Policy
Class attendance is necessary for the ongoing process of education in the student’s life. There are no excused absences for any purpose. Absences will not be questioned nor will they affect the earned grade as long as they are not excessive. “Excessive absence” from a class means that a student has missed approximately 25 percent of the class period and, therefore, will be dropped from the class. Should the last date of attendance occur during the first 9 calendar weeks of the term, a grade of “W” will be placed on the student’s transcript, meaning that the student forfeits any grade or earned credit for the course. Should the last date of attendance occur after the beginning 10th calendar week of the semester, a grade of “WF” will be assigned, meaning that the earned credit will affect the student’s cumulative GPA. Being late for class on three occasions is equivalent to one absence.
In order to maintain an atmosphere that is conducive to education and learning for all students, proper classroom etiquette must be observed. For this reason, infants and children will not be allowed in the classroom, and other disruptions such as cellular phones are also considered inappropriate for the classroom. Upon arrival to a class where the professor is initially absent, students should not vacate the classroom for at least 15 minutes. Professors shall notify the class if they anticipate being absent. No instructor shall use attendance in any way for bonus points, penalties or exemptions from exams.
100 and 200 level courses
| Class Meets |
Credit Value |
Absences Allowed |
| M-F |
4 |
15 |
| M, W, F |
3-4 |
9 |
| M, W, F |
2 |
6 |
| M, W, F |
1 |
2 |
| T, Th |
3-4 |
6 |
| T, Th |
2 |
4 |
| Evening/Slot |
3 |
3 |
| Weekend |
1 |
1 |
300, 400, and graduate-level courses
Instructors shall have the right to set any policy they choose, as long as it is not more stringent than allowing one classroom hour of absence for each credit.
Athletics
The North Central athletics program is designed to protect and enhance the educational and physical well-being of student-athletes. The athletics program will seek to establish and maintain an environment in which athletics activities are conducted as an integral part of the student-athlete's educational experience and in which coaches play a significant role as educators. Student-athletes do have to miss class from time to time for athletic contests. Student-athletics will be given the opportunity to make up any class work, quizzes, or tests that are missed due to an athletic event. Also, students who exceed the accepted number of class absences due to athletic events will be given an exception to the class absences policy. If a student-athlete exceeds the number of class absences by skipping class for reasons other than an athletic event, the class policy will still be enforced. If extenuating circumstances occur (i.e. sickness, death in the family) a student-athlete may petition the Academic Dean. Athletics events are defined as games/meets and the travel needed to attend those games or meets. Student-athlete absences for practices or optional athletics programming will not be considered an athletic event.