Attendance
Statement on Attendance
The classroom is the heart of the educational experience at Labouré College because it provides a formal setting for the important exchanges among professors and students. Regular and punctual attendance at all classes, essential for maximum academic achievement, is a major responsibility of Labouré College students. Absence affects the contributions one can make to the class environment. Whether in online, hybrid or traditional courses, absence significantly and demonstrably reduces the quality of the educational experience for everyone in the class. As a result, absences almost always impact the quality of performance.
As part of its commitment to a quality educational experience for all members of the Labouré community, the College formally requires specific attendance policies to be developed by its professors and reviewed by the Division Chairpersons, Dean, and Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). Any attendance policy used by an individual professor as a criterion for evaluation has to be specified in the course syllabus and presented to students during the first week of classes. These policies may include reasonable penalties for excessive absences.
In the event of prolonged illness, accident, or similar emergency, it is the responsibility of the student to notify the professor and to make up the work he/she may have missed during an absence from class. Students are directed to confer with their professors when their absences jeopardize satisfactory progress.
Whenever a professor is absent without notification, students are expected to wait fifteen minutes before leaving (or signing off) and to sign an attendance list, which a class member delivers to the Registrar's Office.
All Labouré College students are expected to attend and participate in enrolled courses. While absences are discouraged, the College understands that students may occasionally have a legitimate reason to miss a class. Legitimate reasons for missing class may include medical, family illness or death, and unforeseen circumstances such as a car accident. Students will assume full responsibility for submitting any missed assignments due to an absence, at the discretion of the professor.
Professors are required to record and submit attendance. Official attendance will be taken by the professor and reported to the Registrar's Office three times each semester. The first report will be the first day of class during the second week of class after the add/drop (adjustment) period - this will also become the census data for the course. The second report will be the second week of class. The third report will be at or before the 50% mark of the semester - for 15-week courses, this will be Week 7, and for 7-week courses, this will be Week 3. Hybrid and online courses must be able to verify attendance through an early assignment, and/or participation post. It may become necessary for a professor to confirm a last date of attendance at any point in the semester.
It will be at the professor's discretion how attendance and academic participation are tracked during non-attendance reporting weeks. Professors may opt to continue to take attendance, use submitted assignments, or use other ways of tracking student participation in a course. Academic participation does not have to be reported during non-attendance-reporting weeks, but may be used to calculate a student's last day of attendance if he/she withdraws.
Academic participation and/or attendance requirements for students should be clearly defined in the syllabus for students to read. If a professor notices that a student has not participated in class (in any way the instructor defines) for two or more weeks, then it is the professor's responsibility to create an Early Alert for the Student Success Center and the Registrar's Office. An academic advisor should then reach out to the student to ascertain whether the student will be returning to class - if the professor allows - or withdrawing from the course. This is also an opportunity to reach out to the student to see if other services are needed by the student. If a student does not respond back to the academic advisor within one week, the student will be withdrawn from the course.
Students must notify the Registrar's Office in writing of their intention to drop any course(s) prior to the published last day to withdraw from courses to avoid a failing grade for the course. Tuition refunds depend on the refund policy, not the withdrawal deadline. The last day to withdraw for each semester is published in the Academic Calendar. Withdrawal requests can be emailed to registrar@laboure.edu.
Financial Aid Implication
When a student withdraws from a course, the Department of Financial Aid is responsible for completing a calculation (called a Return to Title IV or R2T4). The calculation determines how much federal aid (including grants and loans) the student may keep. The percentage of the semester completed drives the calculation, so a correct last day of attendance is important. If a student completes 10% of the course, then they keep 10% of their federal aid; if they complete 50%, then they keep 50% of their aid. Once a student has completed at least 60% of the scheduled semester, they keep 100% of their federal aid.
To be compliant with federal guidelines, the calculation must be completed within 30 days of the date the school determines the student last attended. It is important that instructors create - and academic advisors follow up on - Early Alerts in a timely manner if a student is not attending class or submitting required assignments.