Information Regarding Attendance and Related Issues for Faculty
Faculty determine course attendance policies. Because attendance may be integral to the pedagogic process, these policies are set by faculty at the college, departmental or individual level.
In some cases, attendance is fundamental to course objectives; for example, students may be required to interact with other in the class, to demonstrate the ability to think and argue critically or to participate in group projects. In other instances, faculty may determine that students can master course content despite some or many absences. Rarely, faculty may decide that students do not need to attend classes at all.
Similarly, faculty also determine policies regarding make-up work and missed quizzes and exams. Faculty are not required to lower or affect substantial modifications of standards for accommodation purposes. The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, which enforces disability law in higher education, has provided the following guidance questions to be used when determining if attendance is essential to a course participation:
- Are there regular class interactions between the instructor and students and among students?
- Do student contributions constitute a significant component of the learning process?
- Does the fundamental nature of the course rely upon student participation as an essential method for learning?
- To what degree does a student’s failure to attend constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
- What is the method by which the final course grade is calculated?
- What are the class practices and policies regarding attendance and are they noted in the course syllabus?
What Disability Services Can Do for Students:
Disability Services can provide students with written disability verification memos, based on appropriate medical and/or psychological documentation. Disability Services carefully screens which students receive these memos. The memos address the potential impact of the student’s medical condition and/or disability. All accommodation memos are emailed to the faculty member who appears as the primary instructor on the student’s class schedule as found on Banner. Faculty should make their policies clear so that students can make informed choices about which courses to take.