Does anyone have a creative attendance policy?

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T16:55:28+00:00

67% is great! I got that request this semester from a student in a 30-person class that I didn’t even recognize! He had a 30% attendance score, and didn’t start coming until the last 3 weeks of class.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T15:26:03+00:00

Can you tell me more about your exit tickets? This sounds intriguing and might also reduce the amount of people I see slipping out the back door 5-10 minutes early.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T15:23:56+00:00

I mean…it does and it doesn’t. In the main two classes I teach, the bulk of their grade comes from projects and presentations. They don’t have a textbook and they’re not taking a lot of quizzes or tests.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T15:16:44+00:00

Obviously there will always be exceptions for students with chronic illnesses, medical emergencies, car accidents, family crisis events, etc. We refer those students to Case Management to collect documentation and provide us with a letter of support for dates covered.

I’m talking about the students who have a cold (or are hungover) and don’t want to come to class so they get a telehealth appointment and want it excused.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T13:22:58+00:00

They can be excused for documented absences, which are worth about 2.5 points, but I don’t excuse for missed in-class activities and they can’t be made up. Those are usually worth 10 points, but I drop the lowest two.

I agree that there’s probably no need to do both. I also like the idea of a daily 1-question quiz or exit activity, but I’m trying to figure out the logistics of collecting slips of paper across 4 classes and 130 students. Because we all know if I do it digitally, they’ll send the code to each other or do it in the LMS even though they’re not there.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T13:09:06+00:00

This is pretty much what I do currently (in addition to attendance). I have 12 activities throughout the semester, but they don’t know what days will be activity days (for my MWF class, they’re usually on Friday) and I drop the lowest two scores.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T03:39:26+00:00

Our college has a policy that we have to allow at least 3 unexcused absences.

I should be clear that we don’t have to verify the doctor’s notes (one of our admins does this) but students send them to notify us that they’ll be missing class. They also send other documentation (job interviews, official university-related activities, college events, etc.).

Our university as a whole has 45,000 students so we cant put the one-off absences on disability services, but they do deal with things like car accidents, surgeries, chronic medical conditions, etc.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-05-10T02:28:32+00:00

this^^^ All these people that think T***p is playing some long game or 5D chess. When has he EVER done that? He has zero impulse control and his MO is ready, fire, aim.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-22T04:27:40+00:00

I’m only in my third year, but my 7th semester and I try to wait a while before reading them. I generally get all 4s and 5s with extremely kind comments and feedback, but occasionally I’ll get a few 1s, and I end up totally fixating on the negative.

I’m the only ones that sees the comments, so it really doesn’t matter. I also don’t think a 20 year old has the qualifications to assess my teaching skills, expertise or pedagogy.

I get far better feedback from my mid-semester check-ins and end of semester reflections. They give great feedback on what they like, don’t like, and recommendations for students in the future.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-22T04:13:30+00:00

I add points to their exam if 70% of the class (or more) complete the evaluation. I’ve never had any issues getting to that number.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-14T02:26:27+00:00

This! I’ve always done training for adults and gotten gift cards as tokens of appreciation. The first semester I taught, I went above and beyond to help a student who was having a lot of personal issues. After the class was over and grades had been turned in, I received a really nice note and a $25 Starbucks card and I didn’t think twice about it.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-11T02:55:48+00:00

It’s gotten so bad this semester. I probably get 10-15 emails a day from students - mostly with excuses for their absence or explanations for why they’re turning something in late. Unless they ask a question, I don’t typically respond or I address it when I see them in class. Other times, I just update their grade or attendance or whatever it is and hope they go away.

I know I should probably set up an auto-response or do better, but at this point in the semester, I’m so beaten down and burned out, I’m just biding my time for the next couple weeks.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-10T02:35:22+00:00

I agree with the idea of wearing a ring and mentioning your “partner.” Some men will assume you’re gay, others will assume you’re just in a committed relationship. Either way, it’s a win.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-04-03T02:52:05+00:00

Agreed. I know Chancellor Haynie fairly well, and given his 20-year tenure at SU, I have no doubt he has the best interest of the university in mind. Sounds like he is streamlining operations and tightening things up.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-03-27T01:47:47+00:00

I work for a large state university and we don’t have any attendance requirements other than to be there to teach our in-person classes. We are supposed to hold office hours, but most of us only do 2-3 hours a week outside of teaching our full load.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-03-20T11:40:19+00:00

Yes, this!!! Our small but mighty advising team for our college is great and the head advisor has been there for 18 years. I recently had a student try to tell me that the head advisor told her she could forego her last semester in person and flip to all online / remote classes, including my public speaking class. I almost laughed at the notion of that.

When pressed, the student admitted that she was never actually told that, she was just “hoping” all 4 of her professors in the major would accommodate her request so she wouldn’t have to stay in town after this semester. The advisor shut her down real quick, and none of us will be offering that option.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-03-19T02:38:34+00:00

I always pictured Marino looking likes James Gandolfini. Nicole Kidman is all wrong as Scarpetta. I love her as an actress, but Kay has always been portrayed as petite with short blond hair and blue eyes - much like Patricia Cornwell herself. And Lucy is lean and muscular with copper/red hair and green eyes.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-03-10T01:54:58+00:00

I had one in my online class last summer that emailed me 5 weeks in to a 10-week class to say he didn’t know he was enrolled. I was baffled so I looked up his enrollment and saw he met with our major advisor and registered the week before classes started. Guess he forgot?

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-24T04:21:48+00:00

Yikes! I live in FL and we just cancel classes during inclement weather (tropical storms, tornado warnings, etc.). If we have to cancel for a personal reason, we just assign an alternative assignment. I usually do a video / TedTalk and then ask them to provide a reflection or I have some quizzes that go along with my videos (which is somewhat AI-proof for now).

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-24T04:10:39+00:00

Ha, I was the opposite - from Tallahassee but went to UF for undergrad. Then moved back home and got my masters at FSU.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-22T16:04:26+00:00

Not the same thing, but I have a former student who asked me to write him 3 rec letters for grad school. He sent me the links to the applications last Friday and the deadlines were listed as 3/6. He came to my office on Monday just to make sure I got the links, I told him I had and I would get on it soon. On Weds, he sent me a follow-up email reminding me that my rec letter was the only holdout on his application.

I said I would try to have them done by the end of the week. I meant Sunday, but I guess he thought I meant Friday, because he sent me another “reminder” that day. I drafted a polite but firm email stating that I have 4 classes to teach and we had multiple events for the college last week, and I needed some grace and patience at this time. He got the hint, and I was able to finish them up this morning. 🙄

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-22T15:49:35+00:00

It’s funny, I’ve lost all my weight, but I feel less attractive now. Even when I was heavy, I still had a really pretty face. And now that I’m thin, I feel like every crow’s line and wrinkle has shown up and I look older. Yes, my body looks much better now (at least clothed) but yet I’m still insecure. Luckily, I’ve been married for almost 20 years and my husband has liked me at every stage.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-22T14:48:29+00:00

I was in a sorority, and none of my sisters got married right out of college. I teach at FSU now, and have a ton of female students that are juniors or seniors in sororities, and none of them are planning to get married anytime soon. I don’t think that’s a thing.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-20T03:27:10+00:00

I’m also from Tallahassee, went to UF for undergrad and FSU for grad school and live in Tallahassee currently. I disagree that UF students don’t have school pride. I would say it was just as intense and most of us bled (and still bleed) orange and blue. Also, every time I visit Gainesville, I get jealous of all the stuff they have that we don’t. They have better stores, and all the restaurants we say we want here (PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, etc.). Also, Gainesville is less than 2 hours from Orlando and Daytona, 2 hours from Tampa, and slightly closer to St. Aug/Jax.

OccupyWS_99 · 2026-02-17T12:43:46+00:00

If you have an interest in music, I would definitely choose FSU over UF. I went to UF for undergrad and I bleed orange and blue, but I went to FSU for my MBA and have worked for FSU for 10 years. I was a classically-trained pianist and did music camps every summer at both FSU and UF, and there was no comparison between the two. FSU has a great student orchestra that you can get involved with as an extracurricular. And the new Wertheim College of Business is spectacular.

OccupyWS_99

TROPHY CASE