Class Attendance and Unexcused Absences Policy

Class Attendance Rule

All students are required to be present for all class meetings of any course for which they are enrolled. Students are responsible for learning about, becoming knowledgeable of and complying with the attendance policy stated in the catalog and/or faculty syllabus. Faculty members will provide details on the rules for attendance in their classes in their course syllabi. Faculty members will keep students’ attendance records.

Record keeping: A record of excused and unexcused absences will be maintained by faculty member. When requested by the student, teachers will inform the student who has been absent whether make-up work is allowed and whether absences jeopardize the student’s standing in a class.

Makeup Work: Students missing work due to an excused absence bear the responsibility of informing the instruction about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence and of making up the missed work. The instructor shall give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or the exams missed due to an excused absence, and shall do so during the semester in which the absence occurred. The method of making up this work shall be determined by the faculty member. If a student has an excused absence on a day when a quiz is given, the instructor may deny permission for a makeup exam and simply calculate the student’s grade on the basis of the remaining requirements. The faculty member should discuss the decision with the student.

Excused absences (mandatory): Student must be granted absences whenever they are representing the University in an official capacity and has been granted permission by the Office the University’s top Academic Office (Provost). Students are responsible for all work missed while representing the University. Students are responsible for requesting makeup work when they return. Faculty members shall work with students that miss course work while representing the University.

Excused absences (discretionary): Students are responsible for providing the faculty member reason(s) for his or her absence. The faculty member then determines the validity of the reason(s) for the absence and whether the student is to be excused for the absence. Faculty members will consider the following reasons for absence as excusable: verified illness; death in a student’s immediate family; obligation of a student at legal proceedings in fulfilling responsibility as a citizen; major religious holidays, and others determined by individual faculty to be excusable (e.g., elective University activities, etc). Appeals can be made through normal administrative channels.

Sanction for non-attendance: Within the first 20 days of a class, a student may be dropped from the course after accumulating absences in excess of 10 percent of the total hours of instruction (lecture and/or lab). Class absences will be recorded and counted only from the actual day of enrollment for the individual student in that specific class. For example: For a three credit-hour lecture class meeting three hours per week (48 hours of instruction), a student can be dropped after six hours of absence.
For a four credit-hour lecture/lab course meeting six hours per week (96 hours of instruction), a student can be dropped after 12 hours of absence.
Departments and programs governed by accreditation or certification standards may have different attendance policies.

Drop Procedure: Administrative drops are at the discretion of the instructor. Failure to withdraw officially may result in a grade of F in the course. Students who wish to drop a course or withdraw from the university are responsible for initiating this action. It is the prerogative of the faculty to drop students from courses in which they have accrued excessive absences. In such cases, faculty recommends through the department head to the appropriate college dean that a student be dropped from a class. The faculty member will document absences and will make a reasonable effort to communicate with the student prior to initiating the drop. If approved, the college dean will forward the recommendation to the Registrar’s Office.

Withdrawal due to excessive absences: If attendance is required or serves as a criterion for a grade in a course, and if a student has excused absences in excess of one-fifth of the class contact hours for that course, a student shall have the right to petition for a “W”, and faculty member may require the student to petition for a “W” or take an “I” in the course.

Test responsible students: Students who fail any part of the Placement Test are required by the State of Texas to attend remediation. The Test responsible students who do not attend remediation and tutorials will be withdrawn from the university.

Juniors and Seniors Attendance Rule: For students who are classified as juniors or seniors, the following rule applies: A student is encouraged to attend classes regularly and he or she has the responsibility for performance of the work of the course, including the taking of examinations at the time they are administered to the entire class. A student must complete all classroom assignments even though he or she might not have been in class when the assignment was made. Instructors are not obligated to give any “make-up work.” The student must realize that while absence from class itself is not justification for receiving a failing grade in a course, missing tests or assignments due to absences from class is a legitimate cause for failure.

Attendance as part of the grade: Faculty members shall not count attendance for more that 10 percent of the grade in the case of juniors and seniors or 5% of the grade for freshman and sophomore students. If a student believes the final grade is unfairly impacted by attendance requirements, an appeal can be made.