Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s just me never getting to class on time and feeling like I’m one panicked heartbeat away from yet another tardy which turns into the inevitable “third-strike” unexcused absence. Weigh that on top of the long walk of shame to your designated desk at the front of the class and you have the makings of a frustrated college student on the verge of tears and a lowering grade.
We’ve all been there, being late to class or just skipping because the “real world” grabs you by the neck and drags you off campus from time to time. Unfortunately for NSU students, it seems like we’re a part of one of the few universities who monitor our classroom attendance like overbearing mothers.
Typically, there is a three-strikes-and-you’re-out rule embedded onto syllabi campus-wide regarding attendance. My question is, why? I mean I understand you need to be in class to learn but I have had my share of classes where my presence within the classroom was well, unnecessary.
Think about it. Some professors are ordering a student to commute (yes, in this scenario the student is a commuter) x amount of minutes/hours to get to campus, hunt for a parking spot, and rush over to their class just to sit mindlessly for an hour and 45 minutes (or more, ever had a four hour class like this?) watching the professor read off of a PowerPoint — which was mailed to the class earlier that day. Ugh.
Rather than demand reimbursement for their gas and time, the NSU student takes it all in stride — before venting on Facebook. Many other universities tend to not care whether or not a student appears in class, which of course means that their absence wouldn’t affect their grade. Students are typically graded on their academic work. I think it’s called, being treated like an, what’s the word…adult?
I think that as long as a student completes their work it shouldn’t matter if they have unexcused absences. Personally, if I were a professor I would make it clear to the student from the get-go that their work is up to them to complete and should they miss class it is his or hers duty to get the notes, review the textbook or what have you. Why else am I buying that $200 book?
To corrupt a student’s final grade based on their attendance when they have completed their assignments seems absurd to me. Granted, this hasn’t happened to me yet, but the thought always haunts me. I hate it when paranoia kicks in around finals and I have to struggle to remember which days I missed and pray they don’t add up to “30 percent of your grade will be deducted”.
“It seems like you should just take online classes then.” Well, no, not necessarily. Not every course is available online for one and I really don’t suggest students spend more time glued to their laptops.
Having a student learn to be responsible for their actions, their education and the quality of their work is invaluable and this childish “absence/tardy” nonsense really needs to find its way back to high school and die there.
Let the students handle their coursework, manage their time and build themselves. Giving them penalties on anything other than their assignments is not the way to go. It hinders the student and ruins the whole college experience. The idea is to “grow up”, right? So let them.
