New Faculty Senate Policy Allows Required Attendance

A new class attendance policy that gives faculty the flexibility to require students to be present for all classes was adopted by the Faculty Senate Dec. 1.

Replacing a policy that stood unchanged for 38 years, senators approved legislation that lets professors and instructors require attendance in classes or course-related activities, including distance education, if they so choose. The previous policy from 1959 said that students were expected to attend all of their classes or they would be reported to their dean.

To underscore the importance of students attending class, the new policy states that students are responsible for all materials presented in their courses and course-related activities. And it says that professors and instructors should inform students in writing at the beginning of each course if any part of their grade will be based on attendance or course participation.

Eliminated from the policy was the recommendation that students with excessive or three unexcused absences be reported to the dean of their school or college.

The push for an updated attendance policy came after some faculty complained about the lack of enforcement of the previous policy, specifically related to sparse attendance in Thursday and Friday classes.

The new policy was drafted by the University Committee in conjunction with recommendations from the Undergraduate Education Committee and the Student Academic Policies and Non-Academic Program Committee. Input from senators at the October and November senate meetings also contributed to the phrasing of the new policy.

The Student Academic Policies and Non-Academic Program Committee also recommended that the policy state that instructors should send a standard e-mail message to students who miss several classes to combat chronic absenteeism. The message would remind them of the attendance policies and encourage them to meet with the instructor. If the reminder isn’t effective, the committee suggested possibly referring the student to the appropriate dean or the Dean of Students Office.

The University Committee did not incorporate the committee’s recommendations into the policy but instead encourages faculty and instructors to consider all options, including those of the committee.

In other action, the senate continued its discussion of whether anti-harassment training should be mandatory for faculty.

Charles Bentley, professor of geology and geophysics, proposed a resolution calling for expanded distribution of informational material on harassment issues to all faculty and for voluntary instructional sessions in place of mandatory training.

Bentley’s resolution is in response to a recommendation from the Committee on Women in the University that principal investigators – those faculty who supervise grant money – participate in mandatory anti-harassment training. Some senators voiced their support for Bentley’s resolution, while others maintained that mandatory training was necessary not only for principal investigators, but for all faculty.

The senate did not vote on Bentley’s resolution, but will continue its debate at its Feb. 2 meeting.

The senate defeated a resolution introduced by Mathematics Professor Anatole Beck related to the support of enabling legislation for collective bargaining by faculty.