When it comes to attendance I can honestly say that I have never had perfect attendance for anything in my entire life. Unless of course you count attending my warm cozy bed, then I have some record high numbers.
I started college when only a couple people had a smart phone. The iPhone did not come out until 2007 and was extremely expensive. My cell phone was a, “slider.” I actually had an upgrade my freshman year and got a new side flip phone with a Qwerty keyboard, aka I was fancy. Using the internet was not hooking onto the wifi it used data. Using that up was like asking for your parents to take away the emergency credit card.
The world now is at your fingertips and opportunities are all around you. This means anything that comes up can be considered a reason to miss. Yet skipping a class that you are paying thousands of dollars for is like throwing it in the trash. However so many students, myself included, continue to do it.
There are the unprepared moments, when you get a flat or your car will not start. The sick days, where I still do not get why people come in coughing and looking like death. You are now going to spread it, not only to your class but the ones following after that have to sit in the germ seat unaware. The tragedies, where you have lost a loved one or having a service in their honor. The joyful days, where your friend calls to tell you she is engaged or your sister just had her baby. The doctor visit days, when they say they have an opening now or three months from now, so you gotta take the now.
Finally, the most famous one of all, the hooky days. These have changed where it is not just the days that you are perfectly able to attend class but you decide to sleep, give yourself a personal day or go out with friends. The new trend is that you skip so you can finish that project that is due the class right after, or even have to skip the class because it was the only time a source was available to meet. You have to skip other classes to get an interview or research for a project. Projects have a set date and the research and interviews are the only way to produce them, a class you can find out the information but sources are not always available.
Regardless of the reasons that you have to skip, it happens on every college campus. There was a theatre professor at Shippensburg University, I will not reveal his name, that if you were not in the door at exactly 9 a.m. the doors were locked and the show had begun. You could not enter even if you were at the bottom of the steps. Not only was that a rule, but once you missed a class you went down a grade level, miss three and you are done, failed. Other teachers I have had explained there was no attendance policy and that the testing days were mandatory and that is all. I was able to get a lot out of the the class but it was computer science.
While at Delaware County Community College (DCCC) it all depends on the class and most importantly the professor you are taking as well. I know a friend who received an A in the class after missing over 15 classes, when we only met about 20 times. The professor said attendance was strictly enforced but the teacher knew the man was working and had several family issues. However, many students have struggles that they do not feel comfortable telling the professor that they were unable to make it for certain reasons.
Looking back at the reasonings to skip over the years I have done them all, even skipping so I could work for a friend who said she was sick. Yet it came to the point that I said yes, everyone has a choice. Everyone can choose to participate, or sit quietly in the back of the classroom. You can respect professors or think that they owe you a pat on the head and a medal even though the work was not up to the standards of the class. I believe that if there is progress, the student is capable of producing the work and have obviously grown as a student, then attendance should not reflect on them negatively.
While I do not believe it should affect a student negatively, I also do not believe that students should miss without having a valid reason. The student that is missing the class is losing out on the information that can help them grow and learn. This information can make an assignment drastically easier and can also make them fall behind on school work. In order to make dreams come true you have to put in the work. This goes for the sleepers in the back, you are not hiding and what is the point of coming if you do not plan to get anything out of it? There are plenty of sick and vacation days at work waiting for you after graduation. So that you can get there, do not use them all up now.
