Attendance Policy
I. Attendance Policy Overview
NGU is an attendance-taking institution. Regular class attendance is necessary for the student to receive full benefit from the university experience and is a precondition for receiving credit for any course in which the student is enrolled. Students are responsible for understanding attendance expectations as noted in the syllabus for each class in which they are enrolled.
Students register for classes prior to or within the first week of a term. Late enrollments, up to the 2nd week of classes, must be approved by the Office of Academic Administration (OAA). Students should make up any course work missed due to late enrollment in a class after the first scheduled day of class.
For all courses, faculty will report student attendance at the end of the first week. Students who do not initially participate or attend classes by the end of the first week, the student may be administratively removed from the course(s) with no credit or grade assigned. All students will be contacted prior to being administratively withdrawn.
A change in this policy may be necessary if an unforeseen situation occurs in an area out of the University’s control.
II. Traditional Course Attendance
A. Student Attendance Responsibilities
1. Students should carefully read and understand the attendance information included in the syllabus of each course in which they are enrolled. The student should understand that different types of classes may have different attendance expectations and the student is responsible for adhering to the attendance requirements for each class.
2. Students are responsible for monitoring their own status regarding absences (excused and unexcused) on the student portal. Students should communicate with faculty about absences.
3. Students understand that unexcused absences in traditional courses are limited to:
a. Four (4) unexcused absences in a three-day/week traditional class.
b. Three (3) unexcused absences in a two-day/week traditional class.
c. Two (2) unexcused absences in a one-day/week traditional class (labs, lessons*, practicums).
Exceeding the unexcused absence limit will result in an XF grade for the course.
4. Students may be asked to provide documentation for any excused absence—as defined below:
a. Military: An absence related to required military duty or obligation as documented in writing
b. Legal: An absence related to required appearance or participation in judicial proceedings as documented in writing
c. University: An absence resulting from an organization within NGU governance, such as, but not limited to: Athletics,
NGU-sponsored groups, Academic Excursions
d. Medical: An absence resulting from a medical condition supported by medical documentation
e. Family: An absence due to a death or a documented medical event involving a family member
f. Faculty Discretion: An absence due to extenuating circumstances
5. Students should communicate directly with their faculty no later than a week prior to a scheduled event for absences due to non-athletic University events. Students should communicate directly with their faculty as soon as possible for all unplanned absences.
6. Students are encouraged to seek medical care when sick and avoid spreading infections through the campus community by avoiding campus activities, including attending class. Students should communicate with their faculty as soon as possible when they will miss class due to illness.
7. During times of excused absence from class, students are still responsible for all material covered in classes missed, maintaining progress toward all course work, and meeting course expectations. Students should communicate regularly with their instructors to ensure that all requirements, including assignment deadlines, are being met. Any extenuating circumstances that may render a student unable to maintain such progress will need to be documented in writing and provided to the OAA for official review, at which time continued enrollment or the need to withdraw will be evaluated.
8. Students who anticipate missing more than one consecutive week of class sessions due to an excused absence, but no more than 3 consecutive weeks, are to communicate with their faculty to determine if extended absences can be accommodated with virtual learning. It is solely up to the discretion of the faculty member, based on the essential academic requirements of the course, to determine whether a student’s request for extended absences can be approved. Such instances will be determined on a course-by-course basis. If the faculty member refuses to allow extended absences, the student will be informed of the course withdrawal policy. Any requests for an appeal must be documented in writing with appropriate documentation to the dean of the college within 48 hours.
9. Students are expected to be fully honest with faculty, staff and administrators when they make requests to excuse absences and when they work with faculty to make up coursework missed due to excused absences. Any dishonesty in requesting excused absences or accommodations for the timely completion of missed work is regarded as a violation of the Academic Integrity policy and is subject to disciplinary action according to the Academic Integrity policy.
B. Student-Athlete Attendance Responsibilities
In addition to complying with each of the above student responsibilities regarding class attendance in Section II-A, student-athletes will also:
Communicate directly with their faculty at the beginning of each semester for absences due to athletic competitions. Students are required to provide a schedule with the specific course dates that will be missed due to competitions. Students should remind their faculty of absences due to athletic competitions a week prior to the date.
Communicate directly with their faculty for known athletic medical absences no later than a week prior to a scheduled athletic medical absence.
1. Student-athletes should be given equal opportunity to make up the work missed while they were away for scheduled athletic competitions. Students will work directly with their faculty members to make up work missed. Student-athletes cannot be forced to use dropped grades for missed assessments due to excused athletic absences.
2. In the event of an athletic medical emergency that will result in the student-athlete missing class, the athletic trainer will begin a case in the student information system (Ally) within 24 hours. The student should still follow-up directly with faculty after the emergency to jointly develop a plan for submission of any missed work.
3. No student-athlete should miss more than 20% of scheduled class meetings due to scheduled competition for any course within a single semester. This 20% excludes participation in conference or NCAA championship play. Any requests for an exception to this 20% rule must be documented in writing with supporting documentation to the FAR and the Office of Academic Administration.
4. NCAA bylaws mandate that no student-athlete is permitted to miss a class session, request to arrive late, or leave early, to attend a practice, training, or team meeting.
5. Student athletes should make every effort to attend class and should not be absent except for scheduled athletic competitions or sudden illness.
III. Online Course Attendance
1. An online course is one offered through the University’s online programs or traditional programs taught exclusively online.
2. In online courses, students will demonstrate regular weekly participation, defined as completion of at least one of the following, such as, but not limited to:
• Submitting an assignment
• Posting in a threaded discussion
• Completing a test or quiz
• Participating in a synchronous meeting
3. An online student will receive an XF, and be administratively withdrawn, if the student does not demonstrate weekly participation over the course of two weeks, after initial participation. If a student does not initially participate in an online course over the time period of the first week of the course, the student may be administratively withdrawn with no credit or grade assigned.
IV. Graduate Course Attendance
1. Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the faculty member in the course syllabus, constitute a part of the University’s attendance policy.
2. Graduate programs may have specific policies that are outlined in the specific graduate program’s handbook. Some programs, including the Master of Medical Science – PA program, have attendance requirements that supersede this policy. Furthermore, this policy does not supersede program accreditation requirements.
3. Graduate students are responsible for monitoring their own status regarding attendance (traditional courses and in-person intensive weeks) and participation (Online and hybrid courses).
4. Graduate students should communicate with their faculty as to whether specific absences are excused or unexcused based upon the timely submission of appropriate documentation.
5. Graduate students will receive an XF, and be administratively withdrawn, if the student does not demonstrate weekly participation over the course of two consecutive weeks, after initial participation. If a student does not initially participate over the time period of the first week of the course, the student may be administratively withdrawn with no credit or grade assigned.
V. Faculty Responsibilities
1. Faculty teaching undergraduate in-person courses are required to regularly record (weekly at minimum) attendance for each class session in the faculty portal. Faculty will record an absence as excused or unexcused in the faculty portal for each student in each class.
a. Excused absences are documented.
b. Faculty will allow students to make up missed work, or have an equivalent opportunity, from an excused absence. Alternatives may include a make-up exam, alternative assessment, an additional paper or project of equivalent effort, a virtual participation opportunity, or other option that allows students to demonstrate what they have learned without being penalized for an excused absence.
c. Consequences of missed class work due to a student’s unexcused absence is at the discretion of the faculty.
2. Faculty teaching graduate and online courses track attendance weekly and promptly notify students as needed.
3. For courses with special attendance requirements, the instructor must specify the attendance policy in the syllabus.
4. If an instructor intends to assign a grade for participation, the instructor must include in the syllabus how participation will be measured and apply the policy consistently and fairly.
a. Students cannot be penalized for an excused absence.
b. Students with excused absences, including student-athletes, cannot be forced to use a dropped grade in lieu of making-up an assessment. This does not constitute an equitable opportunity.
5. Faculty have the right to request verification of a student’s absence documentation.
6. At any point in the semester, faculty will issue an XF Warning for traditional courses and notify online students when the maximum number of unexcused absences has been accrued. Faculty will also notify the student when the student has had excessive excused or total absences.
7. Faculty will issue an XF Grade (failure due to excessive absences) when:
a. There are five (5) unexcused absences in a three-day/week traditional class.
b. There are four (4) unexcused absences in a two-day/week traditional class.
c. There are three (3) unexcused absences in a one-day/week traditional class (labs, lessons**, practicums).
d. An online and graduate student will receive an XF if the student does not demonstrate weekly participation over the course of three weeks.
8. Faculty will notify the Center for Student Success (CSS) when a student fails to attend (in-person courses) or participate (online courses) within the first week of classes. If a student fails to attend or participate within the first week and has not communicated an excuse to the faculty member, the student will be administratively withdrawn from the course.
9. Faculty should forward any requests to enter a class after the first week of classes has ended to the OAA. The Schedule Change form should not be used.
10. Faculty should promptly direct students to the Office of Student Accessibility & ADA Services (OSA) if it is suspected that a temporary absence may reasonably become a long-term (3+ weeks) medical absence for which ADA oversight may be required.
VI. Excessive Excused Absences
In most cases, students may reasonably be able to make up missed work due to excused absences as determined by the instructor of the course. However, there are times when excessive excused absences may hinder a student’s ability to maintain adequate progress toward course completion based on the established learning objectives for the course. When a student has an excessive number of excused absences that are impacting the student’s progress, the instructor will notify the student via email they are at risk of being administratively withdrawn from the course. An instructor may only submit an administrative withdrawal after consultation with the college dean.
Students registered through the Office of Student Accessibility & ADA Services will work with the OSA Director to determine how the attendance policy will be applied.
Consult the Center for Student Success (web link) for the entire XF and retention policy.
*See the Cline School of Music Handbook for private lesson policies.