Recieving "NO PASS" because of absences

justtotalk
Mon, 17 May 2010 20:09:12 +0000

“Placing a cap on absences is not stupid. It prevents what otherwise happens too often in college courses -s tudents get in the habit of skipping then start to cry when they realize they’re getting bad grades on their papers and failing their finals and getting academic probation because they didn’t come to class.”

Plenty of students get very good grades even while missing several lectures. Students learn in many ways, and it should be their responsibility to figure out the best way for them to learn and to get a solid grade. Failing students for not showing up places 100% emphasis on class attendance. If you think attendance is vital for learning and that not showing up equals poor work ethic, then make class participation/attendance PART of the grade, not the sole determinant.

If the syllabus clearly states that >3 absences = fail, then he deserves to fail. That doesn’t mean we can’t question the rules on the syllabus. Sounds like a classic case of the professor overvaluing attendance as an indicator of work ethic or understanding.

This is not like employment, where the employer pays the employee to perform and show up. The student is paying the university, and the student needs to decide what they’re paying for. It’s the professor’s responsibility to identify who learned the material.