Does it depend on the degree a professor has that establishes a time you have to wait on them when late?

Answer 1

No. Frankly, most professors have the same degree - a Ph.D. There are jokes about having to wait longer for a full professor than for an associate professor, and longer for an associate professor than for an assistant professor, but they are just that, jokes (most students aren't aware of the ranks and think we are all full professors anyway!). Check to see if your school has a policy about how long students are expected to wait. Some do. Otherwise, use common sense. If a professor is really old and doesn't have a cell phone, it seems possible that they could get stuck in traffic and not be able to call in to an office to inform the class (they might also be seriously ill, and if there is an office around, you might want to let them know that the professor hasn't shown up). If younger, there is very little excuse unless the class is held outside of office hours (evening or Saturday) and there is no one to notify. I might wait half an hour or more for the older person, but 20 to 30 minutes for the younger one.

Answer 2

Also remember that the Professor has almost total autonomy within the walls of his/her classroom. Universities don't need to set policies for this sort of thing and, even when they do, they are more "suggestions" than they are rules to be enforced. Technically, you are expected to be there for the entire class session. While this doesn't mean that anyone in their right mind would think it "reasonable" to expect you to sit their twiddling your thumbs and waiting, it does mean if the professor comes in 45 minutes late and you've already left and she/he counts you as absent, no one can really do anything about it. You could appeal to that person's Department Head or Dean but they aren't really direct supervisors or bosses in the same way you'd have in other work places. The best thing to do is to ask the professor directly about their personal policy. It's not like a normal consumer relationship where, if you pay, you get to decide the terms.

Answer 3

I don't know about official rules but when I was in college (Dec 2006 grad), we waited 15 minutes if the prof. had a doctorial degree and 10 for everyone else.

Answer 4

You have to wait for them because you need the grade :-)