> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Profhacker Logo

ProfHacker

Teaching, tech, and productivity.

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Dealing with beginning-of-the-semester absences

By  Heather M. Whitney
January 12, 2012

Empty Chairs

“Dear professor, I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend any class sessions during the first week of the semester. I’ve got [insert official school function] going on.”

“Doc, My flight from [insert foreign country where the student lives] has been delayed and I will not arrive to the campus until [insert late date]. Sorry. “

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Empty Chairs

“Dear professor, I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend any class sessions during the first week of the semester. I’ve got [insert official school function] going on.”

“Doc, My flight from [insert foreign country where the student lives] has been delayed and I will not arrive to the campus until [insert late date]. Sorry. “

“I regret to inform you that I will not be in class the first two days because of [insert family event. I’ve personally gotten everything from Disney vacation to funeral to family-organized mission trip].”

I don’t know about you, but I get these emails about one to two weeks before every semester, and sometimes even after the fact. Personally, I struggle with handling them because my perspective, both when I was a student and now as a professor, is that class time is equivalent to a job commitment. Would you email your employer two days before your start date to say that you went on vacation with your family and you won’t be back for a week? Probably not.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the same time, you might email an employer and say, “the task group of which I’m a part has required meetings next week. Let’s meet to talk about how I can attend these mandatory meetings and still make sure I get my responsibilities to you completed in a timely manner.”

So I deal with them on a case-by-case basis. For more frivolous scenarios, like a family vacation, sometimes all it takes is a quick email to say, “the absence policy applies to the first week of classes, as it does for the entire semester. I’ve attached a copy of our syllabus so that you can be fully informed.” Those who are skipping for less official reasons often get the point and adjust their plans. And since my absence policy takes into account official reasons for absence, those people know what to do. I usually ask those with an official excuse to make an appointment to meet with me the first week so that we can make in-person contact and ensure that they have a solid start to the semester.

Aside from the larger issue of whether or not attendance should be required in classes at all, or the higher ed culture issue in which students think of semester start dates as being soft, I’m wondering: how do you deal with beginning-of-the-semester absences, especially when students may not be aware of your absence policy because they haven’t attended a class yet? Let us know in the comments.

[Image Creative Commons licensed / Flickr user Donald Lee Pardue]

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin