2.2 Attendance and Participation

2.2.1 General Attendance Policy

Attendance and participation are important components of this course. Your expected to attend all class sessions and to arrive before the beginning of class. That said, it is important to recognize that our normal attendance policies are not well suited to a pandemic. If you cannot attend class or arrive on time because of a personal illness, a family issue, jury duty, an athletic match, or a religious observance, you must contact me beforehand to let me know if at all possible. I define family issues broadly - if your family or friends become sick or are being affected by COVID-19 in other ways, please know that I want you to keep your focus on what is most important.

I may ask for more information, such as a note from a health care provider, a travel letter from Athletics, or other documentation for absences. I will not be asking for health care provider documentation for acute illnesses or injuries, though, since if you’re sick but not very sick, the last thing most you will want to do is go to a doctor just to get a note. I am proceeding with a spirit of trust in all of you, and ask you reciprocate that with me. If you need to modify assignment due dates, please let me know prior to those deadlines.

Please see the University’s attendance policy for additional details.

2.2.2 Attendace Collection

In order to help identify students who might need extra support, I do keep track of who attends class. Attendance check-ins will be collected through a simple web-form. Students will need a QR code reader application installed on their smartphone to check-in if their phone does not support it automatically. The Course Docs contain some additional details and links for learning more about how this works.

This QR code will be available as print-outs in the back and front of the classroom. Please scan them as you come into class. Attendance submissions must be received by the end of the class period.

These web forms are time stamped, so if you sign the form 3 minutes after the beginning of class or later, you will be marked as ‘late’ in the attendance database. This is done automatically by my gradebook, so please see me if you have a concern about how this works or, more generally, if you have a concern about regularly being able to arrive to class on time.

If you do not own a smartphone, please let me know as soon as possible. You should note that attendance check-ins are covered by the course’s Academic Honesty policy. Sharing the check-in form with another student or signing in on their behalf are both violations of this policy.

If we have to switch to having class remotely, the QR code will be available on-screen. This means that you need to arrive to class at least a minute or two before we begin. If you arrive after the QR code has been taken down, I’ll put it up again at the end of the “front matter” and “back matter” sections of the lecture slides. Attendance submissions must be received by the end of the class period.

2.2.3 Missed Classes

My priority with attendance is to identify students who may be struggling or in need of additional support. However, because attending class is crucial, I do factor attendance into your overall participation grade. In order to give you some flexibility, I do not apply any penalties to your first two unexcused absences. Any unexcused absences beyond those two will result in no credit (for an absences). Regular late arrivals may result in partial credit being earned for that day’s participation grade.

Specific elements of the course, such as participation in group discussions during lectures as well as the QHQ discussions, will also be factored into your participation grade. If there is a need for you to miss a significant portion of your coursework, such as because of an illness, please reach out to me and we will make a plan for alternative ways to make-up these activities based on the circumstances.

It is your responsibility to make-up missed classes, including viewing the lecture recording and, if needed, obtaining notes from a classmate All lecture slides will be posted on Canvas before class begins along with relevant notes for that lecture. Please note that lectures and discussions cannot be recorded by any means (e.g. audio or video recordings, or photographs) without my permission.