happy either. So make sure you come to class every day. You will be missed if you’re absent.
Excessive Absences
More than 2 class absences is simply too many. After 2 absences, your attendance grade starts going down as follows:
- 3 absences = B
- 4 absences = C
- 5 absences = D
- 6 absences = F
Tardiness
Tardiness is also not acceptable. Being late for work is considered bad form and is just as serious as missing work. Therefore, tardiness will also negatively effect your attendance grade for this course as follows:
- every 2 incidences of tardiness = 1 absence
No employer tolerates tardiness on a regular basis and neither will I.
Missed Work
When you are not at work, it costs your employer money. The same is true of a college class. When you are gone, no one can benefit from your ideas and what you have to say. And when you are gone, no one can get help from you on doing in class projects or team work. Therefore, you may not make up missed daily work if you are absent. If you are absent for a personal day (for any reason), you lose all daily work points for that class session. Every time you miss class, there is a cost to you and to your peers.
You can still do any out of class assignments, however. And to avoid a late penalty on these assignments, you should check the online assignment list to see what work was assigned for the next class. If you are absent for a personal day and then are late turning in an assignment, your work will be penalized. This is also true for work which is due the day of your absence. If you need to use a personal day, you must turn in your work ahead of time for the day you will be gone. Again, in the professional world, if you have a deadline and miss that day, someone else has to fill the gap or your company loses money. So missing any assignment due date will lead to a penalty.
An Incentive Based Attendance Model
Now here’s where the incentive comes in. All unused personal days may be cashed in at the end of the semester for bonus points as follows:
- 1 unused sick day = 5 bonus points
- 2 unused sick days = 10 bonus points
Bonus points will be added to the scores on your papers. In other words, it will literally pay to attend class. Students who attend every class session for the semester will be rewarded.
Severe Absence Problems
Sadly, if you miss too much time, you cease to be an effective worker and have to be let go. Any student who misses more than 40% of the class sessions will automatically receive an F for the course. In highly special cases, such as severe medical problems or death of an immediate family member, I may make exceptions to these attendance policies on a case-by-case basis where proof of the circumstances is available. One possibility under such extreme cases is an Incomplete for the course, but this will only be granted by me if you have consulted with me about your circumstances. Excessive absences (more than 40% of class days) without documented proof and/or which I feel is warranted will lead to failure. My judgment in such cases will be final and individualized.
The Bottom Line
I’ve tried to create a fair, professionally based attendance model that provides real incentives for you to come to class. Please attend every class and be on time. Anything less than this threatens to hurt your reputation as a good student and your educational opportunities.