Mandatory attendance policies are ineffective in college. The most important theory of higher education is that it is a means to improve our lives and further our future. Creating a mandatory attendance policy decreases the value of a college education and takes away personal student responsibility.
The beautiful thing about college is the value of a college education. Cornerstone University published an article over the cost of not going to college that stated that 72% of millennials ages 25-32 say their degree has already paid off. It is undoubtedly beneficial to traditional and non-traditional students alike.
The information taught in a college course is valuable simply because it’s a choice made by each and every one of us to further our education. Our future is on us. Therefore, it is our responsibility to show up to class for the information. It is not the colleges duty to make sure you personally get educated-nor is it your parents, your friends or anyone but yourself. That is what makes successful people: self-motivation and determination.
An attendance policy takes away that value. Forcing every student to show up only creates reluctance. After all, what’s the point of learning to be tested on your knowledge and understanding if you’re actually graded for your time?
A study done by the University of Albany states that “mandatory-attendance systems have a relatively little positive effect on average grades.” If they are already not showing up to class, then they are already missing valuable information for their grade.
Losing points for attendance is only going to let it suffer even more. In the event of an actual emergency, possibly regarding personal reasons or health reasons, it forces students to make a difficult moral choice-their family at that time, or not losing points.
In just the past couple years, Crowder has implemented its own attendance policy. The policy states, “If a student does not attend a seated course or fails to participate in an online course for fourteen consecutive calendar days, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course.” Overall, this is a decent policy that allows for room of error but also holds students accountable. However, students are still docked points for attendance.
Many studies have been done to prove that higher grades are supported by high attendance. However, this is not always necessarily true. Paying attention in class, taking notes, and actively participating are all ways to improve grades. If the course is interesting and showing up to class is valuable to the student for their education, then they will be there. If the student is genuinely there to learn, they will be there.
The lack of an attendance policy also allows professors a bit of self-assessment. It allows the professors to see where their courses aren’t engaging, or if they aren’t using the allotted class time wisely. It also lets professors teach the students that WANT to show up and learn.
There are many ways to raise attendance than to mandate that we show up. One option would be to give the students an option between policies-for example, a policy that rewarded them the more they show up vs. a policy that didn’t hurt them extra if they didn’t. Giving the students that freedom of choice would give the element of control back to the student.
The idea of a mandatory attendance policy sounds like a great way to motivate college students to come to class. However, it has a negative effect on learning and self-motivation. The mandatory attendance policy should be taken out of colleges to improve grades and retain the value of a college education.
Leave a Reply