"Hetzel, Rod" wrote: > I'm in the process of developing syllabi for next semester and wanted to > raise once again the issue of attendance policies. In my previous > academic position I never had much difficulty with classroom attendance.
Obvioualy, I cannot speak to the culture at your institution. I have never incorporated attendance requirements into my marking schemes. The students paid for the course. If they think they can do well in the course (whatever level they consider "well" to be) while not coming to class, then they are free to try. Sometime I give them a warning that it will be difficult to do well without comint to class because material will be presented (in lecture or discussion) that will be difficult to obtain in other ways. Obviously if there is a participation or lab component to the grade, they will be unable to get credit for that if they do not attend, but I do not make it explicitly an attendance mark. Some people who come to class get zero for participation because they sit there like stones. On a more "psychological" note, giving marks for attendance leads student to come to class because they were "made to," rather than learning that there are certain responsibilities they must accept themselves in order to get where they want to go. Finally, having no explicit attendance mark will save you a ton of paperwork and wasted "course administration" time. Best, -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 phone: 416-736-5115 ext.66164 fax: 416-736-5814 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
