When creating a classroom environment, college professors often times consider material that will add value for students after graduation, both in their personal and professional lives.
Students are tested and evaluated on this material regardless of whether or not their class content pertains to them or adds value to their lives.
Yet, one of the areas that continues to go under-assessed and under-evaluated quite often is the aspect of classroom attendance.
The challenge of class attendance is one that both professors and students will dually note exists in many undergraduate courses.
Often times the only factor that separates the incoming freshmen who stay from the ones who leave is their attendance record.
Many students fail out of college without attending enough class sessions to know what topics were even covered, and this includes courses that have no attendance points attached to their scoring.
The key importance of emphasizing classroom attendance is the emphasis on consistency.
Corporate America and other institutions do not reward workers who have talent but fail to show up to meetings or collaborate with others.
Corporations reward consistency and good work quality.
As one corporate employee I know put it, “showing up at 8 a.m. in the morning and being here 5 days a week puts most new employees out of college into shell shock.”
It’s important to note that lecture halls present a challenge for faculty to keep track of attendance.
But even in today’s smart phone era, lecture hall courses don’t suffice as a valid excuse given that faculty can use smart phone apps like Top Hat that ask questions relevant to an actual presence in the classroom.
Faculty who choose not to take attendance are simply reiterating the lack of importance it has for students moving forward in their careers.
The cold hard truth does exist that professors’ primary duties are to instruct and advise, not to take attendance.
While this notion is true, it’s important to note that without attendance policies or incentives in place, students will fail to grasp one of the key components to success in their professional lives— simply showing up.
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