Have you ever wondered why the classes you attend require attendance? Whether you are present in class or actively participating, you are required to attend. The fine details can vary for each school; different colleges have different standards and requirements that students must meet. Cuesta College’s attendance policy, via the Cuesta website, states that students may be dropped from their classes if they do not meet attendance expectations. The school’s census listed in the policy is a metaphorical checkpoint where classes are required to report their attendance numbers and inactive students are removed. This is important when reviewing how much money the college receives from the state of California. The policy also mentions that final grades will be affected by attendance.
Why does this matter to students? We’ve all skipped a class or two, whether we had a good reason or not. What most students don’t think about is how skipping could affect them. If you miss a lecture, you could just get notes from a classmate. If you miss an exam, you could schedule a makeup. However, have you ever recalled the syllabus before you skipped? Some teachers have a limit on how many missed classes a student can have before they are dropped. Meanwhile, some teachers don’t give that much attention to it and allow students to miss as many classes as needed, as long as they catch up on the work they missed.
Most courses include assignments that are crucial to in-person participation; this means students’ grades can be heavily affected if they are marked absent. These assignments could range from group projects to quizzes. There are also a handful of courses in the catalog that depend on attendance, such as labs and performance-based classes. How are students expected to pass a public speaking class if they aren’t present to give a speech? They aren’t. Courses of that caliber are solely based on attendance and participation.
For Professor Patrick Len’s astronomy course, he recommends attending. “It’s understood that they’re accountable for everything that’s covered in lecture, but it’s not like I’m hiding it from them if they don’t come,” he said.
Len provides a “sufficient” portion of the course online, and if students want more depth, they are encouraged to attend the lectures. Each student has a different learning style and Len reports that it affects their grades more than attendance. “There are students that are very self-starting, very self-sufficient, and they just get it,” he said. “And there’s students who need something. They need the hands-on part. They need to see and follow along.”
Len’s policy is great for students who might not have the availability to attend class full-time.
Marie-Luise Goeritz teaches human biology and anatomy. “In an ideal world, students should be able to decide on their own,” she said. While she doesn’t require attendance, she gives out participation points to students who make appearances. Similar to Len, she thinks that grades are affected by the person, not necessarily the participation. “There are some students that are brilliant, are super good at learning on their own, and can do absolutely fine without lecture and don’t need me,” she said. “I know students that do very poorly and don’t show up continue to do poorly.”
Mandatory attendance is such a controversial topic, but ultimately, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. By actively attending class, students receive greater engagement, more help staying on track with the course load, the opportunity to build community with classmates, improved understanding of the material, and better communication with both the instructor and classmates. However, students also have less flexibility and less control. Certain scenarios include health concerns and transportation issues.
Overall, it can be concluded that attendance depends on the student’s personal preferences and needs. Some teachers are flexible and open to freedom, while others prefer a more structured schedule.
