This year I have had the privilege to teach at two very different universities, in two contrasting faculties. One university has an attendance policy, the other does not. Absenteeism is a problem inherent across Higher Education. David Romer, a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, found that ‘on a typical day at a typical elite American university, roughly one-third of the students in economics courses are not attending class’ (Romer, 1993, p. 168). Whilst some attribute poor attendance to poor quality instruction (Stanca, 2010, p. 264), there are multiple other factors that can influence attendance such as student motivation and what type of course it is – absenteeism is much more likely on core courses than it is on electives (Romer, 1993, p. 169). Absenteeism is often also linked to particular times of the day, classes at 9am or 5pm are likely to be less well attended than classes in the middle of the day (Marburger, 2006, p. 159). Students are also more likely to skip classes where they feel their attendance will not be missed, such as in large lectures, as opposed to smaller seminar groups (Romer, 1993, p. 170).
University is often many students’ ‘first taste of freedom’, where attendance at class is no longer mandatory and students therefore have to decide whether or not to attend. At the university with an attendance policy I taught an elective module. At the university with no such policy I taught a combination of core and electives. Attendance was very high at the first university, and if a student was unable to attend he or she would send me an email explaining the absence. At the second university attendance was high during the first week, test weeks, and immediately before summative assignments were due. Absenteeism was very high in the core course, and lower in the elective. However, feedback received regarding the teaching and subject matter of the core course was positive, and students emailed close to the end of year exam expressing regret they had not attended more classes as they had enjoyed them and found them useful. On further investigation, some students had not attended due to financial issues that meant they had undertaken paid employment during lecture time, while others reported that they had missed half the course because they did not want to get out of bed in time for a 9am lecture on a Friday morning. Some of the students at the university with no attendance policy also explained that they were aware nothing would happen to them if they did not attend, so they felt no compunction to increase their attendance even when prompted by emails sent by teaching staff. However, this often translated into anxiety in the weeks preceding examination where attendance at revision sessions was exceptionally high.
The question, of course, is whether attendance is linked to academic performance. Stanca found in his study of students of microeconomics that ‘missing one lecture was associated with about a half percentage point drop in test score’ (2010, p. 263). Similarly, Romer found that ‘the difference in performance between a student who attends regularly and one who attends sporadically is about a full letter grade’ (1993, p.167). Marburger’s discovery that ‘students who were absent during a class period were 9 to 14 percent more likely to respond incorrectly to a question pertaining to material covered in their absences than were students who were present’ (2006, p. 154), substantiates these findings further. Gatherer and Manning’s study also showed that ‘examination performance of first-year biological sciences undergraduates was found to be statistically significantly correlated with lecture attendance’ (1998, p.121). There is clearly a link, therefore, between good attendance and academic performance. I would also argue, however, that there is another significant benefit to instituting an attendance policy – the benefit of encouraging students to take their studies seriously. By creating an environment where attendance is actively encouraged and students have to deal with consequences for non-attendance, a more positive attitude towards university as a whole can and should be fostered.
References
Derek Gatherer and Francis C.R. Manning, “Correlation of examination performance with lecture attendance: a comparative study of first-year biological sciences undergraduates”, Biochemical Education, 26 (1998), pp. 121-123
Daniel R. Marburger, “Does Mandatory Attendance Improve Student Attendance?”, The Journal of Economic Education, 37, 2 (2006), pp. 148-155
David Romer, “Do Students Go to Class? Should They?”, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7, 3 (1993), pp. 167-174
Luca Stanca, “The Effects of Attendance on Academic Performance: Panel Data Evidence for Introductory Microeconomics”, The Journal of Economic Education, 37, 3 (2010), pp. 251-266
This year I have had the privilege to teach at two very different universities, in two contrasting faculties. One university has an attendance policy, the other does not. Absenteeism is a problem inherent across Higher Education. David Romer, a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, found that ‘on a typical day at a typical elite American university, roughly one-third of the students in economics courses are not attending class’ (Romer, 1993, p. 168). Whilst some attribute poor attendance to poor quality instruction (Stanca, 2010, p. 264), there are multiple other factors that can influence attendance such as student motivation and what type of course it is – absenteeism is much more likely on core courses than it is on electives (Romer, 1993, p. 169). Absenteeism is often also linked to particular times of the day, classes at 9am or 5pm are likely to be less well attended than classes in the middle of the day (Marburger, 2006, p. 159). Students are also more likely to skip classes where they feel their attendance will not be missed, such as in large lectures, as opposed to smaller seminar groups (Romer, 1993, p. 170).
University is often many students’ ‘first taste of freedom’, where attendance at class is no longer mandatory and students therefore have to decide whether or not to attend. At the university with an attendance policy I taught an elective module. At the university with no such policy I taught a combination of core and electives. Attendance was very high at the first university, and if a student was unable to attend he or she would send me an email explaining the absence. At the second university attendance was high during the first week, test weeks, and immediately before summative assignments were due. Absenteeism was very high in the core course, and lower in the elective. However, feedback received regarding the teaching and subject matter of the core course was positive, and students emailed close to the end of year exam expressing regret they had not attended more classes as they had enjoyed them and found them useful. On further investigation, some students had not attended due to financial issues that meant they had undertaken paid employment during lecture time, while others reported that they had missed half the course because they did not want to get out of bed in time for a 9am lecture on a Friday morning. Some of the students at the university with no attendance policy also explained that they were aware nothing would happen to them if they did not attend, so they felt no compunction to increase their attendance even when prompted by emails sent by teaching staff. However, this often translated into anxiety in the weeks preceding examination where attendance at revision sessions was exceptionally high.
The question, of course, is whether attendance is linked to academic performance. Stanca found in his study of students of microeconomics that ‘missing one lecture was associated with about a half percentage point drop in test score’ (2010, p. 263). Similarly, Romer found that ‘the difference in performance between a student who attends regularly and one who attends sporadically is about a full letter grade’ (1993, p.167). Marburger’s discovery that ‘students who were absent during a class period were 9 to 14 percent more likely to respond incorrectly to a question pertaining to material covered in their absences than were students who were present’ (2006, p. 154), substantiates these findings further. Gatherer and Manning’s study also showed that ‘examination performance of first-year biological sciences undergraduates was found to be statistically significantly correlated with lecture attendance’ (1998, p.121). There is clearly a link, therefore, between good attendance and academic performance. I would also argue, however, that there is another significant benefit to instituting an attendance policy – the benefit of encouraging students to take their studies seriously. By creating an environment where attendance is actively encouraged and students have to deal with consequences for non-attendance, a more positive attitude towards university as a whole can and should be fostered.
References
Derek Gatherer and Francis C.R. Manning, “Correlation of examination performance with lecture attendance: a comparative study of first-year biological sciences undergraduates”, Biochemical Education, 26 (1998), pp. 121-123
Daniel R. Marburger, “Does Mandatory Attendance Improve Student Attendance?”, The Journal of Economic Education, 37, 2 (2006), pp. 148-155
David Romer, “Do Students Go to Class? Should They?”, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7, 3 (1993), pp. 167-174
Luca Stanca, “The Effects of Attendance on Academic Performance: Panel Data Evidence for Introductory Microeconomics”, The Journal of Economic Education, 37, 3 (2010), pp. 251-266