Students struggle daily, choosing between taking care of themselves or showing up to class just to get credit for attendance. Instructors can hold absences over students’ heads without considering their health or mental well being. Mandatory attendance is harmful and can negatively impact students’ learning.
Education should focus on learning, not on attendance. Policies that treat the physical presence of a student as what matters most in the classroom and don’t consider the effects on students.
Unlike many professors who enforce strict attendance policies, Carolyn Coberly, a professor in political science at NC State does not make attendance compulsory in her courses, allowing students to take responsibility for their work while prioritizing their mental health.
“Essentially, it’s about respect for students’ time,” said Coberly. “Students have busy schedules, just like we all do. Everybody gets sick or has personal crises from time to time, and making it easier for students to manage those things is what I’m interested in.”
Mandatory attendance can negatively shape overall learning and what students ultimately gain from the class, but it doesn’t mean participation isn’t valuable.
“When [students are experiencing stress] it’s really important, I believe, for faculty to be flexible and understanding,” Coberly said. “But it’s also important for students to remember that there is a reason why your professor has set up your class in a specific way, and it’s good to be respectful.”
But this respect is gained through creating an intentional and engaging classroom environment. Optional attendance relieves students of unnecessary stress and challenges teachers in beneficial ways.
“Rather than focusing on who’s not here and making coming [to class] mandatory, I try to incentivize attendance,” said Coberly. “I think of class activities, or even sometimes graded elements that provide students a reason to come, which forces me into teaching styles that are more interesting and engaging for students in general.”
If students think they need thorough proof for why they’re absent in class, it can add additional work for both students and faculty. When an instructor requires verification for students’ absences, the process can be time consuming for both parties.
“I will get a lot of emails from students who provide me with lots of detailed documentation on when they had to miss class, and I’m like, ‘you really don’t have to, it’s okay’,” said Coberly. “”That is burdensome for a student, and ends up being slightly burdensome for me as well.”
Attendance policies can cause students to pick class over their mental well being and even put them in unfair positions where they have to pick class over other important responsibilities. These attendance policies tend to ignore the many ways students are impacted beyond the classroom.
A learning environment works best when teachers respect students and see them as responsible adults who are capable of time management. Although course participation is important, teachers should prioritize meaningful engagement by designing classes students actually want to attend, rather than forcing them to show up.
