Assessing Attendance in College Courses

I recently read the article Late Again by Stephanie Reese Masson on the Chronicle of Higher Education in which the author discusses an open conversation with her students about their impressions of the importance of arriving on time and tactics used by instructors to encourage punctual attendance.

I was struck that students though quizzes at the beginning of class were unfair, but I was not surprised that most students were unbothered by the late arrivals of their peers. It is worth noting, I think, that the author teaches at a large state university. In my experience at Indiana University, late arrivals--and even total lack of attendance on all but exam days--is not a wholly uncommon occurrence (for a myriad of reasons I won’t confront here).

When I taught in a large lecture at Indiana University, I fretted to some extent about whether students were skipping my class. I didn't take attendance because I honestly thought that a roll-call was a serious waste of my precious 50 minutes. My primary tactic was to make attendance a value-added opportunity. I put considerable effort into identifying and deconstructing troubling concepts. We reviewed for exams in class. Thought questions from lectures occasionally ended up on exams but weren't posted in the online notes. The obvious deficiency of this tactic is that the students who aren't coming don't necessarily know that they are missing out.

Secondarily, I focused on cultivating an environment of mutual respect. I asked for student feedback. I responded when they said my lecture outlines were too hard to follow. I kept meetings and took questions. I made sure to start on time and end on time (and, yes, I made a point of asking students not to pack up until class was actually over). And I made considerable effort to indicate that I valued the unique contributions of any student who would raise their hand. Again, this would be missed by anyone not in attendance.

Now at Hollins University where my classes are likely to be smaller, I am thinking again about promoting the expectation of consistent student attendance. I state in the syllabus that attendance provides important opportunities for students to practice with and reinforce their learning and that I expect them to arrive on time and with prior preparation. Further, I had planned to include daily quizzes at the beginning of every class (as did my predecessor here) as a means to encourage students to 1. Attend, and 2. study and prepare between classes rather than only right before an exams. It felt untrue to myself and my way of doing things, but I figured that, if it worked for him, it would work for me.

After reading Late Again and the linked article A 21st-Century Attendance Policy by Michelle LaFrance and Steven J. Corbett, I have changed my mind entirely. I have decided to adopt the free-writing exercise described by Michelle LaFrance. While I think daily quizzes would be useful and not an overwhelming burden, I don't think students will see it that way. To encourage on-time attendance, prompts will be given at the beginning of class and not released elsewhere (students are bound by the honor code, and I don't expect too much prohibited sharing). Electronic submission through our course-management system will make it simple for me to track attendance, and eliminate the need for roll-taking. Any relevant submission will earn full points. I think that these assignments will have a similar effect as quizzes, but they will seem more like an opportunity rather than an obligation or punishment.

Now, I know that "free-writing" might sound a bit too soft for a science class, but I earnestly think that it will be a valuable topical and metacognitive experience for students. After all, I think my role in fostering intellectual growth and teaching strategies of learning and retention are equally as important as my obligation to teach material. I will ask students to recall specific and general information from the reading or previous lecture. Occasionally, I will ask them to reflect on their preparation for an assessment or their concerns or confusion about current material. These reflections will help students gauge whether their preparation is sufficient and will be equally valuable to me as immediate feedback on what students are thinking and understanding.

I am looking forward to trying this strategy, and I welcome your feedback. Educators, have you tried something similar in your classroom? Students, have you done this or something similar in another course? What did you think?