When I was a student, which wasn’t very long ago, all students were required to attend a minimum of classes to pass a course regardless of their academic standing. Demonstrating mastery of the course material was key, but a student’s disposition, physical presence, and class participation were equally important. Today, some schools advise their instructors and professors not to factor attendance into their semester grades; I wonder why.

This semester, I saw one of my students for the first time two weeks into the semester. The student had missed the first two weeks. Maybe he was not enrolled yet; I am not sure. In our 9th week of the semester, the student has attended only a handful of classes, about six to be precise. Personally, I would ask such a student to withdraw from the course. I do not intend to push the student out, but what else should I do? I believe in helping students who take their work seriously, contact the professor to work out a schedule for late assignments, or discuss their progress and standing in the class. I mean, show me you care! But this is only me. Maybe I am old school.

Somebody help here! I have been trying to contact the academic advisor to discuss this student’s case, but I haven’t heard from him or her yet.

The semester concluded on May 5th. The student kept missing classes, and when he was in class, he never participated. He never said a word. Just walked into the classroom, sat in the back, and got up and left at the end of class. This happened every single time he was in class. This student’s term paper did not include the required installments, such as the annotated bibliography, the detailed outline, etc. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I gave the student the minimum passing grade and my feedback on what he needed to do in the future. Was I wrong? Would you fail such a student?

A side note: The student informed me at some point about the loss of a grandfather. Would you consider this as an extenuating factor?

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