Attendance and Participation Policy Statements

Attendance and participation are mandatory in many Eastern courses, but how faculty handle illnesses and how they grade "participation" varies considerably. It is helpful for students when the course policy is explicitly described on the syllabus.

Sample Syllabus Statements

Below are examples of syllabus statements provided by Eastern faculty regarding their attendance and participation policies.

Sample 1

Attendance/Participation: Attendance is required. If you are going to be absent, please let the instructor know prior to or soon after (within a day of) missing class. Absences that have not been discussed with the instructor are considered unexcused absences. After 3 unexcused absences, you will receive a penalty of 3 points off your final grade per absence. The penalty can be waived at instructor’s discretion and with support of the Dean of Students Office. Additionally, participation is a part of your grade. In order to participate, you must be present in class. Illness, observation of religious holidays, and other emergency situations will be counted as excused absences once discussed with me. Excused absences do not count against your participation grade.

Sample 2

Participation/Reflection Grade: This is an experiential class, so your active engagement is critical for your learning—and your in-class contributions affect your peers’ experience as well. Your participation in class and your reflection packet is worth a total of 50 points. You will earn up to 2 points for every thoughtful reflection entry you write at the end of each class period. You must attend class to write a reflection entry. Points may be deducted for students who are observed working on other things during class (e.g., checking email or surfing the Internet, studying for other classes, texting, etc.) That said, it is understood that life happens. Because there are 27 class periods (not including group presentations), you can miss 2 classes without losing any points. Please contact me if you have extenuating circumstances. Extra participation points may be awarded for students who regularly contribute to class discussions or make other substantive contributions to others’ learning.