Information for Students about Faculty's Attendance Policies: How You Are Involved

IUP instituted an attendance policy several years ago, and students often have questions about the ways in which faculty design their own policies.   There are several facts that students should keep in mind.  Faculty do have the right to design an attendance policy as long as it is in general accordance with University guidelines as set forth in the IUP Undergraduate Catalog.  According to the University policy which was approved by the IUP Council of Trustees, May 13, 1994 (p. 26 in the Catalog):

"The university expects all students to attend class.  Individual faculty members may define attendance standards appropriate to each course and the consequences of not meeting those standards, within the following guidelines:

1. Each policy must be distributed in writing during the first week of the course. Normally, it is expected that the information dealing with class attendance standards will be distributed with the Semester Course Syllabus.
   
2. each policy must recognize students' need to miss class because of illness of personal emergency.
   
3. Each policy must define some limited level of allowable absence, normally at least a number of clock hours equal to course semester hours."

In the English Department, many faculty choose to have rigorous attendance policies because so many of our courses involve writing workshops and other kinds of class activities that cannot be "made up."  We believe very strongly that your success in our courses depends upon your active participation in class in all respects.  We also know that students who miss classes are not going to be able to pass the course; sooner or later, your absences will catch up with you.  We want you to understand that you cannot expect to just drop in and out of class and still keep up with what is often an intensive writing load. Therefore, class participation is usually rewarded and absences will hurt you seriously.

Many faculty will, for example, allow you three absences if you are taking a MWF course that meets an hour each class day.  If you are taking ENGL 101 on Tuesday/Thursday schedule, you will probably only have two allowed absences.  After you have missed these number of classes, you can expect penalties on your final grade, and the faculty member has the right to determine the nature of that penalty.  Some of the penalties may even seem severe to you; you should make it your responsibility to review the professor's attendance policy at the beginning of the semester, make sure you understand it and can "live with it."   It is not unusual to lose ten points (or an average of a full grade) for each day of class that you miss after the allowable absences.  These kinds of penalties should indicate to you that we are serious about learning here at IUP. We are extremely serious about your education, and we want you to get the most of your experience in our courses; we know that being in class makes a tremendous difference in your education.  Our attendance policies do not mean that we want to punish you; they mean, instead, that we want to encourage you to make the most out of your education. 

If you find yourself in trouble because of missing classes, you should speak to your instructor immediately and determine if you should still stay enrolled in the course.  Class attendance is your responsibility and your choice: if you choose to miss class, you are choosing to accept the consequences of your actions.   Use your allowed absences wisely--save them for those emergencies due to illness, court appearances, family crises, or car trouble.  If you find that you have additional emergencies that cause you to miss class beyond the allowed three absences, speak to your professor immediately and explain your circumstances. Be prepared to provide documented proof of your emergencies. 

For additional information about faculty's attendance policies in Liberal Studies English courses, you can contact the Director of Liberal Studies English, Dr. Susan Welsh. Her e-mail address is SBWelsh@iup.edu.

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Liberal Studies | IUP English