Attendence in college?

Question

I attendence required in college or can you just go online to get the assignments. I'm a high school senior and when my brother was in college he never seemed to go to class. So is it required?

Answer 1

Some classes have attendance. Usually, these are the really small classes. For lecture type classes, there are just too many kids in it to be able to take attendance. Some schools are so small, every class is small.

Depending on your major, the prof may or may not know if you're in class or not. Engineering, English, computer science. Those majors tend to have smaller classes.

If you're taking psychology, you're likely going to be in a room with hundreds of other people.

I was in humanities so most of my classes were these HUGE lecture hall classes. Never had attendance in those. I showed up, but I have to admit I didn't pay attention most of the time. With the prolification of portable mp3 players, PSPs, laptops, etc, I prolly would have been less bored in class if I went to college now.

I wouldn't recommend ditching class tho. I picked up some stuff on occasion when the prof said something. Plus, I'm an excellent crammer. I got an A in one psych class by skimming the chapter summaries before the midterm and final.

Answer 2

Sometimes classes are offered on-line. But most traditional colleges/universities require students to attend class. Some teachers will tell you that anything more than 2 (or 3 or whatever their number is) of absences will get you 1/2 grade lower than what you earn.
Other teachers don't care if you show up for class or not and grade you according to completion of assignments and test scores.
However, I find that more teachers (and even some schools) do require attendance to a certain number of classes in order for you to pass the class.
You should ask the admissions office at the college you would like to attend as to what their policy is about attendance. If they don't have one, then you should ask the head of the department you plan to major in if any of their faculty have such requirements. (Be warned that asking a department head such a question might make them suspicious about your real intentions towards your studies.)
You can also ask other students that currently attend the school what their professors require of them regarding attendance.
I believe that if you want the most out of your education, you should attend as many classes as you can.

Answer 3

Generally it depends on the school and the type of classes you take. Some schools dont have an attendence policy which means youcant be punished for missing classes. Teachers usually get around this with a participation grade for the course (you cant participate if youre not there)

Other schools Have an attendence policy and if you miss a certain amount of classes the teacher can fail you no matter what your grade in the class is.

Some schools also offer online classes that you dont have to go to class for. Generally speaking in college you get what you give...if you never go to class its hard to do well whether there is an attendence policy or not.

Answer 4

Most teachers take attendance in college, and it usually counts for about 10% of your final grade. But most colleges have a policy where you can miss up to 3 classes without having it affect your grade. However, in college the burden of responsibility is on you to make sure you can keep up with the lectures, assignments and tests. Very few college professors will hassle you if you miss class.

Answer 5

It depends on the professor and the class. Most professors (such as myself) don't take attendance but they expect you to come to class. In the classes I teach, very few students can get good grades without coming to class - I often cover different material than the book does, and/or present it in different ways. The students who rarely show up to my classes usually fail, because they have no idea what to expect on the exams and on the homework. And of course there are some courses where the professor bases a large percentage of your final grade on class participation (classes where you have to discuss literary works or your opinions on historical events, for example) so obviously you have to go to those classes.