I don’t think attendance should affect a student academically in regards to skipping classes. Professors stress the importance of students attending classes, but it really doesn’t make a difference.

“If students can miss class and still pass they shouldn’t be penalized,” Kylee Thrash, a senior early childhood special education major, said. “People should not be punished if they don’t go to their class. If they can still not go and still make a passing grade, they should be allowed to do so, especially throughout the core classes.”

According to the current VSU policy, students are allowed to miss 20 percent of class and not be penalized, yet there are some professors who take it into their own hands and reinforce their own policy.

I have encountered numerous professors throughout my four years here who after two or three absences drop the students grade a full letter. Why?

If the student can account for the information taught in class, then attendance shouldn’t matter.

“Often in class, faculty will explain or expand upon key concepts, respond to questions from students about points of confusion, explain expectations for assignments, and so on,” Dr. Jane Kinney, a professor of English, said. “Students who don’t attend class on a regular basis thus miss several things that can’t be learned from the text/readings alone but that often are part of what they are tested on or expected to demonstrate in assignments.”

Yes, there are some materials that a student can get in a classroom that they can’t get from the text, but there are these meetings called study groups where students can get together with other students in the same class and help each other in the event that something was missed, misunderstood or not clarified.

“If students aren’t there, they miss the basic information,” Mrs. Louise Wildes, a professor of history, said. “Let’s face it, they won’t read the book.”

While this is true to an extent, it is just as simple to meet up with another student who was in class, copy the notes and get any information on assignments as well as updates.

As for professors who post their notes and discussions on BlazeVIEW, you’re just asking for students to not show up to your class except on test days; especially large lecture classes that don’t even take attendance at all.

There are several professors who try to cheat the system and have random pop quizzes to ensure that students are in class, but if the information is known on test day, once again, why does the attendance matter? Simple answer: it doesn’t.

Students have different ways of learning. Not every student learns from lectures in class. A lot of students can self-teach. A professor cannot make a student learn their way.

Many agree that grades should be based on what the student knows and learns.

“I don’t think a student’s grades should be effected by their attendance in class because their grade should reflect their knowledge of the material, not their attendance or lack of,” Lindy Pope, a junior Marketing major, said.

Yes, professors are here to prepare us for the real world and teach us responsibilities that help us to further our knowledge, but sometimes we need a break.

There are times when students are stressed by work- overload. Many students juggle projects, tests, and jobs all in one week, a reason some students decide to skip class.

“I believe that students should not be punished for skipping class,” Amy Gonzalez, a junior biology major, said. “There are days when you just need a break. As long as you do well on your assignments and tests, it shouldn’t matter if you are physically there or not. Some students even learn better on their own than in a room listening to lectures. “

I fully agree! If I can show up on test days and pass my tests and keep up with all the assignments that are assigned, why does it matter if I am in the classroom?

As for the professors, you are all still getting paid, so why do you care? You’re paid to teach and as long as the student is learning, whether in class or not, your job is done.

In my opinion, professors just care about the numbers. So my advice is focus on the grading stats, not the attendance stats.