On Showing Up

You need to come to class. This truth is both intuitively obvious to instructors and well supported by research (Chen & Lin, 2008; Kassarnig, et al., 2017; Durfee, et al., 2012). We put lots of time and thought and effort into creating our courses, building lessons, crafting slide decks, designing learning activities, only to be disappointed (even a little heartbroken) when a noticeable portion of the class fails to show up. And when those students start to fall behind, they all too often treat the setback as an invitation to disconnect from the course entirely. We may see a small number of them at the end of the semester, as they frantically try to save themselves from their past mistakes, but often that effort is too little, too late. What is to be done about this situation? 

Now that we are a little bit into the semester and the honeymoon period of the first couple of weeks is over, it is unsurprising for overall attendance to start to slip. Obviously, attending class is first and foremost a student responsibility. There is nothing unreasonable in expecting them to show up to a class that they signed up to attend and for which they are presumably paying good money (or taking on significant debt). However, as with any undesirable student behavior, it behooves us to consider what the instructor can do about the problem. 

Let’s begin by dispelling a well-worn myth. Attendance is not a “kids these days” problem. Mark C. Carnes, in chapter two of his book Minds on Fire, documents the history of student distractions in higher education going as far back as the first half of the 1800’s. Students have always faced temptation to prioritize non-curricular activities.  

Penalizing the final grades of students who miss class sessions is a well-known tactic many instructors employ. Unfortunately, this method can easily have the reverse effect on the students who most need to be in the room. If a student misses several classes and concludes that their chances in the course have already been torpedoed, then they have no incentive to change their ways. And if you believe that you’ve already failed a course (or come close) based upon absences alone, it would be an entirely rational move to focus one’s energies on courses that could still be salvaged. Keep in mind that students (and humans more generally) tend to misjudge the impacts of both penalties and rewards on their final grades, i.e. they may conclude their grade is catastrophically impacted even when it mathematically isn’t, especially early in the semester when assignments haven’t been fully calculated. 

Additionally, the penalty for missing class also carries with it the implication that students have no other reason to come to your class! After all, you rarely need to threaten people with punishment to get them to attend something they find interesting, useful, and/or pleasurable.  

If you want to increase attendance, help students find their motivation. Here are just a few ideas: 

1. 1. 1. Make attending class an essential part of learning. If students can gain the same information from reading a textbook or watching a recording of the class, they may choose to prioritize other activities. Focus class sessions on applying skills and knowledge and gaining feedback from you and from peers so that missing class means missing out on key learning experiences. 
      2. Build classroom experiences around students developing their own answers to important questions in the field. Instead of supplying students with answers, you give them the means of answering, usually through some sort of learning activity. 
      3. Tie assessments directly to classroom activity. For example, a quiz or exam item could read something like, “Outline the major literary transitions in 19th century England, attending to changes in book technology as we discussed in Week 4.” This works even better if you offer open note but not open book exams. 
      4. Create opportunities in class for students to practice and receive feedback on skills they will be tested on in the major assessments. 
      5. Integrate the nuts-and-bolts of professional success in your field as a major throughline of your course. Counter examples can be useful here, i.e. examining ways others have failed in the field so that students don’t repeat those mistakes. 
      6. Explain the value of attendance (beyond earning a grade). Point to research demonstrating how attendance and engagement in class leads to improved outcomes in courses.  

If you still believe that penalizing students for their absences is an important part of your course design, please consider A) granting at least one or two unpenalized (“freebie”) absences and B) warning students via email when they have exhausted that grace. Also, try to not take absences personally when writing and applying your course attendance policy. Our students face numerous challenges from managing work schedules to mental illness to caring for other family members to homelessness. Whenever possible, we want to invite them into learning rather than unintentionally signaling that we don’t consider their struggles to be relevant.  

We keep that invitation open through warmth, compassion, and clear communication rather than simply strictly applying our policies. After all, some students arrive to our classes already feeling like they do not belong. Simple acts such as explicitly welcoming them into the learning environment, assuring them that you believe in their ability to meet the challenges of the course, and being gracious when they stumble can make all the difference in the world. 

For additional ideas, check out our “Tips for Enhancing Student Engagement” handout. 

Works Cited 

Carnes, M. C. (2014). Minds on fire: How role-immersion games transform college. Harvard University Press.  

Chen, J., & Lin, T.-F. (2008). “Class Attendance and Exam Performance: A Randomized Experiment.” Journal of Economic Education, 39(3), 213–227. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.39.3.213-227 

Kassarnig, V., Bjerre-Nielsen, A., Mones, E., Lehmann, S., & Lassen, D. D. (2017). “Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study.” PLOS ONE, 12(11), e0187078. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187078 

Durfee, J. K., Loendorf, W. R., Richter, D. C., Geyer, T. L. D., & Munson, D. M. (2012). “A Formal Research Study on Correlating Student Attendance to Student Success.” American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings.