ATTENDANCE POLICY
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 is 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 including discussions, written assignments, and tests. This standard will be used to determine all attendance issues, including but not limited to reports of never having attended, reports of last date of attendance, and 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 modification of attendance policies if needed to accommodate a student’s disability that impacts attendance. Determination of eligibility for a disability-related modification to the attendance policy is made on a case-by-case basis through the Office of Accessibility Resources. 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 be refused admission to an institution of higher education for the reason that you are unable, because of your religious beliefs, to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study or work requirements on a particular day or days.
- If you are unable, because of your religious beliefs, to attend classes on a particular day or days you shall, because of such absence on the particular day or days, be excused from any examination, study or work requirements.
- It shall be the responsibility of the faculty and of 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 which 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 available to the said student such equivalent opportunity.
- 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 when 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 of 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 of your availing yourself of the provisions of this section.
- 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 of the board of higher education of the City of New York or any community college.