Attendance Policy

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General

Regular attendance, promptness and participation in classes, laboratories and/or shops is expected of each student.

If a student must be absent for an extenuating circumstance, such must be communicated to the instructor(s). Individual departments and/or instructors may develop attendance policies to meet specific program or course needs.

It is the responsibility of the instructor to enforce the attendance policy as specified in the course syllabi and/or student handbook. The instructor shall refer to the Student Success Center for any case of absenteeism that might require special attention.

The following action may be taken regarding irregular attendance:

  1. Administrative drop from a course or program;
  2. Course grade may be lowered;
  3. Termination of financial aid assistance;
  4. Cancellation of registration;
  5. Restriction from extra-curricular activities; or
  6. Any other judgments deemed necessary.

Attendance is especially critical in technical programs at NDSCS because learning environments are specialized. Because of the special equipment and facilities needed to provide students with a quality education, it is often impossible to make up work missed due to absences from class.

Therefore, many technical programs have instituted an attendance policy that applies to all courses. The policy is as follows:

  1. Any student absent more than 10 percent of a course’s total contact hours automatically will have one letter grade deducted from his or her current grade;
  2. Any student absent more than 14 percent of a course’s total contact hours will have an additional letter grade deducted from his or her current course grade; or
  3. Any student absent more than 18 percent of a course’s total contact hours will be dropped from the course if that rate is reached before the last day to drop classes. If the 18 percent absence rate is reached after the drop date, the student will receive an “F.”

Excused absences are allowed only for the following circumstances:

  • Serious illness verified by a medical provider
  • Participation in school-sponsored activities which are documented on official college field trip forms and/or notifications
  • Mandatory military duty (verified by the campus Veteran Certifying Official)
  • Verified family emergencies (verified by the Student Success Center)

Inclement winter weather that does not result in classes being canceled, but still provides hazardous driving conditions for commuters in certain areas, will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis;

Individual departments within the division have the option to impose stricter attendance policies than the above. The division policy sets a minimum standard for the departments to follow or adjust; or

Students are to be referred to the Student Success Center after three consecutive absences.

Students receiving sanctions as a result of this policy can file a written appeal with the Student Success Center. The appeal will be reviewed by the student’s advisor, the appropriate department chair (or his or her designee), and the academic counselor.