Absences and Tardiness

General Policies

The ideal, of course, is perfect attendance: on time and every time. As a friend of mine says, “You can’t get hit by the train unless you are on the tracks.” Here, in detail, is my attendance policy. You should consider this an extension of the course syllabus.

1. Attendance is required. It is not optional unless a specific statement in the course schedule says so. If you have not received an official notice from the university, assume that our class is meeting three days per week.
2. The distinction between excused and unexcused absence is at the instructor’s discretion. Do inform me if you have an emergency that keeps you from coming to class. Do not assume I will simply give an excused absence to everyone who fails to show up.
3. If you are between 5 and 15 minutes late, you get partial credit for attending. If you are sleeping in class, playing on your phone, or doing homework for another course, you get a very tiny amount of credit for showing up (because we have your body but not your mind).
   • If you are so lost in your phone that you cannot answer when I call roll, you are absent.
   • Athletes have a habit of wandering in and out of the room to use the toilet, etc. Use the toilet and text your friends before class starts. After the first “wander” of the semester, you will be counted late each time you do it.
4. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you are marked absent.
5. I always have a few students with “issues” or a “condition” or problems at home that can only be solved by the student taking a week or two to intervene. These are not necessarily excused absences, and you should be aware that every absence increases your chance of failing your courses. If you have “issues” or a “condition” that make class attendance impossible, I strongly urge you to visit the Counseling Service to find help.
6. Everyone deserves a few days when life just didn’t work, so I will not count one week’s worth of unexcused absences when I am calculating grades; beyond that one week, however, your final grade will suffer.
7. Even if you are absent, all assigned work is still due.
8. If you are absent on a day that we have an in-class quiz or test, you receive a zero. There are ordinarily no make-ups.
9. I do not give extra credit work.

Special for Athletes

• Traveling with the team.
  • Yes, you have excused absences for all those times the team is on the road. You must actually bring the paperwork from the coach. A verbal announcement from another team member isn’t enough.
  • No, that doesn’t mean that you are excused from all English classes for the semester. You actually do have to attend all class meetings unless the team is on the road.
• Weight room.
  • If you show up between 5 and 15 minutes after the start of class, you will be marked late (even if it was because you were taking a shower). If you are more than 15 minutes late, you are absent.
  • If the coach says that you need to lift more, that’s not necessarily an excused absence from our class—especially if the plan is for you to miss several class sessions. If you think the coach wants you to miss several English classes for the sake of the weight room, I want a written request from the coach, which I will discuss with my supervisor AND you will be responsible for all work during your weightlifting “vacation.”
    • Note: Your coach understands the priorities of Ashland University: You are a student first. Your coach is very unlikely to ask you to take an extended vacation from English class to hit the weight room.