First day absences no more

     During the first days of classes each semester, some student don’t really want to be there. The professors will hand out syllabi, go over a few things and maybe have everyone perform the dreaded introductions. Then the professor will dismiss class with little accomplished.
     Skipping the first days of classes is an appealing idea; sometimes even a flawless one. Other times, classes actually get a wise jump-start on the semester and students end up missing out by missing class.
     The professors are catching on to student no-shows and the 2009-2010 school year may prove to do something about it.
     Dr. Jan Flynn is a professor of business and management classes at GCSU. She deals first hand with student no-shows and is on the Academic Policy Committee (APC). The committee is heading the idea for a stricter policy to counteract absences during the first few days of each new semester.
     “What we’re looking at right now is just to try and get a sense of is it an issue, and how big of an issue is it,” Flynn said. “From our perspective here in the School of Business, we’ve been doing some talking about the fact that we seem to be having more and more students who just don’t show up on the first day of classes.”
     The APC is nowhere near setting an exact policy guideline, but the topic is a major point of concern.
     The current policy is a vague one. According to Kay Anderson at the Office of the Registrar, the policy says that professors may drop students from their class if they do not show up during the first week. Professors are able to drop students due to excessive absences, and each professor defines their own idea of what “excessive” amounts to.
     “Of course, you’d have to do something fairly for the students who register late,” Anderson said.
     The current policy requires professors to report absences not for consequential purposes but for financial aid purposes.
     “It’s a control measure for making sure they are not giving financial aid to those that are not in class,” Flynn said.
     The issue with student no-shows is that class space is in high demand at GCSU. If students are not taking their spot in a class seriously, some think it should be taken away from that student and given to another who was not able to get into it.
     “For me the driving factor in this is the fact that we are seeing a growing number of students just simply not showing up the first day of class,” she said. “We are also seeing a bigger pinch in availability of seats in classes.”
     The mindset for many students will immediately take offense to any policy that punishes a tuition-paying student from not attending classes.
     “This whole ‘Reason, Respect, Responsibility’ that we preach around here, well, the responsibility is to understand the implications of your actions,” Flynn said. “Yes, you have the rights to sign up for the class, and one of your responsibilities is to be there, because if you’re not there, your actions affect a number of people.”
     The job of the APC, right now, is to assess the issue and see if it is large enough to do something about. The committee will also look at other universities’ attendance policies.
     “Certainly nothing will happen until next year (if at all),” Flynn said. “We’re just not in any position to make any decision at this point. We don’t have the data (and) we don’t have the information.”
     Flynn said that, before any policy is put into place, student input will definitely be heard. The APC and the University Senate will also consider any possible downsides to a new policy. Flynn is optimistic about the idea of a change in policy.
     “My instincts tell me that it’s reasonable, but again, I think there has to be some discussion about (the possible) downsides to it and the downside for me is I can appreciate the position of a student who says, ‘It’s my choice whether I want to come back to school or not,’” she said. “Over the course of the next year, we will see if it makes any sense for us.”
     In the mean time, students may want to reconsider vacations that extend into the school year and instead, start off the semester ready to study.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 14 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry