Attendance: Setting Policies that Work for You and Your Students
This semester, the Daily Targum printed an article entitled “Online Notes Shrink Class Attendance.” The article describes how online access to lecture material exacerbates the already endemic problem of students skipping class. The official policy at Rutgers, according to the University Policy Library (policies.rutgers.edu), is that “attendance at all regularly scheduled meetings of a course shall be expected.” The policy goes on to note that excusable absences, which an “appropriate authority” on each campus, usually a dean, can authenticate, include: “(1) Illness requiring medical attention. (2) Curricular or extracurricular activities approved by the faculty. (3) Personal obligations claimed by the student and recognized as valid. (4) Recognized religious holidays. (5) Severe inclement weather causing dangerous traveling conditions.”

While the University “expects” attendance, in practice it is up to instructors to decide whether or how to enforce this policy. If you are teaching a recitation or lab section, you must follow the direction of the professor in charge of the course. If you are teaching your own course this coming spring, or the professor you’ll be assisting leaves policy decisions up to section leaders, take some time as you plan the course to think about your attendance policy and what approach to attendance best fits your personal teaching style and your pedagogical goals.

Some instructors require attendance at every class and take roll or use a sign-in sheet to check whether students are there. They believe that students need to be in class to learn, and this may be particularly true in courses that use active learning techniques such as group work, simulations, debates, or case studies. Regular attendance can also help students develop a sense of community with fellow students and the instructor, which may make students feel more comfortable participating in class. Students face competing demands on their time, and an attendance requirement may help them prioritize their coursework. First-year students in particular may be grappling with the adjustment to college life and its lack of constraints; they may benefit from the structure of an attendance policy which imposes specific costs for missing class.

Other instructors don’t require attendance, and there are a variety of rationales for this approach. It may not serve any purpose to have students be physically present if their minds are elsewhere. The students who are interested and engaged with the material may be frustrated and distracted by students who show up solely to get credit for attending, especially in a large classroom or lecture hall where apathetic students may hide in the back of the room to read the newspaper, text-message friends, or sleep. Another reason for an attendance-optional policy is to make students responsible for their own choices. As adults, they must decide what the best use of their own time is. Some instructors don’t require attendance because they believe that ultimately, what matters and what students should be graded on is their performance. Regular attendance is likely to enhance that performance, but in and of itself it is not a basis on which to evaluate students.

In large classes, it may be impractical to enforce an attendance policy; taking roll and dealing with student excuses may eat up large chunks of time and energy that would be better spent on other activities. You may be able to achieve the same results as an attendance-required policy by other methods. Build an expectation of attendance into the course by giving occasional quizzes, assigning brief in-class writing assignments, or providing the opportunity to earn points for participation in activities that can only be performed in class. If you want students to attend class, try to make them believe it’s worth their while. Don’t spend the bulk of class time reiterating what’s in the reading material, and don’t post complete sets of notes or lecture slides online.

Whatever approach you choose, communicate your expectations to your students. Spell out your policy in the syllabus or in a handout, and follow through on it over the course of the semester.