Attending to Attendance
Center for Faculty Innovation
October 29, 2026
Like many faculty, the experience of the pandemic had me rethinking my attendance policy. As in, I dropped it. I wanted to provide students space, flexibility, autonomy, and care. But, lately I’ve been wondering if it’s really care I’m offering, or if the complete flexibility could be causing harm. Many of us are seeing cases of extreme attendance issues — students missing a third, half, or even most of our class meetings. That’s a lot of missed learning opportunities.
Class meeting time is precious: There’s always more to do than we can get done in the (typically) two and a half hours we get to spend each week with our students. How can we create attendance policies and practices that honor both the importance of presence in class and the importance of care?
I wish I had answers, but, spoiler alert, I do not. What I hope to offer are a few musings, questions, resources, and things to think about as we navigate attendance:
- Connect to purpose: Why is attendance important in the class? Or backing up, is attendance important, and why? Are there other ways, in line with Universal Design, that students can engage with the learning process? If we decide attendance is important to the learning process in the class, try to articulate those reasons clearly for students. Connect the reasons to the learning outcomes in the course. Be transparent about the why and how of attendance. Talk to students about what presence means in the context of your class.
- Also consider connecting the purposes of attendance to larger concepts in our disciplines, and to ethical reasoning. For example, what responsibilities do students have to contribute to the learning community in the classroom? Or, how can we help students consider outcomes of attending, or not attending? We often lean heavily on authority (such as attendance policies) when talking about attendance, but bringing in other key questions might support student investment.
- Building community in the classroom can be another way to increase buy in. As appropriate, invite students to collaborate on attendance policies or community guidelines, and consider mechanisms for peer accountability and support around attendance. Students can motivate and encourage each other to attend and create a culture of presence in the classroom.
- Consider all options for assessing attendance and participation — including whether or not it is necessary to do so. Whether or not you grade attendance, or make attendance matter intrinsically, plan class time so that students understand the value they are getting out of that time.
- Center care, for yourself and students, and strive for inclusive policies. As possible, build in some flexibility, and limit the disclosure and documentation required. Not only can documentation be faked, but the process can be painful for students actually experiencing crises. Believe students. Also consider your own boundaries and workload, and where you do (or do not) want to invest time and labor. Consider offering “free passes” or other flexible policies, while making sure your policies align with department, college, and university policies.
- Students miss classes for a wide variety of reasons, including hidden ones. Offer resources to support students, such as basic needs support, alternative transportation options, the JMU Counseling Center, and other student resources. That means not just educating students that the resources exist, but also reducing barriers to accessing them, including by normalizing and encouraging their use.
- Consider alternatives to attendance, or ways that students can engage even if they can’t make it to class (especially ones that aren’t labor-intensive for you) — things like discussion boards, learning journals, reading notes, minute papers, or other asynchronous activities. When feasible, consider options for virtual participation; you could have students be responsible for providing a virtual option for each other. Or, consider blended learning, so that students can reap the benefits of multiple modes of learning.
- Build in breaks and flex days, as possible. Reflection days, study days before exams or projects, mental health days, or other buffers demonstrate care and can account for the stressful times when students might be most likely to miss class.
- You're not alone! A lot of us are navigating these questions. Consider scheduling a CFI consultation or accessing other resources; here are a few examples of the many resources out there:
So, no easy answers here. But asking the right questions, adapting to individual needs and contexts, opening lines of communication with students, and centering care can offer guidance as we think deeply about what it means to show up to class.
