Attendance Policy
Class attendance is considered essential to the educational process at Drake State. The College subscribes to the philosophy that students will achieve academic success in direct proportion to class attendance. We also subscribe to the belief that the ability to manage one’s own attendance and punctuality is a critical component of job readiness that each student must master. With that in mind and since it is not required by our accrediting agency, Drake State is a non-attendance taking institution. Students must develop the ability to manage their time, monitor their attendance, and make their own determination on whether to drop out of a class. This policy in no way indicates that class attendance is not critical to the student’s success; indeed, it is critical to success in the classroom just as it will be critical to success in the workplace.
Individual instructors are granted the flexibility to establish more restrictive attendance policies for their classes. These policies can specify a maximum number of absences, tie the student grades in part to class attendance, or incorporate other methods they deem necessary. Any such policies will be clearly explained as part of the course syllabus provided to each student at the beginning of the instructional term.
Further, some students are receiving educational benefits from various federal and state agencies while attending classes at Drake State. Such agencies, like VA (Veteran Affairs), WIOA, and others, may impose their own attendance policies on students as a condition of receiving those educational benefits. Drake State acknowledges the right of the agencies to do so and is committed to providing them with an accurate accounting of the attendance of their benefit recipients.
Excused absences occur mainly because of emergencies (e.g., accidents, illness, or death of an immediate family member) or a result of federal or state statute (e.g., military service). Both types require proper notification and documentation, as determined by the instructor. When excused absences make it impossible to reasonably make up class work, the student may withdraw according to the College’s withdrawal policy.
It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of their exact number of absences in each class and to ensure that any missed assignments are completed in a timely manner. The instructor is not required to notify the student when the student is in danger of being excessively absent, nor is the instructor required to review any material missed as a result of the student being absent.