[TurranMC]

I felt like posting an argument we had in class today. Our professor was discussing a student who was absent six times and asked what should he do with her. He kind of said it as a rhetorical question but I of course responded. It is my opinion that absences are irrelevant to whether or not someone deserves to pass a class. Your grade should be reflective of your understanding of the subject. Of course you go to school to learn, the professors are supposed to endow you with knowledge. But in my opinion when it comes to grades all that a class should require of you is that you have proved to the professor that you know the work. If you fail a class because you didn't complete assignments due when you were absent that's one thing, but to fail just because you were absent?

For instance last semester I had to drop a class because I missed three days in the first two months of the class. To the professor it did not matter how much I understood the subject, it did not matter that I had yet to miss an assignment. To him it was just three absences equals a failure.

That's bullshit. We go to school to learn. If I have proved my knowledge of a subject then why should I be failed?

[EmotionallyTonedGeometry]

What was the professor contemplating? Knocking the student's grade down, or flat-our failing her? The latter seems absurd, but I don't see anything wrong with mandating attendance. Was the professor a particularly gifted lecturer or did they utilize a lot of discussion/group work/etc that made class time crucial? I can see some credit being designated to attendance, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Getting dropped for three absences seems ridiculous! Did the class meet once a week? If not, that's just silly. I can see attendance reflecting my sincerity to learn, but really, it is ultimately about performance and mastery.

Hmmm, think of it this way, if all college classes were optional, how many freshmen and sophomores would adjust well to that schedule? I think that would allow many to just fall through the cracks. I think the routine may be good in a sense to get young college student's to actually take class seriously. Just a thought.

[TurranMC]

What was the professor contemplating? Knocking the student's grade down, or flat-our failing her? The latter seems absurd, but I don't see anything wrong with mandating attendance. Was the professor a particularly gifted lecturer or did they utilize a lot of discussion/group work/etc that made class time crucial? I can see some credit being designated to attendance, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Getting dropped for three absences seems ridiculous! Did the class meet once a week? If not, that's just silly. I can see attendance reflecting my sincerity to learn, but really, it is ultimately about performance and mastery.

Hmmm, think of it this way, if all college classes were optional, how many freshmen and sophomores would adjust well to that schedule? I think that would allow many to just fall through the cracks. I think the routine may be good in a sense to get young college student's to actually take class seriously. Just a thought.

He actually never said what he plans to do with the student, but he's a good professor overall and he's fairly kind. I imagine the student will fail anyway because the class isn't easy and if she's missed that much she is probably way behind. I was simply arguing from a theoretical standpoint.

Yes the class did meet once a week but it was three absences out of sixteen sessions. I was not forced to drop the class but he told me I was guaranteed to fail no matter what I did essentially forcing me to drop to avoid the lower average.

Anyway what you are arguing is what other people argued in the class as well. I essentially agree with you and the others who argued it. I understand why colleges operate in such a way. If they were too lenient students may unintentionally hurt themselves. But at the same time though it should not weigh in on grading. Again if it was something like the student never participated because he was absent so the professor doesn't know if the student is knowledgeable about the subject or not, I could understand. But that wasn't being argued at all. Its just like "oh they didn't show up so they deserved to be failed on principle". That's BS

[de l'eau salée]

What's even worse is when you get a letter grade lower than what you would have gotten for forgetting a title page.

[Pac-Man]

What's even worse is when you get a letter grade lower than what you would have gotten for forgetting a title page.

Something like this happened me on a general education test, stopping me from getting a 100%.

[Drake]

In my experience, the student handbook has listed the attendance requirements of a class or school. I believe for the student to get credit for the classes, they actually must have so many hours of instruction. I know that in my classes I am taking, I could just skip off to the final, get it done, and pass the class, but I would not have met the basic requirements for the class itself.

[TurranMC]

In my experience, the student handbook has listed the attendance requirements of a class or school. I believe for the student to get credit for the classes, they actually must have so many hours of instruction. I know that in my classes I am taking, I could just skip off to the final, get it done, and pass the class, but I would not have met the basic requirements for the class itself.

Yes these are the requirements to pass the class and I understand that. But the question is WHY? If you have proved you know the subject matter why does how many hours you actually spent in the class matter?

[Ninja]

I recently failed my women in art history class because all I heard coming out of the teachers mouth was "kitchen" "giving head". You know, and combinations of those two things. No umm... She was an obese woman who sat in the the corner of the class room for every class period and rambled about inconsequential matters not concerning material on the tests. I was bored, and I wasn't going to play her game.

Yes, the system is screwed. So either fight it, don't go along, or deal with their BS.