Class Attendance

Class attendance is important to student learning and hence central to Messiah College’s educational mission; therefore, regular class attendance is expected. However, the College recognizes that certain types of educational activities take place outside the classroom and can lead to conflicts with class attendance. Guidelines for student attendance and absence are provided below.

  1. Individual course policies on class attendance are left to the discretion of the instructor (or academic department). Individual faculty members (or academic departments) are expected to design and implement attendance policies that are supportive of the College-endorsed educational programming outside of the classroom and, to the extent it is possible, provide ways a student can make up the portions of the courses missed due to student participation in College-endorsed educational activities without penalty.
  2. Attendance policies must be conveyed to students at the beginning of the semester and must be delineated in the syllabus. Attendance policies must address the following: (1) the extent to which attendance is required, (2) the role absences play in the attendance policy, (3) the policy for making up absences, and (4) the impact of attendance/absences on student evaluation.
  3. Faculty should be respectful of student schedules and the class time assigned to other courses. Faculty have been given an assigned time for their courses, and it is, in general, expected that instruction will take place within this designated time. Any exceptions must be stated in the syllabus.
  4. If an out-of-class requirement in one course conflicts with the class time of another course, the faculty member making the out-of-class requirement must provide other ways for the student to fulfill the requirement of the required out-of-class requirement.

For class absence due to personal illnesses, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor. For deaths in the family and similar emergencies, students should notify the Vice Provost/Dean of Student’s Office, which will notify the Office of the Registrar, which will notify individual instructors.

Procedures and Protocol for Absences related to College Endorsed Activities

  1. Steps will be taken to minimize student absences related to College-endorsed activities. Toward this end:
    1. All athletic contest schedules will be reviewed and approved by the Athletic Director and the Faculty Athletic Representative prior to the beginning of the semester.
    2. All artistic performance programming will be reviewed and approved by the Dean of the School of the Arts prior to the beginning of the semester.
    3. All academic field trips by faculty or departments will be reviewed and approved by the appropriate School Dean or the Assistant Dean of General Education and Common Learning (for IDS courses) at least one month prior to the activity.
    4. All student absences due to student professional presentations will be reviewed and approved by the appropriate School Dean at least one month prior to the activity.
  2. All parties involved will be made aware of the scheduled absences well ahead of the date(s) of absence.
    1. To the extent it is possible, absences due to College-endorsed activities will be identified at the beginning of each semester or term.
    2. At the beginning of each semester, the Faculty Athletic Representative will send all teaching faculty the approved dismissal times for all scheduled athletic contests.
    3. At the beginning of each semester, the Dean of the School of the Arts will send all teaching faculty a schedule of approved performances which may result in class conflicts.
  3. Upon receipt and approval by the appropriate supervisor, anyone sponsoring the College-endorsed educational activity must complete the “Instructor/Academic Notification System” that is available in Banner Self Service under the Faculty and Advisors menu two weeks prior to the activity. This form must be filled out in full, and upon completion will be sent to each faculty member that is impacted.
  4. Students participating in College-endorsed activities are still required to directly notify in advance the faculty member of any class they must miss. This must be done at least a week prior to the planned absence. Students are also responsible for meeting with the faculty member to work out the conditions for completing any work or assignments in advance with the attendance policy of the course.
  5. No College-endorsed activities that result in student absences may be scheduled on the days before or after any College break or during finals week. Any exceptions must be approved by the Athletic Director, Vice Provost/Dean of Students, School Dean or Provost.
  6. It is understood that flexibility in these procedures will be granted in the case of conference and NCAA playoffs, or approved late-developing opportunities for student performance or presentation.

Appeal Process

If a student believes that the above policy has not been followed, he or she can appeal to the Provost.

Make-Up Work

It is the prerogative of the individual instructor to decide whether students who miss a class examination are granted make-up privileges. Any arrangements are to be made between the student and the instructor.