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EXCESSIVE ABSENCE IN COLLEGE CLASSROOMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………………………….. iv

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………… 1

PROBLEM: ABSENCES AFFECT GPA, GRADUATION, AND EMPLOYMENT …….. 1

DISCUSSION: CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVENTS AND ABIDING CONDITIONS………… 3

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVENTS …………………………………………… 4

ABIDING CONDITIONS…………………………………………………. 5

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………… 9

REFERNECES………………………………………………………………………………. 11

LIST OF FIGURES

Figur

1Number of Certificates and Degrees Awarded per 100 Students Enrolled by

Country…………………………………………………………………………….. 2

2Number of Days of Required School Attendance by Country…………..………… 3

3Two Absence Categories by Frequency of Absence……………………………… 3

4Most Common Circumstantial Excuses and How Frequently They Are

Used……………………………………………..………………….……………… 5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this investigative report is to identify and explain the causes of excessive absence

in college classrooms. It is widely theorized that class attendance has a direct impact on a

student’s GPA. The more absences a student has, the lower their GPA may be. A low GPA can

hinder a student from graduating, entering graduate school, or obtaining a good job.

Furthermore, habitual absence is likely to carry over into the workforce and hurt job

performance. Undoubtedly, excessive absence is an important issue, which is why its causes

must be laid out and analyzed.

Circumstantial events. These include sickness, medical emergencies, and personal

obligations.

Abiding conditions. These include three broad categories: school environment, the

student’s conscious decisions, and personal conflicts.

oSchool environment. A student may be absent due to issues with their teacher or

course or because of the class size.

oConscious Decisions. The student may be absent due to external class alternatives

such as studying for another class or because of their irresponsible choices.

oPersonal conflicts. Students are absent because they are unmotivated,

discouraged, and deprived of sleep, among other things.

INTRODUCTION

Excessive student absence is a longstanding, worldwide problem, and has notoriously perplexed

researchers, teachers and school officials in all levels of education for decades. So far, little has

been done to actually solve the issue since the causes behind it are so numerous and often unique

to each individual. That of course does not mean there are no practical solutions; it simply means

that more work must be done to identify and understand the causes of excessive student absence.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to thoroughly investigate the most common causes of student

absence in college and university classrooms and expand previous and current research to

include even more relevant causes. Ultimately, permanent solutions to this issue must be

developed and careful decisions must be made regarding the undesirable state of classroom

attendance.

Scope

This report will encompass numerous causes of absence among college students. While much of

the information presented may also be relevant to attendance issues in secondary schools, the

focus of this report will be on post-secondary classroom attendance with the goal of improving

attendance policies and practices at , specifically. The research of causes for this report was

derived primarily from student interviews and a survey, along with personal yet objective input

by the report’s author. The majority of the survey questions were duplicated from a survey

conducted by Paul Friedman, Fred Rodriguez, and Joe McComb in their study entitled, “Why

Students Do and Do Not Attend Classes.” In addition, the bulk of informational support for this

research was found on the Internet. Before the causes of excessive absenteeism are fully

discussed, some background must be shed on why attendance is a worthwhile issue and how it

affects the entire university system and even society.

PROBLEM: ABSENCES AFFECT GPA, GRADUATION, AND EMPLOYMENT

The general hypothesis correlating absence with student performance states that regular class

attendance is a critical component of a student’s learning process and absenteeism is thus

detrimental to a student’s education, having the opposite effect of attendance. This hypothesis is

recognized worldwide in every learning institution, meaning that most people believe absence,

especially when in excess, hinders a student’s academic performance. Quite simply, excessive

absence by a student results in a lower GPA than the GPA the student would potentially have

achieved had they not missed class. If a student’s GPA drops below the 1.0 mark, the student

may be suspended from future course registration or may voluntarily drop out. Even if the

student’s GPA does not reach this low point, their excessive absence may cause them to fail some

courses, forcing them to push back their graduation date. Clearly, excessive absence can have

serious ramifications.

But the consequences of excessive absence do not stop with post-secondary education. The effect

of poor class attendance on a student’s GPA can follow the student in their future ventures,

negatively impacting their chances at success. For instance, a low GPA as a result of erratic

attendance may restrict the student from entering graduate school. In today’s competitive job

market, a bachelor’s degree is not worth as much as it was in previous years. With no impressive

GPA and no graduate work to add to a résumé, the student may find it difficult to start a

rewarding career. Furthermore, the student may experience hardships even if they are able to

obtain a good job. This is because habitual class absence is likely to be repeated in the

workforce. Absence in the workforce has the same effect as absence in the classroom: poor

performance. As the worker’s productivity decreases due to absence, they will likely be

reprimanded or terminated. Appropriate action must be taken soon to develop permanent

solutions to growing attendance issues. The state of our national workforce depends on it.

For the majority of the past decade, America has been having difficulty competing with other

industrialized nations as the productivity of our workforce has declined. Perhaps most working

Americans were ill-prepared in high school and college for the challenges of real world

occupations. This statement is supported by the figure below, indicating that America’s has a

very low college completion rate in comparison with other countries.

Figure 1

Since the failure to graduate college can

be partly attributed to a low GPA and

since a low GPA can result from poor