How to deal with students being late to class
How do other instructors deal with students being late to class
This is a great plan. I have tried various methods to get students to be on time as well as prevent them from leaving early. These include: Take attendance, and keep a separate sheet for those who are late; take attendance again at the end of class; points off for lateness and/or leaving early; and the one that marked me the "mean teacher"-- I once locked the door (for the outside, you could leave from the inside) after I started class.... and then ignored the late students as they knocked on the door to be let in. They hated me, so not so great for the class evals...
Hi Shari,
Students need incentives at times to become involved for the entire duration of the class. Your method keeps them and prepares them for the next class meeting. This should demonstrate value to them.
Gary
I find that students not only come late but want to leave 5-10 minutes early. I've begun handing out assignments for the following class right as the class is ending.
Hi Myung Kim,
Thank you for sharing the policy that is followed in your program. Tardiness is always a challenge but students need to realize the consequences of being tardy as it applies to their future success. Employers will not tolerate tardiness as we all know but sometimes the students forget that by instructor setting such a standard that that instructor is preparing them for future success.
Gary
Students are given formal warnings for habitual tardiness. If it continues, students are put on probation. In addition, 10% of the student's grade for each module is based on "professionalism." Therefore, students will also see the affects of their tardiness on their final grades.
Sometimes commuters can have issues out of their control, for that, we look at each on a case by case basis. For residents, late is late, and is unacceptable. We take away points, and if the late is 30 minutes or more, they're absent. Our school requires all absences to be made up, which means instead of Mon - Thurs as your week, we make them come back on Friday to make up the class. Who wants to be one on one with the instructor for a whole day?
An alternative punishment, that I have used effectively, is to punish everyone else for a students poor handling of a situation. I'll have all the students cleaning, while the tardy student watches, unable to assist. Quickly, they want to be one of the cleaners, instead of watching their fellow classmates clean in their honor. After class, things usually straighten themselves out. Usually the offender is never late again.
Hi Larice,
Pull them to the side and make the following suggestions clear to them. 1. Being late can seriously affect their learning. 2. Being late interrupts the class. 3. Being late can seriously affect their grade. 4. Future employers won’t accept lateness to work.
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for sharing these strategies on how to handle late students and their assignments. The message is clear that you are sending while still getting their work back into their hands.
Gary
I have found that handing back assignments, quizzes, etc., to students who are seated before the official starting time and passing out handouts as I begin class right on time seems to emcourage students to be ready on time. If a student is late, they must approach me during the break to receive the materials.
I, too, teach in Minnesota, and accept that snow, etc., can cause unforseen delays in the winter. Then I set the handouts by the door for students to pick up.
Hi Teasha,
Good point about how "being on time" is defined in different situations and different careers. Students in the massage field need to understand how this can impact their careers.
Gary
I write in my addendum that being on time means you are seated and engaged, not walking in the door. I remind them that each city has their own hours requirements for massage and that by the end of their training they potentially could be short on hours. A little time here, a little time there, adds up.
Hi Colleen,
I like your style. That is what I do with my classes as well. I let the students know that they are earning respect with their attitude of caring about being on time. I am not going to let a tardy student control the class by walking in late and taking the focus of the class to themselves. There are exceptions that occur but my students let know in advance of situations that have come up because they know my position on being on time. I don't have repeat offenders since they know the expectations and adhere to them.
Gary
I look at my industry which is law. When an attorney or client are late for court they typically loose - or have a warrant issued for their arrest (in a criminal client example). I let them know how important it is to be on time and that the law is rigid with time. While I know there may be many good reasons people are late, weather, traffic, kids, etc. I close the door right at the beginning of class. This signals to the students that I'm beginning my class. I also tell my students on the first day of class when class begins that they have all made a good first impression by being there on time.
Steven,
Will your administration support the loss of points off the final grade? If the administration does not, do they have some alternative plan that might cause the student to think about their thoughtless use of time?
I agree with David. On the first day of class I hand out my syllabus that explains the consequences of being tardy what what constitutes being tardy. Then if a student does show up late, I will always make a point of welcoming them to the class & bring them up to date on what was missed later on. I never reprimand them in front of the class as no employer should do either but it is addressed one on one after class is over. Consequences still stand based off of the syllabus.
Hi David,
I don't think you are extreme at all. You are just helping your students to become competent workers in their career field. In real life you cannot walk in late over and over again and expect to be successful. Students have to make the mental transfer from being a student to being a qualified skilled professional.
Gary
On day one, I walk the students through a demonstration of what being tardy is. At exactly 5 minutes after the class begins I take attendance. As soon as I finish attendance, I tell the students, "Watch this!" I get up from my desk and laptop, walk across the room to the opened door, shut the door tight and say, "If the door is closed... I am lecturing, you are tardy!"
Because most of the time the door locks by default, it is so embarrassing for a student to show up late and have to have me stop a lecture, walk to the door, let them in, and have the rest of the class look at them with shame. During the next couple of weeks, you should see the students scrambling in at the fifth minute. I treat it like a job, I am the Art Director, they are the employees.
I know it sounds extreme, but it has worked wonders for me.
Hi Dan,
Correct you are about reminding students that they need to be on time and in class each time it meets. They are training for a career and they need to have the "soft skills" of being able to dress, act and perform the work required.
Gary
I would comment on how they are missing out on important information by not being in class. That could affect their success in the future.
