There are many reasons why college classes are better than high school classes.
A challenging pace, in-depth course material and meaningful lectures are all reasons to prefer collegiate learning. However, there are some issues with strict, unforgiving attendance policies that drag students” grades down, even when their absences are excused.
Tess Fox
Argonaut
Students pay a lot of money to take their classes, so they might as well go. There”s a saying that for every time a student misses a lecture, they are tossing $50 in the garbage.
While I don”t know if that number is the hard and fast rule, I do agree that some amount of money is being flushed by not going to class. Plus, when a student misses class they lose points that impact their final grade.
Even in lecture classes of 100 or more people, like my Psychology 101 class, students are graded on participation. Whether it”s a seating chart or clicker questions, professors find ways to grade students on attendance.
As someone who experiences incredible guilt when I don”t go to class, this is great. As students, it”s our job to show up for the classes we”ve committed to. So why shouldn”t I be rewarded?
Some of my peers feel that the points are demeaning. In high school, most teachers gave five to 10 points per class period. College professors seem to do the same thing. In some classes, a failing participation grade can sink a student”s grade enough that they fail the course. But if a student doesn”t care about their education enough that they don”t go to class, maybe they shouldn”t be in college. That being said, some attendance policies are too strict and fail to allow students some flexibility.
In my art classes, after three absences, whether it”s excused or unexcused, my grade drops a full letter. Even with 100 percent in the class, my four excused absences would give me a “B.” This seems a little extreme.
Before spring break I was really sick and missed almost a full week of school, which was two days in my drawing class. Over spring break, I had my wisdom teeth taken out. After returning to Moscow, I spent another three or four days out of class.
I”ve missed four classes in my drawing class, which means I am at risk of finishing with a lower grade than I deserve. I had a doctor”s note for each one. I was not out on the town grabbing coffee with friends. I was at home, either throwing up or in massive amounts of pain, and my grades are being penalized. My grade won”t be lowered because of my work in the class. I have received between 80 and 95 percent on the three projects completed in the class.
College is a giant petri dish of people, places and germs. Even if I wash my hands every other hour, I”d probably still get sick. The sheer amount of people I come into contact with every day would ensure I fall ill at least once a semester. Not to mention that having wisdom teeth removed is a typical surgery to have at 19. Professors should understand these concepts.
I understand where the policy comes from. Art classes are similar to science labs, where if a student misses a day, it can be detrimental to their progress on the current project. However, surgery and major illnesses – or excused absences of any kind – should not be reasons to give students lower grades. It”s too harsh a policy.
These strict attendance policies don”t just show up in the art department. They can be seen across campus. My past and current lecture classes give three excused or unexcused absences before points are deducted from the overall grade.
In this case, it is a matter of five to 10 points being deducted. Unless I”m sitting on the cusp of an “A” or “B” grade, five points won”t matter a whole lot in the long run. But an entire grade drop? That”s going to hurt my GPA for no good reason.
As someone who has been known to prioritize mental and physical health as well as other obligations over class, I can”t say it”s wrong to skip class every so often. I always try to keep my absences under the allowed amount. And when I do decide to blow off a class for an assignment, I make every effort to follow up with my professors. I calculate the points I”d miss and make sure that it won”t affect my grade.
I”m smart about my absences, because I know the value of being in the classroom. When I undergo a routine surgery or catch a common illness, my grade shouldn”t be penalized. These attendance policies punish students with legitimate reasons to be absent from class.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos