Attendance—Undergraduate

Class Attendance

Given the demands of the college's degree and certificate programs, the amount of material covered in classes, and the nature of the curriculum, students are required to arrive on time and remain in class for all class sessions. Students who miss more than a specific number of classes within a course will automatically fail that course and must repeat the entire course or apply for Consideration for Special Circumstances. A student who fails a course will not be permitted to continue attending the course.  Faculty members may have additional information on the syllabus regarding missing assigned coursework and quizzes/tests. Students are responsible for identifying any specific requirements for each class based on their instructor’s guidance.

Missing Classes

If a student is absent for a class in which daily participation is graded, the student will receive a grade of zero for that class. Students who miss the specified number of classes in a course taught in a classroom setting (as described below) shall automatically fail that course and will have to retake it.

Attendance for online courses is determined by the student's participation in the course activities and by meeting the submission deadlines as defined within the individual course syllabus. Simply logging onto a course is not evidence of attendance. A student is considered for attendance when actively participating in the academic activities of the course. Active participation is defined as, but not limited to, the following:

• Submission of an assignment or an exam
• Substantive comments on course reading material
• Activity in an interactive resource
• Contributions toward a class discussion or within a study group
• E-mail or other documentation demonstrating that the student initiated contact with the instructor regarding course materials or assignments

* Including kitchen, bakeshop, restaurant, culinary science lab, or wines courses meeting for any amount less than a full 15-week semester.

# Two classes in a 1.5-credit lecture course that meets eight or fewer times.

‡ Hybrid courses meet for in-class and online learning sessions. Students are expected to be engaged in the online portion of the course and to follow the attendance policy for fully online courses. Students are also expected to attend the in-person classes and to follow the attendance policy for missing classes as outline in the chart. If a student does not satisfy the attendance requirements for the online portion of the hybrid course the student will be at risk for failing the course even if they attend the in-person classes. If a student completes the online assignments and is following the online attendance policy but fails to attend the in-person classes, the student will be at risk for failing the course.

Religious Holidays/Military Reservist Duty

Students who are observing a religious holiday or have required military reservist duty that coincides with regularly scheduled class days are excused for that time. In such cases, students can be excused for no more than two days of that class and will be held accountable for information they missed. If students need to take more than two days for religious or military service reasons or have any unexcused absences, they may be required to withdraw from the course. As a participant in religious or military reservist activities, students will not be academically penalized for missing class. Students are encouraged to advise the faculty as soon as possible.

Consideration for Special Circumstances

Depending on the nature of the situation and the academic circumstances a student who has exceeded the maximum number of absences may request consideration for special circumstances by completing the following form:

Requesting Consideration for Special Circumstances - Formstack

Special Circumstances include the following reasons:

• Severe medical or psychological issues. Original documentation is required from a United States practicing physician. The documentation must include the diagnosis and treatment recommendation and/or disability documentation.
• Hospitalization required. Documentation is required.
• Bereavement: In the event of a death of the student’s immediate family member (Parent, Stepparent, Sibling, Child, Spouse, Grandparent or Grandchild), the student must provide validating documentation.
• College Sponsored Event/Competition Participation: Based on the courses selected above, the student must get written confirmation of participation from each school dean or branch campus directors.