May 1, 2007

Elephant Not in the Room

The empty seats started to irk him.

Looking for a job?

Browse all job listings:

Faculty: 3,298
Administrative: 1,239
Executive: 160
FEATURED EMPLOYERS

Attendance hadn’t been an issue for Hedges throughout the 1990s, when he estimates that, on average, 80 percent of enrolled students came to his class. But he noticed a decline over the last five years — so much so that he decided to take an informal tally of his students. What he found was discouraging: Forty to 50 percent of students weren’t attending his classes, which mirrored what he heard from colleagues in his department and at other large universities.

“That’s a huge number of students not showing up,” Hedges says.

While longitudinal data to support Hedges’ findings on a mass scale are lacking, several researchers have provided a snapshot of attendance patterns. A 2005 survey of first-year undergraduate students by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles showed that while a majority of college students spend 11 or more hours in class per week, 33 percent reported skipping class and 63 percent said they come to class late “occasionally” or “frequently.”

A similar survey showed that the proportion of students who report coming late to class has jumped from 48 percent in 1966 to 61 percent in 2006 — evidence, one could argue, of a growing indifference to class in general.

“Maybe it’s a cultural thing, relating to multi-tasking and a situation where students are almost too busy to come to class,” Hedges says. “It makes sense to show up to lectures. People who hear things and see things and write them down learn better than those who don’t have all three of those stimuli coming in. The other students are learning the material but not getting the fine details.”

As attendance in Hedges’ class has sagged, so too have test scores. Because course material changes each year, he says it’s almost impossible to find a standard metric that allows tracking of learning over the years. Still, his attendance survey shows that students who come to his class regularly earn on average one letter grade higher than those who don’t.

David Romer, a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, found the same grade-attendance correlation when he surveyed students enrolled in economics courses at three “relatively elite” institutions of various sizes. The results, published in a 1993 article in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, found that among the entire cohort, one in three students regularly didn’t attend class during that week. The rate of absenteeism was highest (40 percent) at the large public university, but still notable at the medium-sized private (34 percent) and small liberal arts college (25 percent.)

Institutions the size of UCLA and Berkeley represented a minority of institutions that responded to the 2005 Higher Education Research Institute survey, one indication that absenteeism is widespread. Professors say it’s not so much the size of an institution but, among other things, the size of the class that is a likely predictor of attendance. So to the extent that large public universities are most likely to offer lecture hall-filling courses, the issue of class skipping is most pronounced there.

Technology’s Role

Hedges has a theory about what allows students to skip classes and still pass, and it involves an act that many professors see as pedagogical charity. While some students benefit from reading course lecture material over the Internet, professors are enabling lazy students, he says, by making entire PowerPoint presentations available online to students who use the notes as a substitute for live interaction.

While Hedges typically puts his lecture outlines — talking points, not details — online, last fall he removed the material. Students complained, but he says class attendance improved slightly. For future classes, Hedges plans to include some online material because he says it helps students who do attend class.

Will Kalkhoff, an assistant professor of sociology at Kent State University, says he noticed a drop in attendance in his 40-person deviant behavior course when he began posting lecture notes online.

“In general, I think the classes are better when I provide the students with the notes ahead of time, but they are only better for the students who show up,” Kalkoff wrote in an e-mail. He has used PowerPoint for two years and found that students interact in class less than they did when he relied on chalk. “I almost feel like I’m giving a TV show and they are sitting there watching it; you don’t ask questions of the TV.”

(According to the 2005 HERI survey, 76 percent of first-year students reported speaking up in class — although the 40-year study done by UCLA found that students reported less interaction with instructors than those who answered in the earlier sample.)

Not surprisingly, professors say the reputation of a class is an important factor in student attendance. Gary Wyatt, an associate professor of sociology at Emporia State University, found that 110 first-year students at “medium sized” colleges in the Midwest reported an average of three absences from courses that they liked and 5.3 from those in which they didn’t. (He published results in a 1992 edition of the journal Teaching Sociology, noting that results are from self-reported memories of classes missed and need to be interpreted with caution.)

Equally intuitive are the results of a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study from three economics instructors at the University of California at Santa Cruz showing that students there most often miss class because a) they are sleeping, b) they are preparing for other classes or c) they feel like the class is “useless.”

But that study, looking at all economics classes at UCSC above 50 students over an entire quarter, also found that “there is a surprisingly little correlation between observable characterstics of a class and the attendance,” according to Carlos Dobkin, one of the researchers. In other words, whether an instructor used PowerPoint or a chalkboard; whether she spoke English or not, didn’t have a noticeable effect on enrollment patterns.

Madeline Donovan, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, says she can typically tell whether a class is worth attending within the first week. For her, it’s often a matter of time management.

“When it’s close to a test, I go to every class,” she said. “After a test, if something is coming up, I weigh priorities. Sometimes other things are more important than spending an hour-and-a-half learning about things I can see in a textbook.”

Other elements factor into whether Donovan goes to class. If it’s a large course with no attendance policy, she’ll often skip. If it’s small and participation factors heavily into grading, she’ll go. She says many of her friends use a similar calculus — although she admits that laziness sometimes enters the equation. Some classmates have an informal competition to see who can skip the most classes in a term and still emerge unscathed. (Facebook groups that brag about skipping class to sleep or to watch The Price Is Right suggest that such contests aren’t isolated.)

Donovan keeps one other thing in mind. “I think a lot about tuition money and how much money I’m wasting if I choose to skip class,” she says. “There’s a pretty big guilt factor, especially if your parents are helping you pay for school.”

‘Life Intervenes’

To some professors, half-filled classrooms are a sign of disrespect.

Mark Muraven, an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, estimates that 50 percent attendance is the norm in his 200-person lecture courses. And it’s typically the same students who come to each class.

“What blows me away is that some mornings, I give a quiz and 95 percent of students show up, but then afterward a large group stands up and leaves,” Muraven says. “They are already there. They have a pen in hand and decide to go back to bed. I used to take it personally. Now I think it’s funny — I can’t explain it.”

Skipping class is so much a part of the undergraduate culture, some contend, that the issue doesn’t warrant attention or action. Students who want the complete experience will come to class, and those who skip are making a choice.

That’s Patricia Hawley’s mindset. She’s an assistant professor of psychology at Kansas State University who sees roughly 65 to 90 percent attendance in her classes. Hawley posts online notes because she says she has no evidence that doing so means students are less likely to come. Plus, no student should feel lost, she says.

“Other professors get annoyed when students don’t show up,” Hawley says. “When I was in college, I had a life. I had emergencies and jobs. This isn’t a fun time for all students. They aren’t cutting class because they’re drinking or going to frat parties. They are adults. Sometimes life intervenes.”

Brian Starks, an assistant professor of sociology at Florida State University who teaches a 65-person introduction to sociology course, says some students come to college with the mindset that lectures are largely a waste of time.

“When I first got here, I tried to get the unmotivated ones to go to class, and I felt I was fighting a losing battle,” he says. “Even when I said, ‘you’re going to fail,’ they didn’t seem to care, so I stopped engaging them.”

But Janet Stemwedel, an assistant professor of philosophy at San Jose State University who often ruminates about attendance issues, says she isn’t ready to “do triage” — though that continually sets her up for disappointment. In a 20-person class this spring, only six attended one session and two didn’t open their mouths, leading to what she called a “painful” hour.

“If people think skipping class is a victimless crime, they are wrong. It undercuts dynamics of discussions and debates,” she says.

While it isn’t an irrational choice for students to skip some classes — she can remember several as a student that added little value — Stemwedel says there are many more cases when professors lose students because they fail to frame their introduction to the class in the right way. She tells students in a philosophy of science course, taken largely by science majors who are fulfilling a requirement, that what they will hear in lecture will change the way they think about their field. (Not to mention the fact that participation is a part of the final grade.)

And some faculty members report that absenteeism just isn’t a problem. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, a professor of psychology at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says that her introductory psychology course — the typical survey course that would lend itself to skipping — is at least 80 percent full each session.

Professors need to be innovative if they expect high attendance, she says. “People who complain about the student often aren’t those putting in that much effort themselves. Either they are inept or they don’t care.”

Punitive Damages

Or, as some faculty see it, their colleagues are giving students too much leeway.

Jeannette Jones Haviland, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University at New Brunswick, says she gets nearly 100 percent attendance in her adolescent psychology course of more than 100 students. She goes the pop quiz route, handing out the exams at the start of many classes to see if students have completed the reading. Anyone with a cumulative quiz grade above a certain level doesn’t need to take the midterm.

For years, Dan Clawson, a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, asked students in his sociology courses — some of which top 200 people — to complete a one-page response paper due on the first day of each week’s class. Students could write three five-page papers and avoid taking any final exam, and most in the class chose that option. Clawson said the disadvantage of the policy was that some students saw no incentive to come to class, particularly because his courses are taken by a non-trivial number of students in other fields who have limited interest in the topic.

Attendance would drop below 50 percent late in the semester, once students felt they had some mastery of the topics covered in the papers. To address the problem he reluctantly changed the policy last fall, replacing the response papers with six unannounced in-class quizzes that account for 25 percent of the final grade.

According to Clawson, attendance never again fell below 80 percent and usually hit 85 percent. But a new problem emerged: Students thought that because they came to class they could slack off on the reading. For the in-class quizzes, students did much better at answering questions based on lectures than at answering questions based on readings, he says. Students clearly read less of the material, and they read it less carefully.

Others have found troubling their role as an attendance enforcer. Kalkhoff, the Kent State professor, says he used to have what he calls a “hardcore” attendance policy. Students rarely skipped, but he grew “weary of being a police officer,” so he dropped the policy. “I spent a lot of time tracking down validity of excuses and listening to people, spending way to much time on that,” he says.

Hedges, the Penn State professor, says it’s nearly impossible to manage such a policy once a class gets into the hundreds, which brings the debate back to where it began.

In his first 10 years teaching at Florida State, Clawson never taught a class in which enrollment exceeded 75 students. Now, 27 years into his career there, he routinely teaches classes of more than 200 students.

“That changes the dynamic significantly,” he says. “I’ve always relied on establishing a rapport with students. Missing class has always been an issue, but because of size, it’s certainly gotten worse and harder to monitor.”

— Elia Powers

Want it on paper? Print this page.
Know someone who’d be interested? Forward this story.
Want to stay informed? Sign up for free daily news e-mail.

Comments

Why should students go to class more than is absolutely necessary when the entire society has taught them that certification, not education, is what counts in most fields?

J Mall, at 6:35 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Sometimes the elephant in the room is... US.

Student absenteeism is a complicated phenomenon. I would only like to observe that, especially given the fact that so much informational material about our disciplines and our subjects (including our own work) is now available to anyone capable of using Google (and that means 100% of our students), the onus is, more than ever, on us to be interesting. How many of our colleagues read their lectures to (at?) their students? If I were back in college, I would not attend such a class, believing that if a teacher’s presentation is of that nature it should be distributed in written form in order to allow students to learn the material on their own, at their own pace. Every class (including lectures, even large lectures), in my opinion, should be an encounter with a living mind. Lectures read at students, even when read by a trained “actor” so as to seem spontaneous, are not the product of an engaged mind reacting to present circumstances, but are almost always B-O-R-I-N-G. The fact of the matter is that many lectures are not worth the students’ attention. And I am talking about lectures given by one of the best faculties in this country. There are few John Flemings and Anthony Graftons among us, alas.

Robert Hollander, Prof. in European Lit., Emeritus at Princeton Univ., at 7:15 am EDT on May 1, 2007

As one of my colleagues put it, education is the only commodity for which hardly anyone demands his money’s worth.

John Marlin, The College of St. Elizabeth, at 7:15 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Faculty as the problem

I just attended a disciplinary hearing for a faculty member yesterday — he was being disciplined because he didn’t want to give his students a day by day outline of what would happen in each class. He claimed that when he did students just showed up for tests — and he couldn’t modify the schedule if students needed more help on some areas. The Administration caved to the students complaints and forced him to provide the day by day outline — then disciplined him when he stuck to it and didn’t have the time to answer all the students questions. When our Administrators leap at every student complaint — no matter the pedagogy that suffers, the courses get more and more dumbed down — and so do our students.

Cheryll, at 7:40 am EDT on May 1, 2007

The word that jumped out from this article was “lecture.” Perhaps if more of us mixed our methods of instruction attendance would improve.

R Mitchell, at 7:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Perhaps someone ought to make about a thousand copies of this article and wallpaper Margaret Spellings’ office with it. As the Department of Education creatively seeks new ways to force institutions to not only demonstrate learning outcomes but also meet various and sometimes ridiculous educational performance benchmarks, recognizing that students are probably more culpable than institutions for the perceived problems in post-secondary education would do all of us more than a little good.

D.C. Observer, at 8:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Attendance and Reading

For me, class absences and tardies are only half the problem. The other half is how few of my students read. It’s hard to imagine my students reading the books I regularly assigned and expected my students to read in the late 60s and mid 70s, half a dozen or more paperbacks — and sometimes those were in addition to an anthology. Now it’s a struggle to get most of my students to read a single paperback. If I withdraw students who don’t keep up with the reading and the students who attend only half the time or less, I have less than half a class, maybe only a third, by midterm. I don’t blame myself any longer; I just wonder what this all means. Clearly our students prefer to get the information they think they need in other ways, and perhaps only time will tell what this means to our society and world. I’m a book lover, and I can’t imagine myself without the knowledge, the perspective, and the ability to reason I gained from reading; and my prejudice in favor of readers and reading is the source of the alarm and dread I must occasionally suppress when I find myself once again shocked by how little my students have read and how little they care.

Bob Schenck, at 8:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

The New Unemployables

Attendence? Standards? Hah! With excess supply of colleges, students know if they bark, eunuch-like provosts and presidents jump like puppets. It would be laughable, if the taxpayers’ money wasn’t being wasted in such a silly and absurd manner.

Now, grades are nearly worthless as an evaluation tool. Employers have to give objective tests to gauge basic skills, for cripes’ sake. No “new methods” in an SAT.

What those little Einsteins don’t realize: a college degree without rigor, discipline, and work ethic is nearly worthless. And employers can see through B.S. in a New York minute.

L.L.B., Ex-faculty at Avg College, at 8:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Professor Hollander’s comment about encounters in the classroom with a living mind are spot on, and more educators should pay heed to these words. It’s amazing how at times what sounds like an inherently fascinating topic can become leaden and dull in the hands of even the most capable scholar (again, there’s a big disconnect at times between scholarship ability and the ability to stand in front of a classroom and engage students effectively for 50 minutes, 2 hours, etc)

I don’t have a problem with giving some straight lectures at times, but given the broader world of most students (iPods, on-demand media, etc), mixing it up with some questions, a short activity, is a great idea....of course, we have yet to take about the potential evils of PowerPoint :) That’s probably another post....

Max Grinnell, Lecturer/Doctoral student at UW-Madison, at 9:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

even if it counts, they don’t care

My courses are not lectures. Participation is directly relevant to skill acquisition as is preparation. I teach language. I require attendance and make participation and preparation worth as much as the midterm. And still students do not show up. This semester, I changed my syllabus with dept approval to 6 absences forces an F. Most students are at 5 absences. I give pop quizzes covering in-class material and homework, no matter.

It makes it nearly impossible to plan class activities to engage students actively when I don’t even know how many will show up!

Dr J, Adjunct Faculty, at 9:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Teaching a large group via the lecture method is an ominous responsibility and requires specific skills. An individual may be an expert in content and/or research but not an expert in teaching. And some faculty will never be teachers. “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” is an ancient proverb that gives a healthy directive to those who are willing to accept the responsibility of teaching.

Ann Stephanie Stano, Ed. Administrator at LECOM, at 9:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

elephant not in the room

D.C. Observer is corect. Our students can take out loans, die for their country, become parents, and operate sophisticated electronic equipment which I can’t even spell. It seems to me that the moral responsibility of attending class belongs to them. Hand wringing on this issue produces nothing substantial. Jeremiah

Jeremiah, at 9:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Absences, lack of preparation & rigor

Over the past fifteen years I have noticed a significant overall decline in the rigor and steadfast effort of my students. My classes range from 25-to-40 students. The format is a THINK question to start every class (cumulative THINKS count for 50% of the grade), discussion groups, then a class discussion.

I have a daily attendance sheet. Six unexcused absences in a 28-class course leads to prompt withdrawal. Increasingly a number of students are poorly prepared for class discussion. On occasion I throw them out of class, which seems to have a momentarily, though minimal, impact on most of the other students.

A recent phenomenon that puzzles me (and some of my colleagues) is the increasing rate of ‘disappearances.’ Some students who are doing well simply disappear. Others who are doing poorly do likewise. This semester, in a starting class of 38, I have had six withdrawals (mostly initiated by me) and four students who, missing the withdrawal deadline, will earn Fs for disappearing.

At least half of these withdrawals (or Fs) are by students who have decided to drop out of classes for the semester. A ‘life overload,’ ‘need for a break,’ and simply ‘depression’ are among the reasons for this.

What troubles me most, in recent years, has been the increasing number of students who simply don’t seem to care about being involved, learning, and applying rigor to gain new skills. Community college is an opportunity for a broad range of students. An increasing number don’t seem interested in capitalizing on this opportunity. From other comments, this syndrome does not seem limited to community colleges.

keith wheelock, Professor at Raritan Valley Community College, at 9:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

I Didn’t Intend To Blab On Like This

What can I say? Eight posts so far and I don’t disagree with a single one.

I teach mathematics and statistics, and, like any teacher of math and stat, I spend waaay more of our in-class time helping students understand what things mean and helping them develop the skills that will make them competent problem solvers than I spend introducing new material. The classroom experience is interactive and essential, and absenteeism is miniscule. That’s so, even though I use excellent textbooks and have quite spectacular on-line handouts (I mean who can’t anticipate what students will think is difficult to learn and understand?).

But just a few weeks ago, I sat in on two introductory statistics classes at a major, Southern, land-grant university. Both sections had enrollments of 70 and class attendances that day were 12 and 15 (and there was nothing unusual about that day). Several students were messing around on-line and several spent quite a bit of time reading the newspaper. A few of the twelve 70-student sections of that particular course that are taught each term had average attendances in the 50-60 range, but the majority had average attendance below 30.

I give pop quizzes – actually they are so frequent, my students often remark, “Oh, today was a pop-non-quiz day” – but only to keep students on their toes, not to encourage attendance. I throw away the three lowest grades, but there is no good excuse for missing one ... miss one and you get a zero for that day.

Then I have something called the Three Ps ... Preparedness, Participation, and Professionalism. In my syllabi I describe it thusly ...

“To understand the 3-Ps, begin by rereading the section about class attendance [I record attendance but only because the University requires it.]. Then reread the section about the Honor Code. Then reread the section about homework. Then understand that when you come to class you will be expected to (1) have completed the reading assignment to date, (2) have attempted to work all of the homework problems and other assignments to date, (3) be prepared to respond to direct questions by the instructor, (4) be respectful of your instructor and fellow students, and (5) never ever consider violating the Honor Code of ****** University.

Please understand that if your cell phone ever rings in class, your final grade for the 3-Ps will be zero. Also, being consistently tardy for class will result in a serious reduction of your 3-P point total. You get the drift!”

Pop quizzes and the 3-Ps, which count for 15% of each student’s grade, are not designed to increase enrollment, but I’m certain they have that residual effect. Truth be known, my average attendance figures are always above 90%.

J Mall is right ... if attending class has only marginal “value added,” why do it?

To John Marlin’s very accurate input, I must tell you that one of my colleagues once said, “a university is the only place you can accomplish 125% of what you and your employer have agreed is your responsibility and still not have permanent employment (tenure).”

RWH, at 9:35 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Class Attendance

I have been in this “business” for a long time, and my students come to class or there are legitimate repercussions in their grade. Class participation and excessive absenteeism and tardiness are factored into the way grades are calculated; the criteria are clearly written on the course syllabus.

I could take the easy way out and relax my standards as some colleagues have. After all, we have enough on our plates, I suppose, without keeping track of such mundane items. However, what does it say about us and how we value of what we do?

I liken my feelings about setting standards for attendance and getting to class on time with my feelings about dress codes. I dress professionally to model respect for my discipline, my profession and my students. Similarly, I am rarely if ever absent or late for class.

Recognizing that I may sound like a fascist, I would also submit that I feel a responsibility to engage my students once I have insisted that they be there. Discussions are lively and participation is active.

Last semester, for example, I struck a bargain with a student that if she would buff up the level of her language to fit academic situations, I would learn some hip hop vocab. One the last day of class, she outfitted me like a rapper. Not pretty, but fun. Word.

We have a responsibility to set standards. To do less is to abrogate our responsibilities and contribute to an acceptance of expecting less.

Peace,

Ginna AKA Ann T. Diluvian

Ginna, Associate Professior, at 9:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

I loved this quote:

“I think a lot about tuition money and how much money I’m wasting if I choose to skip class,” she says. “There’s a pretty big guilt factor, especially if your parents are helping you pay for school.”

That’s the best endorsement I’ve ever heard for having kids pay at least part of their own tuition. I admit I am biased, as I worked and paid my way through school and feel I got a better education for it.

Karin Dalziel, at 9:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Having heard Tom Angelo propose evaluating our methods by applying “the parrot question” (could a smart parrot pass your class?), I’m wondering where the opportunity is within this problem? How are the absentees connecting with the material? In small groups outside of class? Are they organized so they tag team, you go today and I’ll go tomorrow? What opportunities does the new technology like wifi, cell phone texting and clickers provide for actively engaging each individual the class? The more I can provide the “Ahah” experience, I expect the more likely they will show up in class. I’m very guilty of the cult of coverage and I need to keep reminding myself that students can read faster than I can talk. Angelo suggests starting a class with a critical question about a principle, getting student commitments to an choice, having short small group discussion and then public voting. Under the pre-internet, pre-xerox paradigm, I had the corner on information; information was scarce. Then came the xerox. Information could be easily replicated without passing through an intervening mind. Now we have the digital age. Information, high quality to fluff, is available in the excess to everyone everywhere anytime. So it seems to me that the challenge to the professoriate is to determine how to move from the role of being the source to the role of being the guide? Otherwise, we run the risk of becoming less and less important to the really good students. They may be skipping class and taking a lower grade to avoid what they regard as terminal boredom, given the level of intellectual (and other) stimulation they are used to through their digital technology.

JMG3Y, assoc prof at state RU/VH, at 10:10 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Coming to Class

I see this as such a no-brainer. It is very much a simple issue of behavior modification.

Pass out an attendance sheet each class. State that signing it accurately is a part of the university honor code (e.g., don’t sign for an absent friend). Ask them to record the time they arrived, not simply their presence at some point during the class. Award fewer points for coming late. Collect this sheet at the end of each class.

Each week, record each student’s attendance on your Blackboard site (so they can see it). Immediate feedback is more effective than delayed feedback.

Make attendance count for a sizable chunk of their final grade. In addition to weekly assignments, tests, term papers, etc.

I usually have 90% or more of my students in each class. It is not difficult,conceptually or technologically, to ensure this. I personally think it important for students to come to class. You may or may not wish to allow for ‘excused’ absences (illness, death in the family, etc.). I do not. Absent is absent. The reason is immaterial. Thus I avoid students’ pleading for excuses, providing me doctor’s notes, etc. I tell them to NOT tell me the reasons for their absences. I respect them as adults when they do not come to class. I assume that have a reason that is sufficient for them. I need not (and do not wish to) know what that reason is.

Try the above. Your attendance will skyrocket. This is a good thing, if you believe attendance is important. I do.

Bruce Thyer, Professor at Florida State University, at 10:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Isn’t outcome more important?

I really think the outcome should be the emphases and not the attendance.

I am in science and engineer fields and I did not require my students to show-up just for the reason of showing-up. If they can learn what is required what’s the point of restricting them in classes? There are courses that need interactions to demonstrate points. Instructors should do so and integrated the demonstration into the evaluation — if you think there are things to learn, shouldn’t you construct a way to evaluate the learning?

As for the point of accountability, I happen to think this is exactly why we need the accountability standard. Require attendance is a wrong requirement. Like demonstrated in the article, I don’t see how some professors could have given the same grade for the same outcome.

Personally, I do believe if students had follow their reading assignments and catching-up with material, they will actually saving time to come to a well thought lectures. But, of cause, as people pointed out, this is part of the culture — which we have failed in teaching our youth. So. Back to the ethic education — which we can do well only if we are reasonable — we should not feel hurt because students not coming to class. The highest priority is how we help students learn and really show them reasons to come to class instead of insisting that come to class is the thing they have to do.

I woke up on my senior year and decided that there are things that are more important than just go to classes and as long as I didn’t waste my time, I am doing the right thing.

Duncan, at 10:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Elephants not in the room

What we seem to have is a generational cohort with evolving changes in learning behavior. All of the comments in this thread are familiar and resonate with me. I wonder- Is this behavior driven by our assessment patterns, in our deification of the multiple- choice-test-as-standard driving students away from other models of learning? I have seen a drift in the last 7 years or so away from the classroom and toward the review book and handouts as primary source. More interactive pedagogies may or may not work for this, as I get the impression there is a very different concept of the educational contract in this group of students. There seems to be a deep belief that all that needs to be known and all that needs to be done is to pass the test. Patterns of educational bulemia seem to presage a generation of professionals and other educational products with no commitment to long term development of expertise or concept of context of information and understanding. Competency based models, while they prescribe a more accurate toolbox of assessments and rationalization of educational goals, may feed into devaluation of the professor’s experience, and do not acknowledge the importance of tacit knowledge and context as much as traditional academic pedagogies, even as the business world is discovering its importance. Video games and text messages that rely on action oriented problem solving and stripped down linguistic models may have something to do with it. This is not meant to be the rant of a obsolescent excuse for a teacher. It is meant to enumerate some of the possible factors that contribute to this, for me, distressing phenomenon. Like most behaviors, we may have to ask ourselves in what ways is this adaptive and/or predictable? What is behind this seemingly widespread lack of interest in personal transmission and modeling of knowledge, in a seeming aversion or disinterest in deep and long term learning? All the Derek Boks in the world, with enthusiasm for new cognitive descriptors of educational effectiveness, will not make a dent in a whole generation who don’t show up. Are we no longer telling the stories to our young that they use to guide their lives? Who is telling the stories they are following for a direction, and what do those stories tell us about their aspirations and commitments? All of this sounds like the kind of thing you could unearth from the Roman Empire or other ancient critique of the young. But this may be a significant shift in learning patterns, and we had better understand what this is about.

Greg Troll, Associate Dean, Faculty and Curriculum at Touro University, at 10:25 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Who cares if students come to class or not? I give lots of quizzes and tests to assess performance. If they can do well on those tests just by reading the book, handouts and stuff from the internet, bully for them. That’s doing it the hard way: it’s easier and more efficient to come to class and absorb it. If they can’t do well on those tests—and most can’t—they get lousy grades. That’s their choice. If they don’t shop up I have a smaller class to deal with and I can do more working with students who are motivated.

It’s an ideal situation. The Administration, intent on fighting grade inflation, wants us to produce a spread of grades. They want us to give a reasonable number of low grades. I do. And those are for the most part grades that students have chosen. Everybody gets what they want.

College isn’t high school and students are adults. They pay their money and take their choice. I’m not there to nurture or bully them “for their own good": I’m there to provide a resource so that they can produce a result.

LogicGuru, at 10:45 am EDT on May 1, 2007

A tale of two employees...

D.C. is spot on. Students are culpable for their own behavior. This is not to dismiss poor teaching on the part of some professors. But until we make it unacceptable for students to skip class, we will continue to enable behavior that will not serve any of us well in the long run.

As L.L.B. points out, “a college degree without rigor, discipline, and work ethic is nearly worthless. And employers can see through B.S. in a New York minute.”

My story of two recent hires illustrates an interesting compare and contrast study. I hired Mary and Beth (not their real names) with the same graduate level degree, from the same university, with similar GPAs, and at about the same time. Both had little real-world experience in the discipline for which they were hired but they appeared to be promising and talented young people. And I’m convinced that a degree merely opens the door of employment to the graduate, anyway. After that, it’s still up to the individual to deliver solid performance.

Mary is still with us. She’s been promoted three times in four years. She is a workhorse. Mary is her own toughest critic. She understands that success is earned through hard work. She constantly seeks feedback on her own performance and continuously seeks to improve. She’s customer-centric and competitive. Mary hates failure and blames herself when it happens – even when it’s not her fault. She has been known to work late into the evening to complete an important project. Mary will challenge her peers, managers, our work processes, and the organization when there are issues that need addressed at those levels. She cares about others.

Beth, on the other hand, made the decision to leave our organization as we were strongly managing her performance. Yes – we’re still allowed to remove ineffective people in my world. During the work-week, she was always gone before anyone else. She needed to be spoon-fed her assignments in bite-size chunks. Beth had zero ability to see the big picture. She wasn’t interested in seeking or hearing feedback on her own performance. It was everyone else’s fault that she wasn’t understood or dropped the ball on a project. She was not able to work in a team environment. She cared about herself.

Bad teachers should either get out of the classroom or get better. Unfortunately, tenure protects many (but that’s another thread). However, educators should not allow the classroom to turn into an asylum run by the inmates.

Kevin, at 10:50 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Virtually all of my students have jobs and/or families, including children—I often survey my classes, just so I’ll have a sense of who they are and the challenges they are facing. Most have never learned or been taught good time management skills. And many don’t know how to responsibly prioritize all that’s going on in their lives. Many have low self-efficacy when it comes to learning generally, some even low overall self-concept. And for at least one or two each semester, something traumatic happens (parents getting a bitter divorce this semester, along with severe depression and drug rehabilitation). Given all that my students face, attendance for me is not the thing I worry most about. I try to make my classes relevant and class discussions significant for them and interesting—so I’m not the talking head in the front of the class. It helps to have classes of 20-25 students. Maybe the real issue is class size and, as others have noted, the form of education that is actually going on in the classroom. There will always be—have always been—students who were not really interested in learning, but I’m not so sure that the numbers of these students has actually risen. What has changed has been how complicated student lives have become—and as someone said, the increasing cultural capital we place on creditation over genuine education. But that’s a cultural problem, not something I blame my students for.

Gerald Nelms, Associate Professor of English at Southern Illinois U Carbondale, at 10:50 am EDT on May 1, 2007

I have seen all of the attendance aspects discussed in the article and it appears to have gotten worse over the last 10 years. I believe we have a number of issues coming in to play that have been mentioned already. However, one I do not see is the growth of distance learning classes at traditional schools and distance learning institutions. These clearly undermine the reality that much of what is actually learned occurs in the classroom. If it doesn’t then the instructor does become irrelevant.

I started making my PowerPoint files available to the students a couple years ago and have battled with myself ever since over this issue of the students being better able to discuss issues in class but some being more lackadaisical about attendance vs. being a stenographer and not thinking about the material as we discus it. I also give weekly quizzes. I use to have a few questions over the material we covered the previous class period and a few questions over the assigned readings. I got complaints on the evaluations about not knowing what to study for. So, this past fall I changed things so I have a series of on-line quizzes the students can take any time covering the assigned readings. The on-line quizzes are time restricted so that I give them enough time flexibility to double-check the text material on a couple questions but not enough to look up every question without actually reading the material. I also have a short (ca. 10 question) weekly quiz that covers the information we discussed the previous class period. Most of the class quiz comes DIRECTLY from the material I talk about AND is on the 5-7 Powerpoint slides I used that day. It amazes me how many questions are still missed and would not be if the students actually reviewed the material a view minutes before class. Some students fight this system but I believe that it reinforces personal responsibility for their own actions and holds them accountable for the material that is assigned for the class.

Dale, at 10:50 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Attendance

If our students can learn the info without “us” or class, then have we become test givers instead of teachers? That is a scary thought to me.

I have brilliant writers in many of my writing classes, but without the class, they would be lost. OR, I require students to engage the process of writing in class, so the best writer needs that portion of his/her grade based on peer review, etc. It doesn’t matter if a really bright student can learn it/do it on his/her own. That student must work with others in class in order to receive an A or a B.

My classes are usually based on a system where tests only account for 40% of the grade, max, or the papers are only 40-50%, max. That way, the work done outside of class or preparation outside of class is important, but at least 50% of the grade for the class is based on work done in class, writing done in class, reading done in class, group work done in class, quizzes done in class, etc.

When I was an undergraduate, if an instructor on the first day said, “There is no attendance policy. You can just show up for the tests,” that is what I did. We have to demand attendance, and that is easy in my classes where 50% of the work IS DONE IN CLASS.

Jason, English/Humanities Instructor at North Metro Tech, at 11:05 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Congratulations!

At least since the 1970s, much effort has been expended to make college education both accessible and affordable to everyone. Congratulations, we’ve done it! There is a college education within a stone’s throw of nearly everyone. College campuses and URLs are filled with just about anyone who fancies to be there, whether they are properly prepared or not. In the name of egalitarianism (and to satisfy largely a political agenda), we’ve Wal-Martized higher education. Next up: health care.

Michael J Oakes, Assoc Professor of Economics and Finance, at 11:10 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Not a new phenomenon

I remember a class I took at SUNY at Fredonia in the mid-1970s. The English professor was not a dynamic lecturer and it was hard to get excited about Restoration Drama. One day I walked into the classroom to find myself the only student (of ca. 20) to show up. AWKWARD!!! After an uncomfortable exchange with the professor about why people would skip the class, we both left....I have to admit—sadly perhaps—that this is my only recollection of that course!

Paul Constantine, Univ. of Washington, at 11:10 am EDT on May 1, 2007

L.L.B.: “eunuch-like?” fascinating: orientalist trope. What about “Wolsey-like"?

I think if we offered classes in the middle of the night, more students would come. That seems to be when they are awake.

Sarah Schneewind, UCSD, at 11:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

A couple of years ago a colleague assigned three books to be read in a senior level class. One of the students told her that he was a

graduating senior, that he hadn’t read a book in his college career and that he didn’t intend to start reading one now.

Max, at 11:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

My Elephant Comes to Class

The biggest reason that students fail in a chemistry class is the failure to keep up with the steady workload. If they get behind, they virtually never make up the difference. It is imperative that we keep students engaged. Students hear us say things, but it is most important that we show them what we expect before we can expect it. If you are looking for a particular behavior, try rewarding that behavior. What an idea.

In my general chamistry course very single class meeting starts with a short “reading quiz". This encourages students to at least pass eyes over the material before class. The quizzes count for a significant part of their grade. I also require daily homework problems to be turned in at the beginning of the class hour.

The quizzes also provide attendence records. My institution will allow the instructor to remove a student from a class if the student has more than three unexcused absences for a three credit hour course. ("stick") I reward students who have better than the minimum required attendence with an attendence bonus of 5% max. ("carrot")

Having just had the last classes for the semester, I see from my records that I have an average of 94% class attendence.

Geading quizzes and homework is a huge effort and requires time. If you are not willing to put in the effort to teach the behavior you want (never mind the material you want) then I suggest writing a book, doing a research project or contributing to the field in some way other than dealing with students. If we don’t bother, why should they?

Bill Anderson, Professor of Chemistry at Hampden Sydney College, at 11:20 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Why come to class?

Apparently many in the so-called academy still haven’t received the news ... psssst, the traditional, archaic model of higher education is dead.

As witnessed by many of the replies -including professors- there is little reason to attend a lecture. Besides the B-O-R-I-N-G quotient, and the fact that all we know about the brain and how we learn compels us to drastically shift our thinking about instructional models for teaching/learning, there’s still far too many educators and administrators that ignore the facts and plod foward with the same ol’, same ol’ conceited belief of the empty vessel model of education.

“While some students benefit from reading course lecture material over the Internet, professors are enabling lazy students, he [Hedges] says, by making entire PowerPoint presentations available online to students who use the notes as a substitute for live interaction.” Oh my ... there are a few holes in that perspective:

(1) Live interaction? Any class that is a lecture format and/or has more than 30 students in it is going to be serious lacking in live interaction. Don’t ask the profs for proof, ask any student (current or past). Live interaction is not students taking notes ad infinitum.

(2) Lazy students? I thought that long ago educators, administrators -even the legal community- came to an understanding that it’s difficult if not impossible to define “lazy” (I believe the courts actually chimed in on that one).

(3) While we’re at it -using the same logic -and wording- I presume it’s safe to assert the academy is bloated with “lazy professors” who continuously use the same dog-eared material (often against copyright and fair use laws ... and the copies have faded into another realm), the same audio/visuals, oh my ... even the same monotone semester after semester. Some administrator ought to hide that stuff from him/her for a term or two.

(4) Enabling ... hmmm. let’s see now ... a student needs material to read and, it’s believed by some, then learn. The material can be lectured or the material can be begged for, borrowed, and stolen from a variety of sources -including the Internet. So, in order not to enable the student, that material becomes isolated, removed, guarded by academic sentries and is only available if the student comes to class ... huh?!

Oh that’s right, punishment is also a form of learning ....

It seems the academy can do well to incorporate relevant -and contemporary- subject matter into it’s faculty and professional development initiatives ... begin with a) How the brain helps us learn, followed by b) Classroom facilitation, and then, c) Ask the students ... they’ll tell you what works.

Break-out sessions can debate the merits of a 10th century pedagogy in a 21st century world.

Michael Chiaradonns, at 11:35 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Attendance or not

The nature of the course determined whether I required attendance or not. I taught mathematics and mathematics education. In a math course I didn’t care if the students learned about cyclic groups from me, the text, or even their mothers, because the content was well defined. However, in mathematics education they are learning about attitude, not content per se, and discussion is not only useful, but critical. For example, I believed that graphing calculators enhanced the learning of high school mathematics, but there are certainly many who would disagree with me. What was needed was not simply an explanation of “how to teach with calculators,” but an in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of using them. Similar discussion about “teaching through problem solving” versus “teaching how to solve problems.” These are not well defined content.

Despite my opening comments to students in straight math classes that attendance for anything other than quizzes and tests was not mandatory, I was surprised by relatively high attendance. Either students find math difficult to learn by themselves, or (as I would like to believe) my teaching did help them understand cyclic groups.

Fred Flener, Retired, at 11:35 am EDT on May 1, 2007

This is all very interesting and reflects some of the thoughts I’ve had on these issues. Will it be on the test?

Motown Mike in Oklahoma, at 11:35 am EDT on May 1, 2007

Technology may be a partial solution, particularly for big classes. I have taught a large intro lecture course (up to 400 students) for several years. I attempt to make my lectures dynamic and interactive but my attendance was lagging (often 50% or so). Two years ago, I adopted the use of a “clicker” technology which allows me to “poll” students during the class on various questions; I did this for largely pedagogical reasons — to engage the students in the material, make the class more interactive, to allow me to gauge whether students were learning what I was teaching, and the technology even allows me to do a little social science with them via survey, where they get to see the immediate results. But I do give students credit (10%) if they answer 75% of more of these questions. My attendance now is routinely above 70% (even though I do post my power point slides on the web) and students do better on the exams. The technology does most of the accounting so that my main responsibilities are uploading the resulting data into my gradebook. Moreover, student evaluations are very positive (with some exceptions) about what this brings to the classroom even though the technology isn’t always perfect and it is an added expense for them (they have to purchase a handheld “clicker” device to register their answers).

Kent, at 11:55 am EDT on May 1, 2007

I have found these comments quite interesting, especially those by professors. But the only comment that seems to really capture what’s really happening was the first one: “Why should students go to class more than is absolutely necessary when the entire society has taught them that certification, not education, is what counts in most fields?”

Students have figured out that one only needs the degree to get a job. I was one of them. I remember very little outside of my major and I don’t have to becauase I don’t need the knowledge at my job.

Few employers care about what the students have actually learned. While there are definitely some occupations that require real knowledge of material, like engineers or statisticians, students in other disciplines, say humanities, will still need more skills to compete in the workplace and they probably will not have to recall any Chaucer or Shakespeare to do so.

This creditialism has also compelled many students to go to college who really should not be there. These students have interest in very few subjects if any, they don’t care about the life of the mind, and are really there just to get a degree so that they can get a job. They were probably bored in high school, but they had to be there. Now in college, class is optional and there is no one to force them to go. They would be better off in a vocational program or just going into the job market. But instead their apathy irks professors who cannot understand why their students just don’t care about abnormal psychology or geology.

Christian Evans, at 12:20 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

While at college, my professors were required by the university to take attendance at all classes, whether it be a 200-person lecture or a 15-person discussion. This usually resulted in an allowance of two missed classes per semester and a grade reduction for each absense thereafter. My classes were usually full.

Kate, BU Alumna ‘07

Kate, at 12:20 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

John Bullitt. Margaret Miles. Helen Vendler. Sol Gittelman. James Kugel. Stunning, brilliant, fantastic teachers, who lectured, who changed my life.

Learning doesn’t come easy. It isn’t a game. You get back what you put in. And that’s the issue: students think that all they need to put in is the money (tuition) and the grade will come out.

Jane Arnold, at 12:20 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Living And Learning ... On My 70th Birthday

It is interesting that (1) there is so much interest in this topic, (2) those of us who have high attendance percentages seem to be doing pretty much the same thing, and (3) no one is apologizing for being a hard ass.

Nevertheless, a few comments ...

First, I think Robert Hollander might be surprised by how many John Flemings and Anthony Graftons there are amongst us.

To Bruce Thyer let me say that those multi-section courses I described in my earlier post (in which attendance percentages were WELL below 50%), attendance was taken at every class.

To Dale, who is apparently struggling with a few problems related to attendance, I’d suggest that the first step in solving the “problem” is to dump all of those PowerPoint presentations.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

To Paul Constantine, who was the only student to show up one day to a class with an enrollment of twenty, here are two paragraphs from my “Philosophy of Teaching” (and, incidentally, it’s why I have very little enthusiasm for the “Ed School approach” to teacher education) ...

“In conclusion, it is my very strong prejudice that good teaching is a very personal matter. During my academic lifetime, I have had some teachers whose classes were very highly structured, whose presentations were dry, rigid, and humorless, whose interaction with students was very formal ... yet I learned a great deal from them and came away with a great deal of respect and affection for them.

I have had other teachers who were dynamic, whose classes were entertaining, who interacted with students as “friends” ... and, unfortunately, from whom I learned very little. Frankly, it all depends ... the statements above describe MY instructional style, because I believe, GIVEN THE PERSON I AM, it ‘works’ for me. Given my intellectual perspective, my knowledge of the world, my command of the substantive content of which I am an intellectual custodian, my personality, and my personal and professional objectives, it is my most effective modus operandi.”

Let’s face it, even at fairly mediocre colleges and universities, teaching excellence almost invariably has students knocking down the door to get into class.

RWH, at 12:35 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Fail Them

I have had many similar experiences to those in the article and the comments. Students are tardy, don’t attend, don’t read, don’t participate. When they do attend, they are ‘texting’ or surfing the web (I’m seriously considering banning laptops in my seminars).

Over the past couple years at a new job at a university with virtually no culture of learning among students or faculty, I discovered that I simply had to change my personal feelings about my relationship to my students. As a social scientist, I had the typical feelings of social responsibility and justice that I projected onto my job. But I had to stop caring about if my students liked me or not; and I had to stop feeling responsible for their failures. The students alone bear the responsibility to do the WORK necessary to learn the material and the skills.

Simply put, I had to be willing to give out Ds and Fs. So I stopped taking attendance; I stopped giving pop quizes; I stopped harassing students about late papers. Instead, I started actually grading papers at college-level expectations (with my standards for writing significantly higher in upper division courses); and I stopped giving “objective” tests altogether, opting for qualitative, detailed written exams that required students to actually know the material and demonstrate their ability to use their knowledge in applying it to real intellectual problems. Then I let the chips fall. By the first midterm (I’m on a semester system, so I usually have 2 midterms and a final during the 15 weeks), students have learned that I actually expect them to learn the material and if they don’t they fail.

And I fail many students each semester. Interestingly, if ratemyprofessor.com is any indication, I’m gaining a reputation for being tough but fair, and my courses are getting high ratings for being interesting, worthwhile, and “learning alot.” In other words, the students actually appreciate having a class with real expectations.

On the other hand, I lose 15% to 20% of my students every semester before 1/2 way through; and my class average grade is usually a solid C. Because at my university, we are funded by a “butts in seats” formula,” I may end up endangering my tenure because increasinly students are self-selecting to take my courses and the mobs of students who want drive-thru education are opting for other professors.

Todd O., at 2:10 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Literature

Why not be honest right up front? My syllabus states that “the only reason that you would want to come to class regularly and on time is if you want to do well.” Then I explain that this isn’t sarcasm, but an acknowledgment that some students are taking the course as a requirement and don’t care about their grade as long as they pass. Since I can’t teach literature unless they’ve read it, I give quizzes that we grade in class. If a student has three or fewer absences, I reward that by dropping some quiz scores later; if they have more, I don’t. It’s not a punishment; they just get what they earned. But if the class as a whole doesn’t participate in discussions, then I won’t drop any scores. They are adults and have to be treated that way. As for the reading, I inform them that I am there to extend, amend, and reinforce the reading, not replace it. This encourages both reading and attendance. However, we need to recognize that many students aren’t readers and need some level of reading instruction in the sometimes-dense material they are suddenly confronting. They will feel defeated early on if they can’t understand the reading. Remembering where they come from is also helpful: the ones just out of high school have had all of their thinking done for them and are adjusting to making their own decisions. On the other hand, many students have families and jobs, so a little understanding goes a long way with them. They are usually the hardest-working students I have and really appreciate getting a break if they have a sick child at home. The old days of traditional students are giving way to the reality of our shifting job markets and professors need to evolve along with it. Being high-handed is counterproductive; being firm but sympathetic works almost every time.

Debra, at 2:55 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Speaking as a Student

The hardest courses I experienced during my work on my Bachelors were freshman level general education curriculum, which I assumed was to set the tone for students study habits during the rest of their years in college. There was almost no enjoyment in any of them and at least 70% of the courses felt like a waste of time.

Chemistry I was resistant to, because I do not have a mathematical mind and I couldn’t understand why I was forced to take a class which was all about memorizing formulas and as a Performing Arts major, I knew it was a cul-de-sac rather than a thoroughfare. I finally stopped asking “Why?” and just memorized it and got an “A” but it was the stupidest “A” I ever received. Just another requirement to tick off my list.

I experienced instructors that lectured and droned on because they liked to hear themselves speak; teachers who spoke condescendingly to their students. I stopped reading my text in courses where the instructor literally taught all of it in class, because if I did read my text I was bored out of my skull, angry and frustrated that I paid good money for this.

I took a Personality & Psychotherapy course which was supposed to give me a survey of the foundational modalities of psychology, but was 50% “experiential” with dyads’, triads and group processing experiences (and didn’t even follow the rhyme and reason of the modalities) which I had no desire to take part in, because I wanted academic rigor and comprehension of psychological fundamentals, not be forced to have therapy with strangers — save those classes for the masters program. The only learning that happened for me was when the instructor brought in guests who work in the modalities to speak about their field and the learning I received from the papers that I was required to research and write.

Every semester teachers cancelled classes or changed the schedule so that one week instead of a Thursday afternoon class, I was forced to come in on Saturday to make up for their choice. I told one instructor that for every class he cancelled on us, I felt that I had a right to “cancel” on him and not come to class and that it would be patently unfair to lower my grade for doing so. He had no argument and we struck a bargain.

I have had music theory teachers come in drunk as a skunk and reeking of alcohol and departmental chairs defending them because they were all at a party and they stayed up too late the night before. This same instructor saw none of the cheating that was happening in class, because he frequently exited the room during quizzes, possibly to take a nip or two in his office, for all we knew!

Where are the faculty self-regulatory practices to improve their performance? Instead we rely on student evaluations of their instructors which are positively skewed towards student satisfaction and not student learning outcomes. Most students give a teacher a good “grade” if they scathed by on minimal effort. What a disservice!

My suggestion is that each course an instructor gives is visited spontaneously at least once per year to evaluate an instructor’s performance and effectiveness. That instructor’s are given a regimen in areas in which they are lacking and are given follow-up visits to ensure compliance and improvement. And finally, that student’s know what is expected of them from the very start and that instructor evaluations are tied to the student learning outcomes documented in the syllabi.

This is why we are in the predicament we are in with the Spelling commission and accreditation bodies like WASC. If we don’t police ourselves, the federal government eventually will.

Let’s turn this tide around! Our integrity and the student’s welfare are at stake! AHO!

Drew VanDyche, at 2:55 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Cheers For Drew!

I do have the answers to your questions ... and I have many reactions to your plight ... but they’re embedded in a revolutionary reorganization of higher ed., it’s book-length, it’s not likely to be understandable to the likes of George W. Bush, and it can’t be summarized in an InsideHigherEd post.

By the way, I have had very negative things to say about the Spellings’ Commission all over IHE’s pages ... and you’re right, they are like the expert moonwalker ... actually moving backwards while trying to convince everyone they’re moving forward. All of those “in-the club” folks have their heads firmly imbedded in the status quo, believing that down there they will discover a business-like or politically advantageous solution to problems they clearly don’t understand. But I’m getting off track.

I’ll get back to you in a year with that book.

RWH, at 4:20 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Attendance?

I retired five years ago, but after one year couldn’t not teach any longer.

I can’t imagine being a student in a large lecture course, although when I was an undergrad, one by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. turned me into a history major for a while. I can imagine lecturing, because I used to do so, but I don’t want to and fortunately don’t have to. As a privileged old fart I get fairly small courses that I create. Couldn’t be better, I admit.

So, in my literature-and-other-stuff courses with, say, two dozen undergraduates,I’m now able to share a course with my students as one does with grad seminars. The students have a stake in creating class discussions, not just being led through them in faux-Socratic Q and A. If they don’t help run the discussions, not much would happen. When I first stopped being the leader and became just the class loudmouth I was as a student (always loved to talk), I was damn scared that nothing would happen and, if it did, I didn’t know what directions it would take. Stuff happened, most of the directions were good and sprouted other directions.

Being blested in my twilight years, I can’t imagine going back to other ways of teaching.

Oh, yes. Students show up for class although there are no quizzes or exams, but there are papers that do not depend on taking dictation in class, rather on reading, discussing, thinking differently.

David E, prof emeritus at USC, at 4:33 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

“Did I miss anything?”

Stop reading these and use Google right now to search for Tom Wayman’s excellent poem “Did I miss anything?”

I read this poem to my students on the first day of every new class, and I’m sure it doesn’t do a lick of good. But it entertains me.

Jud, teaching, learning, improvising, at 4:35 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Tom Didn’t Miss Anything ... And Neither Did We

Did I Miss Anything? ...

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/013.html

Frizbane Manley, at 6:00 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

So, what is that argument against online degrees?

Hmmm, if students are going to class, what is the big resistance to online learning? I am told that my master’s in history may not mean as much because I am not going to a classroom. Well, it sounds like students don’t go, anyway.

However, if I was attending a class in a bricks and mortar classroom, I would expect to have some classmates and I would hope that my professor would respect the degrees that are being earned there to uphold some sort of attendance standard. How about some respect for the students that do show up?

Amy, Student at American Public University System, at 6:00 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

For my “day job” I pastor a church. Every time I get up and preach I have to earn the attention of my audience. In the church context, the day in which people came sensing a duty to pay attention is long gone. Though my college students pay for the right to come to my classes, I try to apply the same rhetorical approach to my teaching.

Back in my undergraduate days I think I missed only about three classes my whole career — times I was too sick to get to class. For me — and I recognize this is an increasingly uncommon idiosyncrasy — it was an issue of respect. Because of my own attitude, I have to work hard to not interpret my own students’ lack of attendance (and participation) as lack of respect.

Texas Adjunct, at 8:35 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Responsibility

I am an instructor. I do not grade on attendance, but I believe attendance is very important. I do not grade on it because society has changed and who am I to go against society. For those who say attendance is not important, THEY ARE WRONG! Attendance teaches student something they can’t get in too many places: “A Sense of Responsibility.” Yes, lectures can be boring, but then again, most of life is boring. Thinking and learning is not a Fun game, but that is how society has become, Fun, Fun, Fun. If it is not fun, then to hell with it. So, the next time when you complain about the wrongs of society, giving attendance such a low priority is an example of what is wrong with society. A sense of responsibility is not expected anymore. Again, who am I to go against society.

Stephen, at 8:35 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Elia Powers implies in his piece, “Elephant Not in the Room,” that 80 percent attendance constitutes a well-attended class.

I believe my advanced Communication classes almost never have so few as 80 percent of students attending. A majority of my colleagues and I substantially lower the grades of students who miss more than, say, 2-4 classes each term. Attendance in class is a superbly reliable predictor of retention and understanding of material. Those who don’t care about attendance don’t take teaching and evaluation of students seriously and should not be considered authentic college or university professors.

Richard E. Vatz, Professor at Towson University, at 8:35 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Nights will be a problem

” .. I think if we offered classes in the middle of the night, more students would come. That seems to be when they are awake ..”

They are the ‘Net-addicted. Block ESPN.com and XXX.com and you’d have a riot.

L.L.B., at 9:40 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

Hmmm....

...During my three years at Oxford, I went to eleven lectures in total. I think I would have been offended by anyone telling me that lectures were compulsory.

I’m not saying that many students didn’t benefit from going to lectures. Some of my best friends were lecture-goers :-)

What I am saying, though, is that students have the right to play their degrees in a risky way if they want to.

And, also, if Powerpoint slides are an acceptable erzatz for lectures, maybe the lecturers are doing it wrong. The best lectures I’ve heard (since my undergraduate days) are ones that can’t be Powerpointed.

Just my tuppence.

Puplet, at 9:40 pm EDT on May 1, 2007

This Deserves A Double Haiku

First, from the teacher ...

“Before me ... nothing / My PowerPoints are ready / Empty seats ... and heads.”

Then from the student ...

“Professor Big Shot / I pretend I give a shit / What more does she want?”

Frizbane Manley, at 4:30 am EDT on May 2, 2007

Technology

Most of the research shows putting notes, and recorded lectures online has no effect on attendance. In fact there are probably as many papers that show an increase in attendance as there are that show a decrease.

If lecturers are just delivering content why should the students turn up — content is easy to find. Lecturers who actively engage (not entertain) the students, and show how the content is applied in a real world contexts tend to have fewer problems with attendance.

Cameron NIchol, Elearning & Ed Design Manager at Moansh University, at 4:30 am EDT on May 2, 2007

Stephen,

If you think that thinking and learning are not fun, you should find another profession, unless maybe you teach accounting. The post sounds to me like one from Gradgrind U.

David, USC, at 4:30 am EDT on May 2, 2007

Students make professors boring

Now listen up, students, and I’ll tell you why we (some of us), your professors are boring and impose mickey-mouse rules: we are walking a tightrope acceding to the demands of our superiors and to your demands.

Our superiors press us to keep a lid on “grade inflation” so we have to make sure that a suitable percentage of students in our classes get lousy grades and that not many do really well. Once when I was young and untenured I had a really good class—one of four I taught. I was reprimanded in my supervisory letter for giving too many As and Bs in that class.

As for you, students, you want a variety of different things from us, and we have to please you because your course evaluations contribute to determining whether we will be reappointed and tenured, and if we are tenured, whether we’re going to get merit pay increases. I’d love to have the free-wheeling interactive discussions the professor emeritus above describes and some students would like that too. But most don’t. Most want “just the facts, ma’am.” When I started out I would talk about issues I found interesting as they arose and try to engage students in discussion. Some students liked that but most got fidgity and, invariably, one would ask, “will this be on the test” or “do we need to know this?” I then got panned on my evaluations for being “disorganized” and “going off on tangents"—even though these “tangents” were directly relevant to the material I was teaching. And, of course, my superiors were reading these evaluations and my reappointment depended on getting good ones.

So now I squeeze my courses into a grid and give students a schedule showing exactly what material I’ll cover every day. I tell them exactly what they need for every test. I ration “digressions” and, insofar as I can control myself, avoid spontaneity. This is tough for me because I love my field and, even while I’m teaching elementary GE courses, I get ideas that excite me which I’d love to talk about and love to show you so that maybe you’d get excited and interested. But most of you don’t like that so I severely ration spontaneity. This makes teaching lousy for me and boring for you. It’s the inevitable consequence of consumerism: if you have to please a lot of people with a variety of conflicting interests and avoid offending anyone, you produce a slick, inoffensive, pre-packaged product for the lowest common denominator. And, of course, if lots of you are bored and don’t come to class, so much the better: you’ll do lousy in tests, get lousy grades, and the grade-inflation hawks will be delighted with me for producing my quota of lousy grades.

I wish I could teach, really teach—show you why I’m so excited about my field or even just discuss interesting stuff that’s peripheral as it comes up. But I can’t because, judging from past experience, if I let go and had fun you, students, would trash me as a buffoon and a flake, give me lousy evaluations and complain to my chair or beyond. And, of course, now that we’re being pressed from above for “accountability"—to show student performance on “instruments” that measure students’ grasp of “just the facts, ma’am"—I’ve really got to rein myself in. What a damn shame.

LogicGuru, at 4:30 am EDT on May 2, 2007

If Elephant is Not in the Room, where is it then and why?

Mind B(l)ogging contribution: the number spells the significance. I teach Quality Management too. During the first 4 days wanted to provide experiential evaluation of attitude. Ofcourse supporting by many short stories from Panchtantra, Indian epics and so on. Buit did I amass close to 90% attendance any time? A big No!.

I feel getting defeated. I have continued for more than 50 odd lectures. It is however not aweful. Given the number of classes held...outscores all other subjects. But all that preacheing and inspiration is a let go!

The problems are systemic. As most of us know them. Perhaps I appreciate the prescription of “kinetification of mind” by education and not ‘certification’ only. May be the assessment system mandates... How much do they know? ( converse to how much don’t they know?) and so why a child should be left behind ? (NCLB). If that guy has buoyed the classes.

Priyavrat Thareja, Prof at Pb Engineering College, at 9:10 am EDT on May 2, 2007

Bad Teaching

The reality often is is that college professors often are boring and can’t teach. When I was in school (less than a year ago), I always attended class, even the ones I hated because I did better by being there. However, I have had teachers who read to the class from the book. Tell me, when a professor does that, why read if you’re going to attend class or why attend class if you’re going to read? To gain better attendence, professors need to be better teachers and engage the classroom.

Kelly, at 10:05 am EDT on May 2, 2007

Attendance

Noticing the problem in my own classes, I instituted a homework assignment due at the beginning of every class that required the students to read the assigned reading before the class. Then, instead of lecturing on the material already covered in the text, I started asking open-ended questions that pushed them to think about what they had read and speculate on where the topic should move. I believe attendance has improved because there doesn’t seem to be as many students dressed as empty chairs, but I didn’t take role previously, so I have nothing to compare it. But I have been able to document a 5% improvement on midterm and final exam scores. Details forthcoming...

Dr. Gary W. McCullough, Asst. Prof. of Psychology at University of Texas of the Permian Basin, at 10:30 am EDT on May 2, 2007

IF we care

I agree this problem of attendence is becomming a problem. But honestly I dont have a problem. Attendence in both my classes is at 70% without quizes, or an attendence policy. I tell my students at the beginning of the semester I dont have an attendence policy and don’t care if they miss, so they dont need to email me a dissertation explaining the “LIFE” reasons why they miss. Yet none-the-less my students without fail email me if they miss class, apologize, or they come to class the next time and apologize. Why are they doing this? Because I engage my student, they know I care, and they want to come to class. The key to that last sentence is — I CARE. Not if they are there or not. I care about them — as a person. In these days of school shootings we cannot be aloof, isolated, and unapproachable. We are there for a reason — Them.

Erum Shaikh, Professor, Government at Brookhaven College, at 2:25 pm EDT on May 2, 2007

Intrinsic Motivation

Let us consider a possible major factor in poor student attendance and preparation for class: The carrots and sticks of grades. Do they work? Yes, but principally as extrinsic motivators. Does student addiction to these extrinsic motivators tend to undermine natural curiosity and desire for mastery of subject matter? I believe they do. The more we carrot and stick students the more they lose touch with the beauty or value of what they come to school to learn. That is, the more we erode intrinsic motivation ("Do THIS and you’ll get THAT") the more they lose interest in the THIS. It sends they message: “There must be something inherently useless, dull, boring about the THIS if you have to bribe me with a THAT (grades.) Therefore, “Will this be on the test?” So students quite understandably come to demand extrinsic rewards to make attendance and study at all worthwhile or competitive with all else going on in their technological lives. We, too, get punished and rewarded into punishing and rewarding them. We teachers, too, get controlled (and no one likes to be controlled) by administrations into desired behavior. (We all get Skinner Boxed. Yes, the true fun of thinking and learning go out of education altogether. Students come to us having been “Skinner boxed” all their lives in public school. No wonder so many have lost interest in academic pursuits (and some teachers lose interest in good, engaged teaching.)

I am, of course, indebted to Alfie Kohn. See his book _Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with A’s, Praise, Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, and Other Bribes_. He analyzes the research and points toward alternative modes of teaching and assessment designed to reawaken long-term intrinsic motivation—the kind that deepens learning—as opposed to what merely “works” in the perpetual short run. This last teaches little more than obedience. It is in fact operant conditioning and actually tends to foment outright hatred of the subject matter. I repeat: No one likes to be controlled. We all need autonomy, whether we’re teachers or learners. We’re all, ideally, both in any given classroom.

Martina N., at 6:50 pm EDT on May 2, 2007

Where do emerging things like Cramster.com and the old but now on-line paper mills fit into all this? (per “Homework solutions on-line” May 2 post on the Cosmic Variance blog)

With the arrival of the Internet and digital communication technologies, what new behaviors are we rewarding and which are we extinguishing as the academic ecosystem evolves around the change-resistant professoriate? (someone remarked the other day that the only way the curriculum changes is when a senior professor dies or retires; teaching innovation is often not highly rewarded). The old food chain is being disrupted.

JMG3Y, at 10:05 am EDT on May 3, 2007

Showing up

Make way for the obvious analogy: if our dear truants maintained a 50% attendance rate at work, what fate would befall them?

Abbott Katz, MST College London, at 10:55 am EDT on May 3, 2007

Astronomy

I have been teaching one class a semester for 16 semesters (I am a parttime instructor with a full time day job). Same class, 70 student enrollment, and largely the same material each time. What I have noticed is that my fall semester is consistently better than my spring semester. Better attendance, better student involvement, better grade averages. This year the difference was radical, my fall class being the best I have ever had. Every class had lively questions and discussions with most of the students participating — a real delight to teach. My spring class started and has now ended stone silent. Very odd. At first I thought it was shyness but the class never woke up. I chalk it up to seasonal feelings and key students. If you have a few students that like to talk and ask questions that can often get the whole class going. If you have noone like that then the whole class will tend to stay quiet and there is nothing much you can do. (I admit, after a month or so I stopped directing questions to my spring class — it was getting painful)

V.S., Timing is everything at MSCD, Denver, at 2:35 pm EDT on May 3, 2007

Attendance at Work Comparison

This is an apples to oranges comparison as there are new progressive companies like Netflix who do not require their employees to punch a time clock, nor require face time at their desks. They are required to get the job done (project based) and however they do that is up to the employee. Come in and work a night shift, take the work home if possible, etc. The world is changing and I think it’s time we started thinking outside of the box to change with it.

Example: What if there was a way to incorporate text messaging into the classroom? Text message pop questions?

Make sure all of your classes are recorded audio and/or video and loaded onto I-Tunes for download. Or live video capabilities for students who are too sick to leave the house but can sit at a computer and interact via the conference. There is so much that can be done, we just have to find the ways and the resources to do it.

Drew VanDyche, at 2:40 pm EDT on May 3, 2007

200+ lectures CAN be interactive

Anyone who took Theatre 100 at Penn State with Professor Helen Manfull can tell you that a 200+ “lecture” class CAN be interactive. It was a combination of actual lecture, “Donahue” style comments, partner discussions, and live performance. In the 90s when I was there, people fell all over each other trying to sign up for her class, which always had more people trying to add than there were chairs in the classroom.

You HAD to be in class to do well, as the material was split about 50-50 between reading and class.

My statistics class, on the other hand, did not require class attendance at all—I mastered the material just fine without attending every class. (Okay, I’ll admit that mostly I did go to class. But I didn’t feel bad when I ditched.) If the point of taking a class is to learn the material, and the book explains it better than the professor does, why go to class? Or, worse, if the book explains well but the professor is confusing, do I risk going to class and getting all mixed-up when I have the material down already?

Not all subjects can be taught the same way. I doubt I’d have done well in chemistry without near-perfect attendance—you just can’t do a lab class without being in the lab. If students view time spent in class as a waste of their time (like my stats class), they just are not going to go.

Aspiring Teacher, at 9:45 pm EDT on May 5, 2007

Jobs Related to Elephant Not in the Room

or search for jobs directly.

Faculty — Family Sciences — 9PEFS01
Texas Woman’s University

Texas Woman’s University — Denton Campus Department: Family Sciences Title: Assistant or Associate Professor of Family ... see job

Assistant Professor of Sociology
Roosevelt University

Job Summary Roosevelt University invites applications for a tenure-track-position in sociology at the rank ... see job

Faculty: GIS/Geography/Sociology
Fairmont State University/Pierpont Community and Technical College

Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College, with a 120-acre main campus in Fairmont, WV, is part of ... see job

Postdoctoral Scholars, Sociology
University of California, Irvine

School of Social Sciences Department of Sociology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar Postdoctoral positions are occasionally ... see job

Assistant/Associate Professor of Global Studies
Azusa Pacific University

Azusa Pacific University seeks applications for Assistant/Associate Professor of Global Studies. see job

Instructor, Human Services
San Bernardino Community College District

SAN BERNARDINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT Position Information Title Instructor, Human Services Position Type Faculty ... see job

Socio-Cultural Anthropology (ANTH-1-09)
American University in Cairo

About The American University in Cairo: Founded in 1919, AUC’s campus has moved to a new, state-of-the-art campus in New ... see job

Assistant or Associate Professor in Sociology
University of Texas, Brownsville

Position Number: FY 09-35 Reports to: Chairperson of Behavioral Science Scope: Responsibilities of the Assistant or Associate ... see job

CLA- 2246 Assistant Professor
Towson University

The Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice at Towson University invites applications for a tenure-track ... see job

Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure-Track — Public Policy
University of California, Irvine

School of Social Ecology Department of Planning, Policy, and Design Position: Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure-track The ... see job

Elephant Not in the Room

Related stories

Comments

Sometimes the elephant in the room is... US.

Faculty as the problem

Attendance and Reading

The New Unemployables

even if it counts, they don’t care

elephant not in the room

Absences, lack of preparation & rigor

I Didn’t Intend To Blab On Like This

Class Attendance

Coming to Class

Isn’t outcome more important?

Elephants not in the room

A tale of two employees...

Attendance

Congratulations!

Not a new phenomenon

My Elephant Comes to Class

Why come to class?

Attendance or not

Living And Learning ... On My 70th Birthday

Fail Them

Literature

Speaking as a Student

Cheers For Drew!

Attendance?

“Did I miss anything?”

Tom Didn’t Miss Anything ... And Neither Did We

So, what is that argument against online degrees?

Responsibility

Nights will be a problem

Hmmm....

This Deserves A Double Haiku

Technology

Students make professors boring

If Elephant is Not in the Room, where is it then and why?

Bad Teaching

Attendance

IF we care

Intrinsic Motivation

Showing up

Astronomy

Attendance at Work Comparison

200+ lectures CAN be interactive

Jobs Related to Elephant Not in the Room

Faculty — Family Sciences — 9PEFS01 Texas Woman’s University

Assistant Professor of Sociology Roosevelt University

Faculty: GIS/Geography/Sociology Fairmont State University/Pierpont Community and Technical College

Postdoctoral Scholars, Sociology University of California, Irvine

Assistant/Associate Professor of Global Studies Azusa Pacific University

Instructor, Human Services San Bernardino Community College District

Socio-Cultural Anthropology (ANTH-1-09) American University in Cairo

Assistant or Associate Professor in Sociology University of Texas, Brownsville

CLA- 2246 Assistant Professor Towson University

Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure-Track — Public Policy University of California, Irvine

Faculty — Family Sciences — 9PEFS01
Texas Woman’s University

Assistant Professor of Sociology
Roosevelt University

Faculty: GIS/Geography/Sociology
Fairmont State University/Pierpont Community and Technical College

Postdoctoral Scholars, Sociology
University of California, Irvine

Assistant/Associate Professor of Global Studies
Azusa Pacific University

Instructor, Human Services
San Bernardino Community College District

Socio-Cultural Anthropology (ANTH-1-09)
American University in Cairo

Assistant or Associate Professor in Sociology
University of Texas, Brownsville

CLA- 2246 Assistant Professor
Towson University

Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure-Track — Public Policy
University of California, Irvine