Louis Arokiasamy

ISDL 885
High Impact Paper
November 19, 2017

Class Attendance

Class attendance is critical for student success. Having an attendance policy is important for all college
students, but this is particularly important for students who are at risk of dropping out. Students (or
anyone for that matter) can come up with myriad reasons to not go to class. Studies have shown that
having an attendance policy does motivate students to attend class (Chenneville & Jordan, 2008).
Conversely, studies have also shown the adverse effects of not attending class regularly (Chenneville &
Jordan, 2008). Some may argue that the old logic “if students aren’t present, they aren’t learning” is a
little outdated, especially with the availability of technology that can mitigate some of the effects of
non-attendance. Despite the wonders of technology, human motivation is still very much the same.

The Scope of the Plan

This is a plan designed to improve attendance in the English Language Institute (ELI) at Ferris State
University. The ELI provides English Language Instruction for international students who don’t have the
requisite language score such as TOEFL or IELTS, and who are admitted conditionally into the
university—the condition being that these students will enroll in the ELI to bring up their language
proficiency. Many of the international students come from countries where the educational culture
emphasizes on passing exams and not on attendance. Hence, the necessity of an attendance plan.

The Plan

 The ELI faculty members will develop the attendance policy collectively, and all members will
enforce the policy.
 The faculty members will include the attendance policy in their syllabi and go over the policy
during the first week of class. They also provide the detailed dismissal and appeal of the
dismissal policy.
 Students will sign a form indicating that they have thoroughly understood the attendance policy.
 Faculty members will remind students about the attendance policy at midterm as a refresher.
 Attendance will be recorded in a shared folder that is accessible to all faculty and the ELI’s
Academic Coordinator.
 If a student is absent and doesn’t inform the instructor about the absence, the instructor will
send the student an email on the very same day, even informing what the student had missed.
 The attendance policy will allow for 15% absence during the semester; thus, eliminating the
need to differentiate excused and unexcused absences. This will also take care of those times
when the student absolutely can’t make it to class.
 If a student is absent for two days consecutively, they will be referred to the Academic
Coordinator (AC) by the instructors. The AC will talk to the student to determine the reasons for
the absence and counsel them.
 If a student exceeds the 15% absence limit, they will have to meet with the Dismissal Appeals
Committee consisting of a faculty member, the AC, and the Chair of the ELI. Prior to the
meeting, the student will provide a written explanation for the absences; the classroom
instructor will also provide a report as to the student’s conduct in class and their attitude
towards attendance. The instructor can also weigh in if the student should be granted leniency.
Using this information, the committee will decide if the student should be dismissed or not.

Barriers to Successful Implementation of the Plan

The success of the plan hinges on all faculty members implementing the attendance policy
consistently. The faculty members should also display a caring attitude towards the students,
such as following up with an email on the very day the student was absent.

The Academic Coordinator also plays an important role in following up promptly with the
student that has been referred for counseling.

Finally, the Dismissal Appeal Committee should be fair, consistent, and timely in its decision-
making.

If any one of the three actions above are not carried out consistently, the plan could unravel.

Reference

Chenneville, T. and Jordon, C. (2008). Impact of attendance policies on course attendance

among college students. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol. 8, No. 3,
October 2008. pp. 29 - 35.