The Problem with Required Attendance

Here at GBC, a vast majority of classes have a three absence policy, in which students can miss three individual classes before their absence affects his or her grade.  The College handbook states that “attendance at all classes is an essential part of (Gettysburg’s) academic purpose and clearly the responsibility of the individual student.” Ultimately, absentee policies are determined on a case-by-case basis by the individual professor, who has the jurisdiction to contact Academic Advising should an issue of excessive absence occur.  

In short:  for the most part; you can miss three class periods maximum for an individual course, and you, the student, are responsible for any and all missed work.  This is pretty commonplace and amounts to an average allowance of 7% of class periods to be missed—a pretty generous offer, really. 

However, this issue has been under debate for years, for good reason.  There’s no question that attendance is important to academic success.  But, in the modern era of an emphasis on self-care (and a critical emphasis, at that), this prominence of being in class is troublesome.  

One in every four college students suffers from mental illness like anxiety and depression.  Approximately 17% of college-aged people suffer from a chronic illness, ranging from asthma to diabetes.  While there is no doubting the importance of attending class, there comes a point in these cases where the student has to choose between her wellbeing and her grade.  This is far from beneficial, in any respect.

Ideally, every student could attend every class—it’s unquestionable that regular attendance is key to doing the best possible work.  But this is not an ideal world.  People get sick;  for chronic conditions, they get sick regularly.  

If you’re lucky enough to avoid one of these ailments, you could still run into issues:  say you get the flu and need to miss multiple classes.  With your immune system compromised, and the tendency of germs to spread vastly on campus, you can easily get another illness after.  If you’ve already missed your allotted number of classes, there is enormous pressure to go to class now, despite being sick.  In the case of the flu, this aids in the spread and makes even more people susceptible.  

Where chronic illness is concerned, this is an ongoing battle.  Chronic means it isn’t going away.  If you’re having an anxiety attack, the last thing you should be doing is sitting in a lecture.  If you’re in vast amounts of pain from lupus, the last place you should be is in a classroom.  

Required attendance keeps students from missing class because they “don’t feel like it.”  That’s absolutely okay and should be enforced.   At the same time, however, exceptions should be made when it goes so far beyond “not feeling like it.”  

There’s a fine line between toughing through it and taking care of yourself when necessary.   Class is important, but so are you.  If you’re struggling, talk to your professors.  Talk to Disability Services, or Academic Advising. Take a deep breath and stay strong. 

Sources: 

http://college.usatoday.com/2012/03/25/should-class-attendance-be-mandatory-students-professors-say-no/  http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/college_life/srr/student_handbook/policy-details.dot?id=0792495f-605b-4d9f-8fe1-f0d356c29a19 http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/college-students http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/managing-chronic-disease-at-college

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• chronic illness
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• Gettysburg College
• policies
• sickness