By Chris Badeaux
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 20, 1997

Mandatory attendance policy anathemic to regular breathing

Arizona Daily Wildcat Chris Badeaux

On the first day of classes, my syllabus said to me:

"One, two, even three

Absences you may have

But on the fourth you're out of the class."

What I'm trying to express, in a fairly trite manner, is the attendance policy in place at the University of Arizona, which is becoming more and more strictly enforced: A student may have three unexcused absences, but on the fourth, the student is administratively dropped from the class. I will refer to this as the mandatory attendance policy, because: One: Everyone else does, and Two: I can make it an acronym (MAP).

Just two years ago, the only class where I had to deal with this little hindrance was French 213. The French and Italian Department, who could not be reached for comment, was pretty strict about this policy, citing the importance of constant exposure to a language for learning; further, 213 is an accelerated course; literally, every day counts.

OK, that makes sense.

Over those last two years, though, especially since the beginning of this semester, there's been an increasingly strict enforcement of MAP across the board.

Even the English Department - my department - is not immune to this. I have three upper division English classes this semester, all of which have variations on MAP. English class attendance policy, with the exception of Freshman Composition, is determined by the individual professor. Professor Tom Willard, the department's undergraduate adviser, remarked on the increasing frequency of policy enforcement. Apparently, a lot more professors are infatuated with mandatory attendance.

I never thought I'd actually say this, but I miss organic chemistry. There were all sorts of perks I can only appreciate in light of recent developments - a giant lecture in a giant lecture hall with comfortable seats, dim lighting and, best of all, no mandatory attendance policy.

Don't feel like being in class to cover cycloalkenes and their substituents? Fine. Just show up for the tests and call it a semester.

In fact - get this - the chemistry department doesn't have a MAP, except in lab classes, in which every important facet of class except the write-up takes place in class. In lectures, students are expected to show up or not and accept the consequences.

Don't misunderstand me here - I actually enjoy class. Usually. I'm also fairly convinced that college is about learning, whether it's learning for a future job, or just learning for learning's sake (the latter's my favorite); it would be a waste of time and money to come here if the days were just a drunken haze of video games and sleep.

But please. The fact remains: Students pay tuition to attend classes. Professors receive pay to teach them. Granted, the professors (in contrast to administrators) here are underpaid, and almost certainly have better things to do with their time than grade the work of students who show up less than 10 percent of the time.

Nonetheless, this policy is antithetical to the very nature of university life. There is supposed to be a certain element of freedom involved in college - experiencing new things, testing the world and your own limitations, and getting in one last burst of fun before joining the real world full time. That last part, in my book, includes sleeping in every so often without worrying about more than missing out on some semi-inspired words of wisdom. It also means that if things come up on four separate occasions, it's possible to get a grade - any grade - in the class without donning a hairshirt.

Were I just a tad more cynical, I might suggest that the mandatory attendance policy represents some sort of lurking insecurity among instructors concerning their ability to teach, or, at least, to hold anyone's attention -

Good thing I'm not more cynical.

MAP is roll call, and roll call is for children. We are no longer in high school. Or junior high, or grade school, or kindergarten - you get the idea.

The solution is simple: Get rid of the mandatory attendance policy. If need be, in some classes, replace it with a de facto attendance policy: Give out homework assignments, at random, that can only be picked up in class.

Those students who want to attend class, who want to do well in classes, will be rewarded. Those who do not will fail in the course (no pun intended) of things. The students who enroll will actually want to be here.

And the rest of us can relax a little.

Chris Badeaux is the Opinions Editor. He has missed only one day in each of his classes all semester, and is very proud of this.