Updated 3.25.20
(copy and post in your updated syllabus and course communications)
The Interim Attendance Policy remains in effect, and students are required to attend the course according to how each instructor defines attendance in their on-line course syllabus. There are no "excused" online class meetings or coursework activities in any College course when courses are online. In the virtual environment, attendance is based on some form of weekly contact between you and your faculty and/or the completion of your assigned coursework each week by the assigned date. Faculty will clearly communicate what counts as participation and attendance.
*Instructors should add here what type of online contact (e.g., synchronous or asynchronous, ZOOM participation, the completion of coursework each week by a specified due date, or another form) will count as attendance in their course.*
Contact your instructor immediately, and ideally in advance, if you are not able to attend a synchronous class or meet the week’s assignment.
If you become ill or for any other emergency reason are unable to complete your assignments by the deadline, please contact your instructor immediately. No doctor’s note or evidence of emergency is needed, but you must contact your instructor, preferably in advance.
(note: the following are guidelines for you as the instructor - this is not a policy to post in your syllabus. The template for your syllabus is titled Syllabus Template for the Attendance Policy and posted at the top of this page)
The Interim Attendance Policy will remain in effect, but we advise the following adjustments to accommodate online learning:
We recommend basing grades solely on the work completed, not on attendance. However, we recommend making attendance mandatory (while remaining flexible). What does that mean? It means that you should have an attendance expectation, but in the current circumstances, be willing to work with students so that they can complete the course work.
In the on-line environment, it is important to establish a mandatory form of attendance to ensure students are engaged regularly. What changes is what counts as “being present”. Since some students have gone home, some to the other side of the planet, you may now have students all over the world. This makes synchronous expectations complicated and you may decide, instead, to create asynchronous lectures/demos to accommodate all students. You should discuss this with your chair/assistant chair.
Here are some asynchronous (not in real time) ways to take attendance:
Attendance can be based on the completion of at least one coursework item each virtual week by the specified due date.
Attendance can be based on some form of weekly contact with the student, like a check-in email.
If you meet synchronously (in real time) via ZOOM and use ZOOM participation as a basis for attendance, please schedule your meetings during your regular class hours. Students will need to be negotiating schedules for various classes and this will help avoid conflicts.
How can you be flexible for students who cannot attend at the time you instruct? We HIGHLY recommend that you record the in-person ZOOM session so that the absent students can catch up on the session. The TLC can help you learn how to record your ZOOM sessions.
Ask students to contact you in advance if they are not able to attend class or meet the week’s assignment. This contact can also be used to establish attendance for the week.
If a student in your class is ill or for any other emergency reason unable to complete their assignments by the deadline, please accommodate the student so that they can recover and complete their assignment when they are able. This may require that you extend deadlines or even adjust the nature of the assignments due to the extent and duration of illness or emergency. No doctor’s note or evidence of emergency is needed, just notification from the student, preferably in advance. Please notify your Chair if any students are in this situation. Also, if you have no contact from a student for two consecutive weeks, please report that to your department.