Attendance will be taken at every class meeting, either orally or with an attendance sheet. If you come in late, it is your responsibility to ask me for the attendance sheet so that you may sign in. If you fail to do so, you are absent. Two tardies count as one absence. Merely being in the classroom does not count as attending; you must be prepared and ready to participate.
The college’s official attendance policy states:
The classroom experience is a vital part of college education. Interaction with instructors and other students is an important element of the learning process. Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Students whose number of absences is more than twice the number of class meetings per week may be assigned a failing grade for the course at the discretion of the instructor. Students who have more absences than the number of class meetings per week but less than twice the number of class meetings per week may be penalized at the discretion of the instructor. Students who have absences which are less than or equal to the number of class meetings per week will not be penalized.
I will modify this policy as follows: each additional class missed beyond the “twice the number of class meetings per week” will result in your final semester’s grade being dropped one letter. That is, if you have a 78 “C” for your final grade, but you have missed more than the allotted classes, you will have earned a 68 “D” in the class by having missed too many. If you have more than the allotted absences, it will be impossible for you to get an “A” in the course.
At my discretion, I may assign a failing grade if absences exceed twice the number of class meetings per week.
There are no “excused absences” in my class, but you are allowed to miss 3 hours — no questions asked, nor explanations needed — before your grade suffers. I am aware that extenuating circumstances will sometimes catch us off guard. If something happens, communication is the key between a passing grade and a failure. Talk with me if something happens.
Remember: the only thing that counts here is the physical presence of a body in class; excuses will not help this measurable fact at all. It is your responsibility to discover what was missed in class and any assignments. Quizzes and in-class activities cannot be made up for any reason.
