Having To Attend Class: Question

[MrsSeptemberPenguin]

Yes, I hate that. I am paying them to teach me and while I don't necessarily mind them asking questions the people who answer should volunteer themselves and not be voluteered by the prof. If you don't know the answer it can be rather embarassing to have to say so in front of the whole class

 

[22smsbears]

So do you like the fact that some teachers base some of our grades (if not a lot) on class participation? Does this bother anyone else but me? I mean, I'm a good student. I get good grades. I pay them to teach me...so..why should my grades fall because I can't always make it to class? Does this bother anyone else?

I am SO glad you brought this up!...I think it is the WORST thing that teachers can do!..I mean i realize what they are trying to accomplish...But we are all adults and we are paying for it..so if we choose not to go then we should be allowed to...I mean personally i like going to class and learn better for doing so..but at the same time if i am sick..i should not be punish..and if there is a class where showing up does not benifit you because the teacher only reads the book that you....Well then i should be allowed to read it on my own and just show up on test day if i want to...It is an unfair practice that should be done away with...and i know that some people say well it is an easy way to get points..but if they just make the class worth more because of them..which is normally what they do..it is not REALLY helping you..

 

[oncewaslost]

i lose about $600 every class i skip. i can't afford to do that. it's a waste of money. besides, credit for attendence is easy credit. all you have to do is show up.

 

[AuburnMeg]

I've seen some interesting points in this thread.

I've always been a little annoyed by professors who make going to class mandatory. I'm the type who can skip class and still do well because I'm able to easily grasp most concepts. I go to class when I know I need to, and that's about it. It really depends on the class though. For instance, I had one class this past semester where the professor simply read from a powerpoint presentation that he also posted online. There was no elaboration on anything at all. In cases like that, I really do not see the point in attending lecture if I know I'll do the required assignments outside of class. I also had a Lit. class where even though class discussion and attendance wasn't required, I went to regularly - for the simple reason that the professor was passionate about what she was teaching. When the person teaching finds the material interesting, I'm much more likely to be interested in coming to class.

Hmm..that's my rambling anyway, lol.

 

[Music4Hym777]

I despise it when teachers dock points for attendance. I think that yes, there can be stuff that only you can get from class....but to dock solely on attendance is not a good idea.

My fiance's cousin died in March of 2005 unexpectedly. My fiance didn't get a chance to go through the grieving process or be with his family at that time...he took the day of the funeral off, but other than that he was too afraid of teachers docking his grades, so he forced himself to class. It was hard

This semester I got sick with a severe viral illness and was in the hospital and on bed rest for about two weeks. Because of this I failed my Greek class because the teacher said that more than four absences would not be allowed. I thought it was rediculous considering I was in the HOSPITAL (like literally on life support, the only way they kept me alive was by giving me everything interveniously, I couldn't even drink water!). I was doing quite well in the class before then (a "B").

Then one of my friends and I took a Religion Course together and she just refused to show up ("oh I decided to sleep in" or "I was talking to my boyfriend"), she passed the class with a "D", but she got what she deserved, if it would have been my Greek class that she was taking she would have been out of there!

I think that grades should be what you deserve. If professors put stuff from class only on the test, I am fine with that, but they shouldn't dock points for having to miss class (yes, both my fiance and I had written documentation about our absences, but the teachers didn't care).

 

[JonF]

In almost all my classes the only thing professors grade is test, and quizzes. Sometimes a professor gets crazy and grades a little homework too. But attendance or participation aren’t even usually considered.

 

[oncewaslost]

I despise it when teachers dock points for attendance. I think that yes, there can be stuff that only you can get from class....but to dock solely on attendance is not a good idea.

My fiance's cousin died in March of 2005 unexpectedly. My fiance didn't get a chance to go through the grieving process or be with his family at that time...he took the day of the funeral off, but other than that he was too afraid of teachers docking his grades, so he forced himself to class. It was hard

This semester I got sick with a severe viral illness and was in the hospital and on bed rest for about two weeks. Because of this I failed my Greek class because the teacher said that more than four absences would not be allowed. I thought it was rediculous considering I was in the HOSPITAL (like literally on life support, the only way they kept me alive was by giving me everything interveniously, I couldn't even drink water!). I was doing quite well in the class before then (a "B").

Then one of my friends and I took a Religion Course together and she just refused to show up ("oh I decided to sleep in" or "I was talking to my boyfriend"), she passed the class with a "D", but she got what she deserved, if it would have been my Greek class that she was taking she would have been out of there!

I think that grades should be what you deserve. If professors put stuff from class only on the test, I am fine with that, but they shouldn't dock points for having to miss class (yes, both my fiance and I had written documentation about our absences, but the teachers didn't care).

i'm sorry to hear that. my grandfather passed away over thanksgiving and the funeral was the week after but i decided not to attend since flights were almost impossible to get on and the end of the semester was near. anyway, i do know that if i had taken a few days off the profs would have been understanding and i would've been excused. i just had to talk to them outside of class. it's different everywhere.

 

[ZACTAK]

Personally, since the student is paying for the services I think that it should be up to them on whether or not they want to attend the class. I don't think professors should have an attendance policy.

 

[CandleLightSky]

I guess it's not such a bad rule except when you have 535 people in your class...I hope they don't do participation in those classes. It seems kind of conceited to say since I'm paying them I don't have to participate just get good grades- though those are good too. Overall class participation is a good thing but I don't see how it's reasonable in some of the huge classes I have.

 

[ZACTAK]

One of my professors last semester made the excuse that we only pay for about 1/3 of our tuition, the rest is paid for through taxes, and that is why he takes points off for attendance. That might be a good policy, if it wasn't for the fact that I think most people would rather a person get a good grade in a class by earning it than a person getting points taken away for not coming to class. If I would have gotten a bad grade in his class because of attendance, I would have had to repeat the course, making tax payers pay more money!

 

[blitz576]

Yeah, I've experienced Professors from both ends of the spectrum this year.

In Engineering they were really strict about attendance. aka they docked 1% off our final grade for every class we missed. They even gave us "quizzes" in lectures for attendance check.

On the other hand my calc teacher applauded us everytime we came to class saying something to the effect of "Wow I'm impressed so many people are here for a 9am class. I myself didn't go to a single calc class my freshman year."

I definetly didn't like being forced to every single engy class. But at the same time I ended up with an A in engy and a C in calc...

 

[JonF]

I think lower division is different. I mean lower division is all about being forced to do things you don’t want to do anyways. But I haven’t had an upper division/grad class where attendance really mattered much towards the final grade. But, there were several classes where if you missed a couple days you might as well just drop.

 

[Timmothy]

yeah that drives me crazy

 

[Moluku]

The attendance bit bothers me when your grade will solely ride on attendance and the remainder of your work is a fraction of the percentage. But attendance is proof to your professors that your willing to put in the work not only outside the classroom, but inside it as well. Yes, your professors are being paid basically by your tuition, but it is also their job to show up on the appointed days. And as a student, it is our job to attend class to understand the material and learn from the in-class experience.

 

[bliz]

My daughter is a culinary major and courses run for 9 6 hour days or 22 6 hour days. (And you thought a 90 minute lecture was long!) For each course you are allowed to miss one class. If you miss a second class, you flunk the course and must retake it. You also do not have the right to be admitted to class when you are late - it's the prof's call. If you are "out of uniform", which can mean a spot on your pants or you did not iron your jacket well enough or your finger nails are too long or you are wearing make up or perfume, or you don't have every tool in your knife kit, you can be kicked out of class which counts as a missed class. (Chef's give students some leeway on the first day becasue each chef has different standards for nail length, etc.) Morning classes begin at 7 AM.

When she has a term of academic classes, it's like being on vacation!

 

[fishstix]

I think lower division is different. I mean lower division is all about being forced to do things you don’t want to do anyways. But I haven’t had an upper division/grad class where attendance really mattered much towards the final grade. But, there were several classes where if you missed a couple days you might as well just drop.

Of course, in grad classes there is often a lot more emphasis on class discussion, at least in my experience. Rather than just listening to lectures in class and taking notes, we were required to have read journal articles before class and have something to say on whatever we were supposed to be learning about. And no, these weren't philosophical discussions. The grad classes I've taken towards my M.Sc. were generally a lot smaller than undergrad classes, which meant that the profs got to know each and every student and it was very easy to tell if someone wasn't there. And if we missed a class or a lab, we would then also miss the information required to write up the lab. Thus, while attendance wasn't taken directly, it certainly had an effect on how well one would likely do in the class.