Attendance Policies
Wofford students are expected to attend classes regularly. Both personal and required events may sometimes make it difficult or impossible to attend, so the following absence policy will be applied for my courses.
Courses Which Meet Three Times per Week
Personal Absences: A student is permitted three (3) personal absences, for which they do not need to produce any form of documentation. Any event, including illness, job interviews, or internship interviews, not considered a required absence counts as a personal absence. 5% of your total grade in the course will be deducted for a 4th personal absence, and the student will receive an attendance warning; an additional 5% will be deducted for a 5th personal absence, and students will receive a warning that they are in danger of withdrawal. Students with a 6th personal absence will be withdrawn from the course.
Absences during the Drop / Add Period of the Semester: Students who add this course after the first class session will not receive a grade penalty for class sessions missed before they register for the course. Because, however, such students miss important elements of the course, they are expected to make up any missed material in a timely manner (see policy on late work) and each missing day will count as ½ of a personal absence. This means that a student who misses two class sessions before registering, for example, is permitted two, rather than three personal absences without penalty for the rest of the semester.
Required Absences: A required absence is an absence for a Wofford-approved event, such as an athletic event. Required absences must be confirmed by an Appropriate Support Office. Appropriate Support Offices include:
- Accessibility Services
- Athletics
- Campus Life and Student Development
- Provost
- R.O.T.C.
- Title IX
- Medical Services
Students may have up to five (5) required absences with no penalty. An additional three (3) required absences may be permitted, but these will reduce the number of personal absences available to the student.
Exceptions and Emergencies: a student may receive one or more emergency absences from an Appropriate Support Office (see list above). Events such as concussions, chronic or long-term illness or disability, and family tragedy fall under this category. Students who anticipate or experience emergency absences should, when they return to class, schedule a conference with the professor to work out a system for making up missed work, recalculating total absences in light of the emergency, and/or applying for an incomplete in the course.
Tardiness: students are expected to arrive to class on time and to remain in class until dismissed. Students who arrive late, leave early or leave the classroom for 10 minutes or more, will be counted tardy, and each tardy counts as ½ of an absence, consistent with the categories listed above.
Barring exceptions and emergencies and consistent with the College Catalog, a student absent from more than one-fourth of the course meetings—more than eight (8) absences of any kind–will be administratively withdrawn.
Courses Which Meet Two Times per Week and Interim Courses
Personal Absences: A student is permitted two (2) personal absences, for which they do not need to produce any form of documentation. Any event, including illness, job interviews, or internship interviews, not considered a required absence counts as a personal absence. 5% of your total grade in the course will be deducted for a 3rd personal absence, and the student will receive an attendance warning; an additional 5% will be deducted for a 4th personal absence, and students will receive a warning that they are in danger of withdrawal. Students with a 5th personal absence will be withdrawn from the course.
Absences during the Drop / Add Period of the Semester: Students who add this course after the first class session will not receive a grade penalty for class sessions missed before they register for the course. Because, however, such students miss important elements of the course, they are expected to make up any missed material in a timely manner (see policy on late work) and each missing day will count as ½ of a personal absence. This means that a student who misses two class sessions before registering, for example, is permitted two, rather than three personal absences without penalty for the rest of the semester.
Required Absences: A required absence is an absence for a Wofford-approved event, such as an athletic event. Required absences must be confirmed by an Appropriate Support Office. Appropriate Support Offices include:
- Accessibility Services
- Athletics
- Campus Life and Student Development
- Provost
- R.O.T.C.
- Title IX
- Medical Services
Students may have up to four (4) required absences with no penalty. An additional three (3) required absences may be permitted, but these will reduce the number of personal absences available to the student.
Exceptions and Emergencies: a student may receive one or more emergency absences from an Appropriate Support Office (see list above). Events such as concussions, chronic or long-term illness or disability, and family tragedy fall under this category. Students who anticipate or experience emergency absences should, when they return to class, schedule a conference with the professor to work out a system for making up missed work, recalculating total absences in light of the emergency, and/or applying for an incomplete in the course.
Tardiness: students are expected to arrive to class on time and to remain in class until dismissed. Students who arrive late, leave early or leave the classroom for 10 minutes or more, will be counted tardy, and each tardy counts as ½ of an absence, consistent with the categories listed above.
Barring exceptions and emergencies and consistent with the College Catalog, a student absent from more than one-fourth of the course meetings—more than seven (7) absences of any kind–will be administratively withdrawn.