Â鶹´«Ã½

In summary, Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s course attendance procedure states

1. Federal and state laws require that the university and faculty members communicate attendance expectations to students, and that students follow the expectations outlined by faculty. 
2. At the discretion of the course faculty, an absence from a class meeting or required participation in an online course may be excused for the following reasons:  
   1. Religious holidays, including travel for that purpose (it shall be the responsibility of the student to provide the instructor with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which they will be absent, ordinarily within the first ten business days of the semester). 
   2. Approved University functions (participation in activities or organizations which represent the University). 
   3. Students with a separation from campus determination under Procedure 3220 – Student Well-Being and Safety Review, may not attend class until authorized by the Dean of Students (or designee). 
   4. Death or major illness in student’s immediate family 
   5. Illness of a dependent.  
   6. Participation in any legal proceeding requiring student’s presence. 
   7. Injury or illness.   
3. If student absence for injury or illness requires documentation, instructors should ask students to send documentation to the Â鶹´«Ã½ Cares office, who protect student privacy and tell instructors if the documentation is a) valid, and b) falls within protected legal cases or is at the instructor’s discretion to handle. Faculty should not request or receive medical records, doctor notes, or other confidential student information.
4. Faculty have discretion at handling student absences except in two cases as prescribed by law: active military service and pregnancy/childbirth. In all other cases, faculty have full discretion about how to allow (or not allow) making up missed work and/or applying penalties in accordance with their syllabus attendance statement.
5. Faculty and students should review grading policies and course withdrawal procedures within the first few days of every academic term.

Tracking student attendance is important to meet federal and state guidelines.  Additionally, taking attendance lets students know that attendance matters and faculty value knowing students are in class. Attendance records are useful when poor academic performance is related to absences and disengagement. 

Faculty may track student attendance using the Blackboard attendance tool or other convenient method.  To track participation in an online course, deploy Statistics Tracking on items in your Blackboard course and use .

Faculty will report student attendance early in the semester as part of the academic engagement verification program from the Office of Financial Aid. Attendance and academic progress are measured with the mid-semester progress check.  When student issues arise, attendance information may be requested.  

Students who are pregnant may not be penalized for absences. Faculty should be familiar with appropriate .

Students who are actively serving in the military may not be penalized for absences. Faculty should be familiar with appropriate . 

Some students with disabilities may require when enforcing attendance policies.  The Learning Access Program is available to provide guidance.

If students express circumstances impacting their attendance and academic performance, refer to appropriate . The Osprey Navigate platform will assist with connecting students to Â鶹´«Ã½ resources.

For students facing an extended absence, it is important to review relevant procedures to drop or withdrawal from a course, consider a leave of absence, or request an incomplete grade.

Under appropriate circumstances, faculty may choose to facilitate course participation remotely or with a modified schedule.  The Center for Teaching & Learning Design (CTLD) offers information about planning for alternate course delivery. Faculty may contact CTLD staff to discuss strategies to enable student participation during an extended absence.

Faculty will follow the attendance and leave procedure to address a faculty absence (Faculty/Staff Absence Form). When faculty are absent from class, it may be possible to continue student learning as discussed with the Dean.  The following document offers some suggestions to continue student learning during a faculty absence.

1. Individual faculty guided by University, school, or program guidelines determine the policy on class attendance. Faculty attendance policies are expected to hold students to a high standard of performance while being fair, consistent, compassionate, and aligned with University’s policy and procedures.
2. Your course attendance policy must be clearly stated on the syllabus. To address any issues, the syllabus policy is used to adjudicate a problem. A sample syllabus is provided by the CTLD that can be modified to meet the needs of your course.
3. Use your attendance policy statement to incentivize students to attend class or participate online.  The type of policy developed depends on many factors.  This document can assist you in thinking through your attendance policy and how attendance might impact the final student grade.
4. Students should be permitted to make up examinations or class work missed because of illness, mandatory religious obligations, certain University activities, or unavoidable circumstances. An attendance policy should provide options for making up missed exams or class activities due to one of these excused absences. 
5. There are special attendance guidelines for students who are or on . Students who are pregnant or actively serving in the military may not