I have a similar policy to Beth’s, but it’s really about cell phone control.
They are allowed up to 3 absences for TTh classes and 4 absences for MWF classes, I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused. Obviously, exceptional circumstances occur and are allowed. A student was called up for National Guard duty (Baltimore Protests) and missed some classes. I will not be penalizing him for the ’National Guard Absences'. After the allowed absences, their ‘attendance and professional behavior’ grade begins to drop proportionally. It is worth about 10% of their grade. Other things that count as simple absences: Emails that are grammatically incomprehensible or lack the course number in the subject line, telephone messages that do not provide sufficient context for me to interpret the issue, phone calls in which the student forgets to tell me their name and what class they are in. How this ties into cell phones. If I see a student’s cell phone they are counted as absent that day. I just mark it on the roll and it is tallied in a special column on our LMS grade book. I don’t call them out, I just note it on my roll and tally it. All cell phone absences count against attendance and professional behavior grade, there is no 3 freebie allowance. I see between zero and 3 cell phones while lecturing in each class each semester. Modal number is probably 1. At the start of the semester there is no ‘cell phone absence column’. When a student gets caught, the column appears and the whole class knows that at least one student has been docked points for their cell phone being seen. Because, I care about the distraction of cell phones, but I don’t actually care much about absences (hence not distinguishing excused from unexcused). After all, they are grown ups and part of life is making prioritizing judgements in a variety of situations. The price I pay for caring about cell phones is that I have to act like I care about absences. Paul Paul C Bernhardt, Ph.D. Guild 215 301-687-4410 Office Hours for Spring 2015 M 12:30-1:30; T 3:30-4:30; WF 3:00-4:30 Schedule meetings anytime via https://drbernhardt.youcanbook.me On May 11, 2015, at 9:52 PM, John Kulig <ku...@mail.plymouth.edu<mailto:ku...@mail.plymouth.edu>> wrote: I got a lot of flat tires this semester, plus a few of personal issues as well .. Thanks Beth for nudging me into thinking about an attendance policy for next fall (I try to write syllabi at the end of every semester). Beth's post is also interesting as we teach at the same institution and PSU has a policy that distinguishes excused from no excused absences but the definition of 'excused' is a little vague. Besides the usual college sponsored events and death in family, our policy makes reference to unusual circumstances which opens the door for interpretation .. By the way, IMO Beth's students tell her why they are absent because she is a very popular and personable instructor ... ========================== John W. Kulig, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Coordinator, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 ========================== ________________________________ From: "Beth Benoit" <beth.ben...@gmail.com<mailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com>> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu>> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2015 07:15:53 PM Subject: Re: [tips] Student excuses Mine seem to always have a "personal issue." Clearly, that covers anything and everything. I have a blanket two absences only rule. They don't need to tell me what their "personal issue" is (though they usually do, for some reason...I guess hoping I'll extend the number of absences they're allowed, though I almost never do) and I suggest they save those two for emergencies. If they miss a test (I give four throughout the semester), they take a makeup on the day of the final. Beth Benoit On Mon, May 11, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Tim Shearon <tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu<mailto:tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu>> wrote: Robin Mine seem to have hard disk crashes very frequently during the end of term (I've been putting warnings about backing up and keeping hard copies of each draft for some time). But is it just me or do more Grandfathers seem to be dying all of a sudden? Tim -----Original Message----- From: Robin Musselman [mailto:rmussel...@lccc.edu<mailto:rmussel...@lccc.edu>] Sent: Monday, May 11, 2015 4:38 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Student excuses Talking to a colleague today about student excuses and I mentioned that dead grandmothers have been replaced by.....? I'm fairly certain the substitute was mentioned on this list, but I just can't remember. Anyone who can help me? 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