Kim,
Do your students have a way to make up missed "EC" points?
Jeffrey Schillinger
Our school also gives "EC" points aka employment competencies. If the student is on time, courteous, participates, and generally follows the same standards an employer would expect, they receive all their points for that class. If they are late, on their phone, disruptive, etc, points are deducted for the day. ECs are worth 5% of their grade. Also when a student is absent, I always email them, tell them what they missed, what is coming up and give them a due date.
Majority of our core classes are labs so class participation to make the grade is a must. When students miss too much lab to make them up we consult with the student about repeating the class. The skills taught in labs must be mastered and majority of the time the student is already thinking that they need to repeat the class just to feel confident in what they need to know. They want to feel good about what they are learning and know that they know that they know without a shadow of a doubt. We just had this happen resently with a young lady that had missed due to sickness then was gone for another week on vacation. After consulting with her she had already had in her mind that she wanted to repeat the class even if she passed. She said quote, "I want to feel confident in what I am doing and I don't want to get in my extern and not know things. I think it would reflect on me, the school and my instructors. I don't want that!"
Thank you I would just like to add that majority of our extern sites continue to take our students and have stopped taking students from other schools. Some have hired more than one assistant.
Thanks, Donna.
Some folks believe that "attendance" and "participation" are two separate things and that attendance should not be reflected in a student's grade. They believe that someone who is in the room but not actively engaged should not be rewarrded just for being there.
How do you feel about this?
Thanks, Donna.
The fact that your students are hired by their externship sites is a testament to the quality of your education. We like to focus on this statistic at my college, along with the number of repeat employers.
Yes i agree. our students have to complete a 300 hour externship in a dental office. We encourage perfect attendance once again especially since this office could be a potential employer. Majority of our students have gotten hired in their externship office
To inspire good attendance that is a percentage of their grade. They get a 0 for class participation that day if they are absent. Another idea is to offer to drop the lowest test score. Our students also keep a portfolio of their achievements and certificates through out their time here. These portfolios are used in their potential job interviews. A perfect attendance certificate looks great in their portfolio.
As instructors in my department we set aside time for students to make up their work as quickly as possible. We usually try to get it made up before the next class time to meet that way they are on the same level as their classmates.
Ellie,
Thank you for this post. beyond a strict attendance policy, what are some things you do to inspire students to attend?
I was told a long time ago that showing up is 80% of success...I now know that it takes more than that, being present is a huge component of my program and no one is going to go for you. Holding students to rigid attendence standards does help prepare them for the expectations that employers will have for their professional behavior.
Donna,
What are some specific things you do to inspire good attendance?
What are some things you do to help students who are absent to keep up with their coursework?
