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Attendance policy ‘baby-sits’ students |
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Thursday, 08 February 2007 |
The alarm clock rings, and you know it is time to get up and go to class.
However, the weather outside is terrible and you feel sick, dreading walking to class in the typical Boone “winter wonderland,” but knowing that you have to go due to class attendance policies.
This scenario describes how I felt as I looked outside Thursday
morning. I could not miss my classes because I had to adhere to the
strict attendance policy that most of my classes required.
At age 18, we are considered adults. Most of us attend universities
because we strive to make the best out of what we can become. Also, we
learn to take responsibility for our actions along the way.
 Active Image | Ashley Holland | Editorial Cartoonist
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But, if we are adults, why are we still being treated like children?
We are unable to learn if we have unnecessary rules, such as attendance policies, that weigh us down.
As university students, we pay to attend our classes.
According to the Appalachian State University’s Office of Student
Accounts, we pay $69 per semester hour as in-state students, and $398
per semester hour for out-of-state students.
If we are paying to attend our classes, why should it matter to teachers if we attend or not?
There are some students who are able to miss all of the classes they
want and keep up only by reading the textbooks. If these students can
pass their tests with grades they can accept, then good for them,
attendance is a burden.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not that type of student. I am the type of
student who has to go to class and read the book to fully understand.
If we pay to attend our classes, we should have the ability to choose whether or not we go to class.
Students also have lives outside of just doing schoolwork, such as
extracurricular activities, family problems and work, which many
teachers and policies fail to acknowledge.
However, students should not be punished for having other commitments.
According to the Appalachian State Faculty Handbook, “When a student is
out of town and unable to return to campus due to hospitalization,
death in the family, or other extenuating circumstances, the student or
the student’s parents may contact the Office of Student Development to
request that professors be notified as to the reason for the absence.
This notification is conveyed to the appropriate departmental office as
a matter of information only and does not serve as an official excuse
for class absence.”
Whereas this does not explicitly say the absence is unexcused, it is implied that it is not excused. This is unacceptable.
And for that matter, teachers are paid even if they miss their classes.
Teachers only have to call their department heads and explain why,
according to the Academic Affairs office. If their absences do not
affect their “grades,” why should ours?
This brings up another point. Attendance, whether good or bad, should
not be used as extra credit or for deduction of final grades.
By doing this, our ‘real grades’ are not taken into account. For
example, by having missed three classes, some teachers feel the need to
deduct five points from their students’ final grades.
That is crazy. If students have an A in the class, their grade is easily dropped to a B, and the list goes on.
As students, we understand that attending our classes can only help us.
However, if we do not attend our classes, we also know we have catching
up to do and have more to learn on our own time.
That is enough reason to encourage us to attend our classes.
I appreciate the work that goes into the preparation of classes by
Appalachian faculty and this is no indication of teaching styles.
All I am asking is that you let us be the adults we are and get rid of
this unnecessary attendance policy. Let us make our own decisions and
take responsibility for them.
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