Students at Kennesaw State often feel a sense of dread when they hear during syllabus day that the professor uses an attendance policy. Contrary to this collective feeling, these policies often benefit students by improving their grades, setting up a structured learning environment and improving class quality.
The percentage of class attendance rates are directly correlated with class grades and GPA, according to a study done at the University of Washington. It is also true that classes with an attendance policy have a significantly higher rate of attendance than classes without them.
Students who passed their class with an A attended the class about 80 percent of the time, according to the same study. In contrast, students who made a D or an F missed more than 50 percent of the class. The study also noted that as courses got harder and into their upper-level requirements, the courses required more attendance and participation to make a passing grade.
The main controversy surrounding the KSU attendance policy is a lack of consistency. Because professors are left to come up with their own attendance policies, according to the university website, some policies are punitive while others are often fairly generous in the number of days one is allowed to miss before being penalized.
As a result of these conflicting policies, some instructors at KSU have attendance policies that reward students for attending class. Instructors will add bonus points to final grades at the end of the semester, as long as students stay below a certain threshold of absences. Depending on the policy, students can often learn to leverage each professor’s policy to their own benefit.
Attendance policies help keep students on a routine and force them to stick to a schedule, which creates good habits that will benefit them later on in a professional environment. These policies make it clear what the professor expects of their students and sets the tone for the rest of the semester, much like the professional work environment after college, according to Insight.
“It puts me on campus and encourages me to stay and do more work,” sophomore public relations major Lauren Barr said.
In upper-level courses, class size tends to be significantly smaller than general education lecture-style classes, which enables professors to interact with their classes more. These upper-level classes require participation to function and need students to show up. Attendance policies act as insurance to guarantee that these courses have enough students attending and participating in order to function properly.
Students are paying thousands of dollars every year for their classes, and they should take full advantage of every opportunity they have to learn. One can make the argument that students can pass a class without having to go.
While that may be true, professors typically lecture over significantly more material than what is simply within the course guidelines. By ensuring that students come to class, they end up learning more than they would if they were to simply study out of the textbook.
So the next time students consider sleeping through their 8 a.m. class, they should remember that showing up is in their own best interest.
