A typical high school student spends the majority of each weekday attending class, beginning in the morning and continuing until the mid-afternoon. The schedule may vary a bit from one day to the next, but each day is built around a consistent routine from which it is difficult to deviate without intervention from parents, teachers, or administrators. Missing a class in high school generates a phone call or an email to make sure the student stays on track, and repeated absences can have severe consequences.
In college, as in high school, students are still expected to attend class regularly, but the schedule can vary greatly from one day to the next. Many students are glad to have the opportunity to build a schedule themselves, selecting class times in the afternoon or early evening for instance if they are not “morning people.” But it also takes a great deal of organization and self motivation on the part of the student to get where he or she needs to be at any point in time.
Contrary to some images you may have seen in movies and TV shows about the college experience, faculty do notice when students do not show up to class at CI. This is especially true for our composition courses. With no more than 20 students in a classroom, an instructor will quickly notice who is missing and often have to adjust plans for that class meeting accordingly. Since we spend no more than 2 1/2 hours a week meeting with our students face to face, we faculty count on our students to be there and make good use of that time.
We do understand that illness and other circumstances can interfere with a student’s attendance. In these situations, it is the student’s responsibility to exercise agency and communicate with the instructor as soon as possible, preferably in advance. A student should not just wait to hear from the instructor.
Imagine if you made plans to go to a movie with a friend and had already bought tickets. What if your friend failed to show up and made no effort to get in touch? You’d probably be upset, maybe even worried, and definitely annoyed. In social situations, as well as in the workplace, the expectation is that we communicate with someone if we not going to be able to make it. The same is true in CI’s composition classes.
Consistent attendance is so vital to student success in our program that we have made it a requirement for being able to pass our classes. Failure to attend class regularly is the number one reason that students do not complete their first year writing requirement. Doing well in this program begins with making the choice to show up.
