Attendance

The purpose of the university’s attendance policy is to help students develop a self-directed, professional attitude toward their studies and maximize their educational opportunities. Regular class attendance provides fundamental educational value and offers the most effective means to gain command of the course concepts and materials. 

Students are expected to attend all classes regardless of modality (in-person, virtual and hybrid), arrive on time and remain for the entire class period, and report to class fully prepared with all required materials. To meet these expectations, students must arrange course schedules that minimize conflict with other commitments, including personal commitments, work, or participation in athletics or other university-sanctioned events. When students encounter difficulty meeting these requirements, they must actively engage their faculty member to discuss the concern.  The university does not issue excused absences from class and students must contact their course instructor directly to discuss past or future absences.  

Undergraduate Academic Courses 1000 & 2000 Level Courses: Excessive absences in certain courses plays in the calculation of the final grade for each course and may result in withdrawal from the individual course.   

  • Excessive absences in a full-semester (two-days a week) course on the eighth absence will result in a referral to the College Dean’s Office and required engagement with Academic Success Center.  On the eleventh absence the student will be reminded of their attendance requirement and shared student success resources and course withdrawal link.   

  • Excessive absences in a full-semester (one-day a week) course on the fourth absence will result in a referral to the College Dean’s Office and required engagement with Academic Success Center.  On the fifth absence the student will be reminded of their attendance requirement and shared student success resources and course withdrawal link.   

  • Excessive absences in a course that does not run for the full semester course on the third absence will result in a referral to the College Dean’s Office and required engagement with Academic Success Center.  On the fourth absence the student will be reminded of their attendance requirement and shared student success resources and course withdrawal link.   

Undergraduate 3000 and 4000 level courses, all Graduate, Doctoral and English as a Second Language courses:  Individual faculty define the specific role that class attendance plays in the calculation of final grades for each course. Additionally, excessive absences in certain courses may result in withdrawal from the course at the instructor’s discretion. Students should consult the course syllabus and course instructor for specific faculty policies on attendance and make-up work within a course. Student Academic Services does not issue excused absences from class. Students must contact their course instructor directly to discuss past or future absences. Please refer to Class Absences for more information about absences from class due to illness or fatigue. 

For the purposes of financial aid and verification of enrollment, a student is considered enrolled in semester courses by the census date if they are in attendance by the end of the add/drop period: for College of Food Innovation & Technology (laboratory courses) by Thursday of week 1 and for all academic courses and academic laboratory courses by Thursday of week 2. For online courses, a student is considered enrolled by the census date if they complete the first stated assignment or activity by the due date. 

If students do not meet these criteria, they will be withdrawn without academic penalty from the course (i.e., as never attended) and, when appropriate, issued a tuition adjustment in accordance with the Tuition and Fees Credit Policy. 

It is the student’s responsibility to notify Student Academic Services and Student Financial Services of any courses that they wish to drop from their schedule, as well as any intent to leave the university. Discontinuing attendance or notifying an instructor does not constitute an official course or university withdrawal.  

Semester Attendance for the College of Food Innovation & Technology Laboratory and Academic Laboratory Courses: The laboratory classes are professionally focused, skill-oriented learning experiences. The daily exercises in each lab are unique and build upon learning from lecture portion of the courses. Students must attend every class to maximize their educational opportunities. Since hands-on tasks are integral to skill development and course understanding, is a significant part of the laboratory grade depends on students attending class and being fully engaged in the individual and/or team assignments of a particular lab. Excessive absences in a laboratory course will result in a grade reduction and/or the student being withdrawn from the course.   

Excessive absences in a lab is more than one class day. If a second absence occurs, there will be a 10% reduction in the final grade average. On the third absences, the student will be withdrawn from the lab course and the student will need to reschedule the lab course at a future date/semester. This encompasses all labs in the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Engineering & Design, and College of Health & Wellness that have a separate lab component alongside a lecture. For labs within the College of Food Innovation & Technology, upon a second absence, there will be a 10% reduction in the final production grade average; and upon a third absence, the student will be withdrawn from the lab course and must reschedule the course for a future date/semester. Student engagement/attendance begins on day one of the course and students are held accountable for all missed courses during add/drop period.  

Internships 

Attendance policies for internships are quite strict and intended to help students transition into the working world. Students are expected to adhere to the attendance policy and semester dates as outlined in the Student Guide to Internship online. 

Online, Hybrid and Self-paced Courses 

Students are expected to meet stated due dates and/or meeting requirements as provided by the faculty member at the beginning of each course. Students confirm enrollment by submitting the first graded assignment in the initial two weeks of the course. 

Participation in Athletics or Other University-sanctioned Events 

Students participating in university-sanctioned events, including, but not limited to, athletics (games and related travel), student government, student organizations, etc., on occasion may have to miss class. Students must notify the faculty member in advance of the missed class. Any student who misses class for this reason should not be penalized and any work should be allowed to be made up in a timely fashion as discussed between the faculty and the student. Students in this situation are responsible for all material missed in class. Student-athletes are not allowed to miss class for practice. Occasionally the dates and/or times of events may change and these changes are beyond the student's control. The student must notify faculty immediately should such a change occur. 

Illness- and Injury-related Class Absences Due to Participation in University-sanctioned Events 

Students adversely affected by illness and injury due to participation in a university-sanctioned event will be allowed to make up all necessary work without prejudice to the extent reasonably possible (by way of example, in certain classes, such as labs, make ups may not be reasonably possible, and a student with more than the permitted absences may be required to take the class in a subsequent semester). Students must notify their faculty of any such issue as soon as reasonably possible and work with such faculty on an appropriate solution to the extent reasonably possible; if a possible disability is involved, students should contact accessibility services.