Throughout my high school days, attendance policies were annoying but understandable. I needed incentive to get me out the door and to school, especially by senior year when my motivation in general dried up. If I missed too many days that semester, summer school was my fate. That was enough to scare me into a decent attendance record.
As I entered my freshman year of college, I was ecstatic to believe that the days of forced attendance were over. I planned on going to class, of course, but it was freeing to know that it would not be required. Or so I thought.
I quickly learned that attendance policies had seeped into the university system and plagued many of the classes in which I was enrolled. Disappointment ensued. Perhaps it seems unimportant that attendance policies exist in college, but it represents a larger issue than one might initially think.
Though many high school students need incentive to get to class, that need for outside motivation should not continue to college. Personal goals should be the primary source of motivation. In college, attendance policies are unnecessary for those who are driven to succeed and are worthless for those who lack self-motivation.
The majority of students who attend college are committed to creating a successful future. They will do what is necessary to earn the grades they want and require. Sometimes this means skipping a class to study for a test in another class. However, this should not result in penalty. These students do not need professors to hold their hands through college, ensuring that they attend almost every class.
Even if some students are not paying for the courses out of pocket, someone who cares about them is. If that is not enough encouragement to do well, 10 percent of a grade isn’t likely to push them either.
Unfortunately, there are college students who have little motivation to do well. For whatever reason, they have decided to pursue higher education, albeit without much drive or purpose. Though an attendance policy may get them to class, it will not necessarily cause them to do well. In this way, the policies prolong the inevitable. Perfect class attendance is not a good measure of student success. You won’t learn statistics by merely being present in the classroom. It is very possible to still fail the course.
An attendance policy might keep some students on track for a little while, but not for long. Until the person learns to take initiative and be self-motivated, success is not likely to occur. Even worse, listless students may distract others during class by being on their phones or laptops.
Additionally, requiring students to attend class is known to reduce their intrinsic motivation to attend those classes, according to an article, “Should we be paying students?” in PBS’ Learning Matters blog. When learning becomes something students have to do, those students feel less inclined to attend out of choice and love of learning.
Enforcing an attendance policy infringes on student independence and reduces the importance of work-related grades. This idea, especially that merely being present in a class deserves credit, is not helpful. Simply standing in a garage does not make one a mechanic. At some point, students will learn that missing classes can result in bad test grades, and it is their responsibility to get to those classes. Understanding personal responsibility and consequences will be beneficial lessons. But students will have a hard time understanding this relationship while still under the rule of an attendance policy.
If I do not have the self-discipline and motivation to succeed, then that is on me. If I choose not to go to class and risk not knowing the material that could lead to possible failure, it’s on my shoulders. An attendance policy is not going to change that. However, if I am able to skip a class or two and still perform well, I should not be punished for it.
