Showing posts with label Absenteeism. Show all posts
Last Friday, I discussed my battles with absenteeism in the classroom. Not only do students suffer in their performance by missing class, but it creates more work for me in terms of time grading poor answers on exams.
Where absenteeism poses a particular problem beyond just missing class is when assignments are due or exams are scheduled. Students may have legitimate reasons for being absent; as a result, my policy takes into account three situations:
Homework
assignments, exams, or computer work will not be accepted after the dates and
times when due except from those persons:
(1) who must attend a required school-sanctioned event
(varsity sports, concert, etc.), and have provided me, one week before
the event, with a letter from the instructor, coach, etc., indicating the
reason such attendance is required.
(2) who are too ill to attend class when homework is due, or the exam is scheduled, and notify me
within 6 hours of the due date (i.e.,
no later than 3:00 p.m.). Further, you
have provided me, within one week after the illness, with a letter from an
appropriate health care professional describing the illness, and
its relevance to not meeting class requirements.
(3) who have a personal problem or confront an emergency
that prohibits them from attending class, contacted me within 6 hours of the emergency (i.e., no later
than 3:00 p.m.), and have provided me with a letter from a credible
authority, their academic advisor, or from the Dean verifying the personal
problem or emergency.
Situations arise during the course of the semester that will cause me to revisit the policy and make changes. Take this sterling example:
- A student commutes to class from his/her off-campus home. On the day an exam is scheduled, he/she e-mails me that his/her car has broken down and he/she will not be able to make it to class. Per the policy, I required a note from an appropriate party - in this case, the auto repair shop. The student provides the note, and I notice the home address of the student on the receipt. It turns out the student's "commute" was less than a mile from a campus, and he/she could have easily walked to class.
As always, the policy is a dynamic, not static, instrument, and students will find inventive ways to find loopholes. Sigh!
- One comment • Category: Absenteeism, excuses, HR, performance management
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Like most managers, I engage in a semester-long battle with absenteeism. I have the enviable position of teaching two sections of business statistics. Combine that with a time slot of 8:00 A.M. and/or 9:00 A.M., and you can envision the long waiting list of students at registration.
Students are over 18 and they're paying for the class, so why should I care whether or not they attend?
1) After 18 years of teaching, and thousands of data points collected, a clear picture emerges - attendance and doing one's homework matters. After every exam, I can see a clear correlation between amount of points earned on a chapter problem set and the subsequent exam score. At the end of the semester, I can see a clear correlation between points earned and a student's final grade. Similarly, attendance is a predictor of success in the class.
Over the past several semesters for a class that meets 4 times a week, 50 minutes a day, for 15 weeks:
*The average grade on a 4.0 scale for zero
absences: 3.21
*Average grade for 1 absence: 3.23
*Average grade for 2 absences: 3.08
*Average grade for 3 absences: 2.68
*Average grade for 4 absences: 2.30
*Average grade for 5 or more absences: 2.01
*Average grade for 8 or more absences: 1.67
*Average grade for 12 or more absences: 1.25
Shocking, I know.
2) Students often think professors revel in student's poor performance; that we want to force rank students into something resembling a normal curve. Here's the secret....we really don't. I'd much rather see success on exams than failure. As most managers know, giving quality feedback takes time. It is much, much easier to grade an exam where a student gets an answer correct, than when he or she has made a number of mistakes. A student's absence, more likely than not, means less success on an exam, and subsequently more work for me.
So, my attendance policy is a continual work in progress:
As
attendance is significantly correlated to performance, there is an expectation
you will be present for each class.
Unless your final grade is in the A range, the following penalties will
be assessed (except under extreme circumstances):
1-4 absences
– no penalty
5th
absence – 2 points
6th
absence – 4 points (for a total of 6 points lost)
7th
absence – 8 points (for a total of 14 points lost)
8th
absence – 16 points (for a total of 30 points lost)
9th
absence – 32 points (for a total of 62 points lost)
10th
absence – 64 points (for a total of 126 points lost)
11th
absence – 128 points (for a total of 254 points lost)
If you are
not present for 80% of the time class meets, it
will be considered an absence. I do not
distinguish between “excused” or “unexcused” absences. In essence, you have 4 absences to do with as
you please. However, if you burn them
early, and a situation arises later that might cause you to miss class, do not
expect a lot of sympathy from me.
I think that it provides significant flexibility (though students might think differently). Stuff happens during a semester - illness, job interviews, travel, car breaks down, a competing college-related event. Four absences (essentially a week of classes) should be sufficient to meet most circumstances that a student might face over the course of a semester. Similarly, the exponential penalties are significant enough to discourage more absences than that.
Yet, there are always new excuses and challenges that cause me to revise it yet again....but you'll have to wait until Monday to read about it.
So, have at it, people. What flaws do you see?
- 7 comments • Category: Absenteeism, HR, statistics, teaching
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