Attendance: frequently asked questions

• How and why do you factor attendance into my grade?
• How many ``free'' absences do I have?
• Do you take attendance the day before a holiday (like Thanksgiving or Spring Break)?
• What if I'm late to class?
• At what time do you take attendance?
• Why is it so important to be on time?
• Is it possible for me to be present but get marked absent?
• If I'm just barely late and I tell you afterwards, why won't you mark me present?
• What if I belong to a team or club that requires me to miss some quiz days?
• What if I'm late because I have a class far away?
• What if I'm late because the teacher of my previous class runs over?
• What if I'm late because of a test the previous period?
• What if I'm late because of undocumentable circumstances beyond my control, such as a bus being late?

How and why do you factor attendance into my grade?

Attendance is factored in only indirectly, and non-punitively. If your attendance is good enough, I will drop your worst quiz. To qualify for this drop, you have to have no more than a certain number of absences, as specified in the syllabus, for the whole semester. If you have more than this number of absences, but can document that all of these were for valid reasons, such as illness, I'll excuse your absences and drop your worst quiz. If you have more than this number of absences, and any of them is unexcused, I won't drop a quiz.

I do this to encourage attendance. Before I ever implemented an attendance policy I did a statistical analysis of several hundred of my students and found that good attendance correlated strongly with good grades. Probably this is because most students learn something in class, but I don't want to penalize anyone who can learn the material without coming to class. Therefore students with poor attendance receive no grade penalty; they simply don't get to drop a quiz. This is fair: if you think you can learn the material without coming to class, I only ask that you prove it to me on quizzes and exams. There is no grade penalty for poor attendance (unless of course you miss quizzes or exams).

Also, students who come to class regularly and on time are exposed to more material than I can test (final exams would have to be far longer than two hours to be truly comprehensive). The quiz-dropping bonus additionally reflects my belief that these students have learned more than students who missed classes but still did equally well on exams.

How many ``free'' absences do I have?

None. I expect you to be in class every day for which you do not have a valid excuse. However, I am willing to assume that your first three absences are for valid reasons without your having to show me any documentation, provided you have no other absences. Do not mistakenly think this means you have three ``free'' absences! Example: Early in the semester you miss a class to study for an exam in another class, or to go home to see your family. Later in the semester an illness or family emergency requires you to miss three more classes. Because you now have four absences, one of which is unexcused, you are ineligible to drop a quiz.

Do you take attendance the day before a holiday (like Thanksgiving or Spring Break)?

Yes. The day before a holiday is not a holiday. I pace my lectures on the assumption that everyone will attend class every day except scheduled UF holidays, barring illness, family emergencies, and the like.

What if I'm late to class?

Being late counts as being absent.

At what time do you take attendance?

I usually start taking attendance a little bit before the bell rings (assuming the bell is working), and end a little bit after it rings. I never mark you absent if you arrive by the bell; I always do a ``last call'' after the bell rings before I begin lecturing. To be marked present, you have to arrive before I start lecturing (which will be as soon as possible after the bell).

Why is it so important to be on time?

• Partly because of the layout of the Little Hall classrooms, students who arrive late inevitably disrupt their classmates and disturb the flow of the lecture.

• If you miss the groundwork I lay in the first few minutes, the rest of the lecture may not make much sense to you.

If I'm just barely late and I tell you afterwards, why won't you mark me present?

• The line between on-time and late has to be drawn somewhere. Wherever it's drawn, there will be students who arrive just barely too late.

• In semesters in which I've given a grace period, too many students habitually showed up late, defeating the purpose of the attendance policy--to encourage students to remain in class for the whole period and to pay attention to the lecture.

• While the majority of students are honest, it is an unfortunate fact that some students will say they arrived sooner than they did. This puts me in the position of being a policeman and judge, rather than a teacher. Please remember that the attendance policy is not punitive ; it simply encourages attendance by giving a bonus to students with good enough attendance. If you are unable to qualify for this bonus, you can still do as well as anyone else--by showing that you didn't need to be on time in order to do well on the quizzes.

Is it possible for me to be present but get marked absent?

Yes, if your behavior defeats the purpose of the attendance policy, which is to encourage students to remain in class for the whole period and to pay attention to the lecture. Certain classroom behavior during my lectures will result in my counting you as absent, even if you were present when I took attendance. Such behaviors include, but are not limited to:

• arriving to class late
• leaving class early
• reading the Alligator or working on the crossword puzzle
• working on homework for this or any other class
• studying for an exam in another class

What if I belong to a team or club that requires me to miss some quiz days?

Even if you miss several quizzes, you can still qualify for the attendance bonus if all your absences are excused. To make sure I count your team/club absences as excused, obtain from your coach or faculty advisor a schedule of when your team/club activity will require you to miss class, and within the first two weeks of class bring this schedule to me along with the coach/advisor's contact information. (If you cannot obtain the schedule that early, just bring me the coach/advisor's contact information.) On a case-by-case basis, I will decide if and how to modify the attendance/quiz policy for you, to make sure that you don't get a 0 averaged into your quiz grade because of a team/club event.

What if I'm late because I have a class far away?

The (non-punitive!) attendance policy still applies to you. To increase your chances of qualifying for the quiz drop, consider getting a bike, rollerblades, etc. When you sign up for a class at that meets at a particular time, you are implicitly promising to be there at that time. If you find this burdensome, you may wish to consider rescheduling this class or one of your others.

What if I'm late because the teacher of my previous class runs over?

This counts as an excused absence if I can verify that this is what happened. Please give me the name of your teacher. I will ask him or her not to run over in the future.

What if I'm late because of a test the previous period?

Let me know in advance that you are going to have a test. When you receive the graded test back, show it to me, and I will count your lateness as an excused absence. (This is not a ``free'' absence-- see How many ``free'' absences do I have? )

What if I'm late because of undocumentable circumstances beyond my control, such as a bus being late?

This is already factored into the attendance policy. It's the reason that you're allowed some unexcused absences without losing your eligibility for the quiz-dropping bonus.