Attendance
Statement on Attendance
The classroom is the heart of the educational experience at Labouré College of Healthcare 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 of Healthcare 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 and Student Affairs (VPASA). 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 they 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 Office of the Registrar.
All Labouré College of Healthcare 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. These absences will be considered excused. Students will assume full responsibility for submitting any missed assignments due to an excused 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 Office of the Registrar 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.
Professors must be able to verify attendance through physical or virtual meeting attendance, assignments, and/or participation in the course. It may become necessary to confirm the 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 the student 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 during the first week (add/drop period), then it is the professor's responsibility to reach out to the student to ascertain whether the student intends to remain in the class or if they wish to be dropped. In the event that the student does not respond to this communication, the professor will alert the Office of the Registrar to administratively drop the student from the class.
If a professor notices that a student has not participated in class two or more weeks, then it is the professor's responsibility to create an Early Alert (EASTR) for the Student Success Center in addition to reporting the habitual non-attendance to the Office of the Registrar.
Financial Aid Implication
When a student withdraws from a course, the Financial Aid Office 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.