Regular class attendance is required of all students. Promptness and dependability are qualities that are very important in all occupations. Students should begin to develop these qualities the day they begin their training.
Attendance is taken daily in class by the instructor and turned over to the Registrar before the end of the class day. Early departures, tardies, and class cuts will be recorded in quarter-hour increments. A period of less than 15 minutes will be counted as a quarter-hour of absence. Attendance records are maintained by the Registrar as part of the student’s permanent academic record.
Students with chronic absenteeism in excess of 20% of the scheduled hours for a course may receive a failing or reduced grade for the course.
A student attending the College will be withdrawn from any course he or she does not attend within a 14-day calendar period (excluding school holidays and breaks). The student will be withdrawn from his or her program immediately if he or she does not attend any course(s) within a 14-calendar day period (excluding school holidays and breaks). All students must complete 100% of the scheduled clinical or externship hours within the assigned grading period.
Students are responsible for making up assignments and work missed as a result of absence at the discretion of the instructor. The instructor may assign additional outside make-up work to be completed for each absence.
Attendance is reviewed by instructors, program directors, and the Director of Education on a weekly basis with a focus on those who have been absent for 15% of the scheduled course. Students will be notified by phone, e-mail, or online in the student portal if their attendance is in danger of violating attendance requirements.
Students may appeal the College’s actions related to the attendance policy if the absence was due to extenuating or mitigating circumstances, for example, illness, military duty, death of a family member, court appearance, or jury duty. Appeals should follow the standard grievances/appeals escalation process. That is, the student should first discuss the issue with his or her instructor.
Diploma Programs
A student in a diploma program will be dismissed from the program and the school when the student’s absences exceed 20% of the total course time in the entire program, excluding make-up time. No more than 5% of the program's total course hours can be made up. A student in a diploma program will be dismissed from the program and the school when the student has been absent for more than ten consecutive school days or more than 14 consecutive days excluding holidays and school breaks, whichever occurs first.
Degree Programs
A student in a degree program will be placed on Attendance Probation at the end of the term if his or her absences exceed 20% of the total scheduled course time for the term. A term is defined as the period in which one or more courses are scheduled. For most programs, a term is a six-week period. Total scheduled course time for the term is the sum of the scheduled hours for all courses in which a student is enrolled during the term.
If a student in a degree program has absences that exceed 20% of the total scheduled course time for the term, excluding make-up time, while on Attendance Probation, the student will be dismissed from the program and the school. In addition, a student in a degree program will be dismissed from the program and the school when his or her absences exceed 20% of the total course time in the entire program, excluding make-up time. No more than 5% of the program's total course time hours may be made up. A student in a degree program will be dismissed from the program and the school when the student has been absent for more than ten consecutive school days or more than 14 consecutive days excluding holidays and school breaks, whichever occurs first.
Attendance in Online General Education and Allied Health Courses
Students attend online General Education and Allied Health by completing the following activities in the course:
- Submitting an initial or peer response post to the discussion board (posting to the Course Café does not give a student attendance)
- Submitting a paper, project, or other assignment for grading
- Completing a quiz, mid-term, or final
Online General Education and Allied Health courses are asynchronous, meaning there are typically no weekly live lectures for students to attend.
Additional Program Attendance Policies
Some programs of study may have specific attendance policies.