With four to six syllabi to keep track of, it can be difficult to know the attendance policies for each different professor during a given semester. As cold weather approaches and more college students are getting sick, many have no choice but to stay home and miss class which can lead to confusion and frustration stemming from differing attendance policies.
Mixing up policies and failing to correctly contact the professor about one’s absence can result in grade penalties, which isn’t fair considering that people can’t control their health. Geneseo should standardize their attendance policies for every course so that students aren’t wrongfully docked some points for catching a cold.
When an individual gets sick, they aren’t in the best mindset to thoroughly check each syllabus and ensure that they are following each professor’s distinctive protocol for reporting an excused absence.
While some professors may accept a simple email before class, others might require a doctor’s note or other proof of one’s illness. Some professors allow a certain amount of absences before giving their students a grade penalty, but this isn’t always the case.
Some professors don’t accept medically excused absences at all. These policies force students to put classes and grades before their mental and physical health.
Another problem is that there are professors who will ignore policies to protect students who are observing religious holidays. Students of all religious backgrounds should be protected, and students should not have to stress about if they will be allowed to make up missed work for their religion.