Attendance Policy for Fully and Partially Synchronous Courses (On-Campus, Online Synchronous, and Hybrid Courses)
Students in fully and partially synchronous courses are expected to attend each scheduled meeting of their registered courses since experience demonstrates that regular attendance enhances academic success. Instructors may include class participation as one component of student evaluation and grading. As a result, lack of attendance may influence a student’s ability to do well, where presence and participation are highly valued by the instructor. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to understand and adhere to all policies relating to attendance and consequences for non-attendance listed in their instructor’s course syllabus.
Attendance Policy for Online Asynchronous Courses
Attendance in an online course is defined as an active post or submission within the course, which includes discussions, written assignments, and tests. This standard will determine all attendance issues, including but not limited to reports of never having attended, reports of the last date of attendance, and a final grade of F in the course due to lack of attendance.
Attendance Exemptions Related to Disabilities
Federal law (ADA and Section 504) requires colleges and universities to consider reasonable modifications to attendance policies to accommodate a student’s disability that impacts attendance. The Office of Accessibility Resources determines eligibility for a disability-related modification to the attendance policy on a case-by-case basis. Reasonable attendance modifications are determined through a conversation with the instructor, student, and Accessibility Specialist. Students with questions about how their disability may impact course attendance should contact the Office of Accessibility Resources.
Attendance Exemptions Due to Religious Beliefs
If you are unable to attend classes on certain days because of religious beliefs, the following policy (Section 224-a of the Education Law as amended) applies:
- You shall not be expelled from or refused admission to an institution of higher education because you cannot attend classes or participate in any examination, study, or work requirements on a particular day or days because of your religious beliefs.
- If you are unable, because of your religious beliefs, to attend classes on a particular day or days, you shall be excused from any examination, study, or work requirements because of such absence on the particular day or days.
- It shall be the responsibility of the faculty and the administrative officials of each institution of higher education to make available to students who are absent from school because of their religious beliefs an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that they may have missed because of such absence on any particular day or days. No fees of any kind shall be charged by the institution for making such an equivalent opportunity available to the said student.
- If classes, examinations, study, or work requirements are held on Friday after 4:00 p.m. or on Saturday, similar or makeup classes, examinations, study, or work requirements shall be made available on other days where it is possible and practicable to do so. No special fees shall be charged for these classes, examinations, study, or work requirements held on other days.
- In effectuating the provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of the faculty and the administrative officials of each institution of higher education to exercise the fullest measure of good faith. No adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to you because you avail yourself of this section's provisions.
- If you are aggrieved by the alleged failure of any faculty or administrative official to comply in good faith with the provisions of this section, you shall be entitled to maintain an action or proceeding in the supreme court of the county in which such institution of higher education is located for the enforcement of your rights under this section.
- As used in this section, the term institution of higher education shall mean schools under the control of the board of trustees of the State University of New York or the board of higher education of the City of New York or any community college.