Class Attendance

Regular attendance and participation in class is critical to a student's success at Concordia College. Because any absence, excused or unexcused, detracts from the learning experience, students are expected to attend all classes. Concordia College also values the educational experience afforded by student participation in co-curricular activities. As a result, the following articulates a policy that encourages responsible decision-making on the part of coaches, directors, activity coordinators and students participating in co-curricular activities while also assuring that students are allowed participation in co-curricular activities. In the case of illness, the student should notify his/her instructor and the residence hall director. In the event of serious or extended illness, or family emergency, the Student Affairs Office should also be notified. Makeup work may be required for any absence. Students should note that their grade in a course may be affected by excessive absences.

Students who participate in college-sponsored activities (e.g. intercollegiate athletics, choral and instrumental groups, forensics, mock trial, Concordia Language Villages, and department-sponsored activities) should be notified by their coaches, directors, or activity coordinators of the dates of scheduled absences as early as possible. (This information should be available before students register for classes.) Students should notify their instructors of scheduled absences at the beginning of the semester, or as soon as that information is available to them.

Faculty and staff who are responsible for coaching, directing, or coordinating college-sponsored activities should provide students with the dates of scheduled absences as early as possible in the semester, and provide faculty with verified rosters and dates of scheduled absences at the earliest point possible. If exact dates are unavailable, the number of scheduled absences and their approximate dates should be provided. To the extent that coaches, directors and coordinators have control of the number of scheduled absences, they should be prudent in the number of absences they require of students.

In any class, under normal circumstances, students should not miss more than 10 percent of the total scheduled class periods because of a college-sponsored activity. If scheduled absences in a class will exceed 10 percent of class meetings, the faculty or staff member responsible for coaching, directing or coordinating the college-sponsored activity should submit the activity schedule to the Academic Procedures and Policies Committee for approval prior to the start of the semester (if possible). Decisions of the Academic Procedures and Policies Committee may be appealed to the dean of the College. If the schedule is approved, students should be allowed to complete missed work without penalty. Faculty will determine what kind of make-up work is required for absences, and whether the work is to be completed before the students' departure or upon their return. If class attendance is a factor in determining the final grade, the students should not be penalized for missing these classes. If class participation is a factor in determining the final grade, faculty should allow students to fulfill the participation requirement by some other means or at some other time.

If a student chooses to participate in more than one college-sponsored activity, and will miss more than 15 percent of the meetings in any class, that student should consult with his/her instructor as soon as he/she becomes aware of this situation. The student should recognize that a grade penalty may result from this number of absences.

Faculty or students should bring to the attention of the Committee on Academic Procedures and Policies any college-sponsored activity that, in their opinion, has scheduled an excessive number of absences. Programs that, in the opinion of the Committee, persist in over-scheduling, will be reported to the dean and the president.

It is the duty of each faculty member to meet all scheduled classes during the entire semester. If a faculty member must be absent, an arranged substitute should be considered. Legitimates reasons for missing a class include illness and professional travel.

Faculty members should keep attendance records and report excessive absences to the Student Affairs Office by use of the Academic Performance Notice, as well as confer directly with the student about absences. If a student quits coming to class and subsequently fails the course, the last date of attendance in the class must be reported to the Registrar's Office along with the final grade in the course.

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students