Attendance & Punctuality

Class Attendance and Participation

A significant educational experience consists of more than merely assimilating information. Each class session is a valuable opportunity to develop important skills, e.g. communication skills. The focus of group attention on the topic, intellectual discussion, participation in question and answer periods, and small group projects —all these elements combine to make each class session an enjoyable and valuable learning experience. Faculty place as much value on what students experience in each class as on the information they gain. For these reasons, attendance at every class and full participation in all aspects of the assigned curriculum are required.

Punctuality

Because every minute of learning time in each class is precious, great emphasis is placed on students being on time to every class. Most faculty will reduce a student’s grade if the student is repeatedly late.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend and participate in all classes, except when they are sick or have a family emergency or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. There are no “personal days” during academic blocks, and taking a class day off for other reasons will usually lead to a reduced final grade. Students should be especially vigilant with respect to days before or after holiday breaks. Such missed days are not considered excused absences.

Students who miss more than two sessions for a l-credit course, four sessions for a 2-credit course, or six sessions for a 4-credit course, or the equivalent, for any or no reason, will not be given credit for the course.

Excused absences

If a student must miss more than two sessions for a l-credit course, four sessions for a 2-credit course, six sessions for a 4-credit course, or eight sessions for a 6-credit course due to illness or family emergency, he or she will most likely be asked to withdraw from the course.
An Associate Dean of Students is notified by the instructor in these situations. If a student has special circumstances justifying continued participation in a class in which he or she has exceeded the allowable absences, the student will need to submit a petition to the Academic Standards Committee, which will determine if the student is allowed to continue.

In the case of illness, students must notify their faculty immediately by email or telephone, and may be required to have the illness confirmed in writing by the MIU Campus Nurse or a licensed health care professional. In the case of a family emergency, students should notify their faculty or a member of the Department of Student Life. If students do not notify their professor of the reasons for their absence, the faculty will presume that the absence is unexcused.

Unexcused absences

Repeated unexcused absences are a violation of the Code of Student Behavior in addition to leading to a reduced grade. In addition to academic consequences, students with repeated unexcused absences are subject to the following actions.

If a student misses six sessions of a 6-week class, four sessions of a 4-week class, or 2 sessions of a 2-week class for reasons other than the allowable sickness or family emergency, the student will be placed on Attendance Alert 1. If the student then has another unexcused absence in that class, the student will be invited to a conference with an Associate or Assistant Dean of Students, who will place the student on Attendance Alert 2. If a student on Attendance Alert 2 misses yet another class without proper excuse, the Associate Dean of Students will call a Student Support Meeting, which may include further remedial action.

Because of the importance of the first lesson of each course, students are expected to be present from the first lesson onward. Any student not present when the course instructor calls roll on the first day (except for such compelling reasons as illness or family emergency) may be asked to withdraw from the course.