by Athena Overmars
As SCAD students, we are constantly reminded of the importance of attending every in-person class. The attendance policy is one of the first things discussed in students’ First Year Experience classes and is something that gets reiterated in each course at the beginning of every quarter. There are only twenty class sessions per course, meaning each time a student misses a class they’re missing five percent of the total course material. At first glance this may not seem like much, however it can build up quickly. For that reason and to ensure each student gets all of the information needed from each course, the attendance policy is reinforced repeatedly.
In the past, the rule has been that each absence— despite the cause— is treated equally. Whether you slept past your alarm or had a family emergency, if more than fifteen minutes of a class period were missed, you were recorded absent. If a student exceeds four absences in a course, they will automatically receive a failing grade in that class for the quarter. Though this remains largely true, SCAD has amended the previously established attendance policy to include “alternative attendance” as of this year. Similar to what many schools refer to as excused absences, alternative attendance provides students an opportunity to make up a missed class through alternative means. By completing the necessary makeup work, the absence is not counted against the student. This work may include allowing the student to make up an exam, providing additional work outside of class that covers missed material, or attending the professor’s office hours or extra help session. The decision regarding the necessary work to make up a class is at the discretion of the course instructor.
With the introduction of this policy, the question then becomes: what circumstances qualify for alternative attendance? There are a select number of circumstances in which a student is eligible and can be separated into three categories:
The first category is absences due to participation in a SCAD-sponsored event. This includes competitions for the SCAD athletics teams as well as award ceremonies and design competitions throughout the school.
The second set of circumstances is obligations based on applicable laws such as military service or religious holidays.
The final category is labeled “critical incidents”. Experiencing a traumatic event or emergency, for example, missing class due to hospitalization, would be considered a critical incident.
If a student has prior knowledge of their involvement in one of the listed events, SCAD requires that a request for alternative attendance be submitted two weeks in advance of the event or as soon as possible after receiving notice of their involvement. In the case of an unexpected situation, the request should be sent when feasible. Once it has been submitted and a final decision has been made, the result will be communicated to both the professor and the student within one week. For details on the required documentation and the proper submission, students are encouraged to visit the SCAD website for the most up-to-date information.
It is important to understand that this policy is only applicable to students whose final absence is due to one of the previously stated circumstances. The school’s attendance policy intentionally allows students to miss up to four class sessions per course in a given quarter to accommodate situations such as being late, illness, or appointments. With the addition of alternative attendance to SCAD’s official attendance policy, the hope is that students will have greater flexibility to manage unforeseen absences, ensuring they can stay on track academically without the added stress of potentially failing a course.
