When to let professor know you will miss class (DE student)

[Kassia]

Dd is a DE student who will be taking the PSAT in October and will have to miss class to take the test.   Classes start on 8/27 - should she email the professor before the semester begins to let him know or should she wait until the first class?  I suspect there will be other DE students who will also have to miss class that day for the PSAT but I'm not sure.  

[Amateur Actress]

Do college professors even take attendance?  Not sure they would care (or maybe even notice) that your daughter was gone. 

[Kassia]

20 minutes ago, Amateur Actress said:

Do college professors even take attendance?  Not sure they would care (or maybe even notice) that your daughter was gone. 

 

Many do.  And it's calculus so she might have to go to office hours to catch up on what she misses in lecture.  I'm hoping he doesn't have a midterm scheduled for that day but maybe that would be better since it would be easier to miss than lecture.  

[regentrude]

Wait until first day of class and she has read the syllabi and knows what the attendance policy is. Then she can speak to the instructors in person.

[regentrude]

10 hours ago, Amateur Actress said:

Do college professors even take attendance?  Not sure they would care (or maybe even notice) that your daughter was gone. 

Depends entirely on the class. In some classes,  attendance itself is part of the grade. In others, in class activities are graded ( quizzes, clicker questions) without the instructor explicitly taking attendance.

[Kassia]

9 hours ago, WendyAndMilo said:

Wait till the first day of class and gets the syllabus.  Often a professor will have remarks like letting them know X amount of days in advance of an absence and might also have a schedule of all the tests so she'll know what she'll possibly be missing.

 

24 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Wait until first day of class and she has read the syllabi and knows what the attendance policy is. Then she can speak to the instructors in person.

 

Thank you!  I will tell her to wait until class starts.  

[...................]

Look at the syllabus first,

Whatever you do, don't email.  It's best to stop by after the class and mention it, or stop in on office hours if it'll take more than a minute.

 

[Andromeda]

18 minutes ago, Calming Tea said:

Look at the syllabus first,

Whatever you do, don't email.  It's best to stop by after the class and mention it, or stop in on office hours if it'll take more than a minute.

 

 

Would you mind clarifying why not email, please? I am a university instructor, and this is a very interesting thought for me.

As an answer to the OP, at the institutions I work for, attendance is taken very carefully during the first week of class. A student must attend first week of class and submit at least one graded assignment for that week in order to remain enrolled in the course. If those two prerequisites are not met, the student is withdrawn from the class and another (I teach mostly entry level courses) takes their place from the waitlist.

The only possible exception is for the student to contact me, their instructor, and tell me that they cannot make it - and the reason has to be good. "I'm on vacation" will not work. If they make arrangements with me in time, preferably before class starts or in the first couple of days, I have a chance of getting an exception put through the Registrar's Office. I can't do this without something in writing, such as an email. I have to provide documentation for the Registrar.

ETA

Some example situations in which the student was able to stay in class despite missing the first week (with prior arrangement) - hospitalization of student or student's child, wildfire evacuation, and childbirth.

Edited August 19, 2018 by RosemaryAndThyme

[...................]

Half the teachers my son has had don't answer email for weeks, if at all. ?

Half of them answer promptly and that's great.  But unfortunately email is considered a dangerous thing to rely on. ?

[Andromeda]

1 minute ago, Calming Tea said:

Half the teachers my son has had don't answer email for weeks, if at all. ?

Half of them answer promptly and that's great.  But unfortunately email is considered a dangerous thing to rely on. ?

 

Ah, I see, thank you. In that case I would meet them in person and send an email for backup.

[Kassia]

 

4 minutes ago, RosemaryAndThyme said:

 

Would you mind clarifying why not email, please? I am a university instructor, and this is a very interesting thought for me.

As an answer to the OP, at the institutions I work for, attendance is taken very carefully during the first week of class. A student must attend first week of class and submit at least one graded assignment for that week in order to remain enrolled in the course. If those two prerequisites are not met, the student is withdrawn from the class and another (I teach mostly entry level courses) takes their place from the waitlist.

The only possible exception is for the student to contact me, their instructor, and tell me that they cannot make it - and the reason has to be good. "I'm on vacation" will not work. If they make arrangements with me in time, preferably before class starts or in the first couple of days, I have a chance of getting an exception put through the Registrar's Office. I can't do this without something in writing, such as an email. I have to provide documentation for the Registrar.

 

I was also going to ask why not email.  I like having stuff like that in writing so I know the professor has the date correct and the student has proof that it was sent with a response.  

In this case, class will be in session for over a month before she will miss class for the PSAT.  

[Kassia]

5 minutes ago, Calming Tea said:

Half the teachers my son has had don't answer email for weeks, if at all. ?

Half of them answer promptly and that's great.  But unfortunately email is considered a dangerous thing to rely on. ?

 

That's terrible!  My dd has had this professor before for an online class and he was very responsive so I don't think that would be an issue for her.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Kassia

[Andromeda]

I would definitely communicate with the instructor about the PSAT. That is a good reason to miss a class.

As to the timing, since the exam is not taking place in the beginning of the term, I would communicate closer to the date, perhaps a week ahead, and then follow up a day or two ahead. From my own experience, I sometimes forget who asked or told me what.

[regentrude]

About email: email is perfectly fine, but if she doesn't get a response,  ask in person. The professor may have overlooked her message or intended to reply later, but forgot and it got buried under dozens of new emails .

I  am very prompt in answering student emails, however, half the emails I  receive do not really warrant a reply because the answer is clearly spelled out in the syllabus or on the course website, and the student is just too lazy to look and thinks asking the professor is easier.

Edited August 19, 2018 by regentrude

[tampamommy]

My dd did not want to miss DE college classes to take the PSAT, so we worked with NMSC directly and received a waiver so that her SAT scores (SAT was on a Saturday so she didn't miss class) were used in lieu of PSAT scores for NM purposes. You have to call them directly, have a real, document-able conflict, and fill out the appropriate request forms. It is not a given. They look at all the factors and then say yes or no.

[amyx4]

My guys also ask if the professor teaches another section and can they sit in on the other class?

So, the prof may teach English 101 section1 at 8:00 and then may also teach English 101 section2 at 2:00.  It not always the exact same lecture but it's usually better than completely missing the information.

[Kassia]

17 minutes ago, tampamommy said:

My dd did not want to miss DE college classes to take the PSAT, so we worked with NMSC directly and received a waiver so that her SAT scores (SAT was on a Saturday so she didn't miss class) were used in lieu of PSAT scores for NM purposes. You have to call them directly, have a real, document-able conflict, and fill out the appropriate request forms. It is not a given. They look at all the factors and then say yes or no.

 

That is very interesting!  I didn't know that would be an option.  She is taking the SAT this Saturday.  

 

13 minutes ago, amyx4 said:

My guys also ask if the professor teaches another section and can they sit in on the other class?

So, the prof may teach English 101 section1 at 8:00 and then may also teach English 101 section2 at 2:00.  It not always the exact same lecture but it's usually better than completely missing the information.

 

That would be a great solution but he only teaches one section of the course.  

[RootAnn]

When my DD missed her DE class to participate in a personal meeting with her Congressman as part of a youth advisory council, she first talked to the teacher after class and then, at the professor's request, followed up with a 'reminder email.' The teacher didn't take roll, but frequently had pop quizzes that counted toward the grade. The teacher dropped one (or two?) of the pop quizzes from the grade automatically, but offered extra credit to those with excused absences if they wanted to make them up (in the case of another pop quiz having a low grade, for example, that the student might want to drop instead).

I think DD's professor appreciated the mention in person but wanted the email in writing to remind her and to help her connect name to face. She had enough students that she didn't necessarily get to know every one of them.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, RootAnn said:

 

I think DD's professor appreciated the mention in person but wanted the email in writing to remind her and to help her connect name to face. She had enough students that she didn't necessarily get to know every one of them.

 

That's what I'm hoping for since dd will need teacher recommendations for college applications.  She's very reserved and quiet so it's hard for her to make a connection with instructors.  

[regentrude]

9 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

That's what I'm hoping for since dd will need teacher recommendations for college applications.  She's very reserved and quiet so it's hard for her to make a connection with instructors.  

She should make it a habit to attend office hours and help sessions.  She needs to stand out with more than having attended class and gotten a good grade, that kind of recommendation is lukewarm, and many instructors won't write a letter if that is all they could say about this student. 

[Kassia]

 

4 hours ago, regentrude said:

She should make it a habit to attend office hours and help sessions.  She needs to stand out with more than having attended class and gotten a good grade, that kind of recommendation is lukewarm, and many instructors won't write a letter if that is all they could say about this student. 

 

I know, but this is really hard for her.  She had a special relationship with her Spanish professor, who thought highly of her, but all of her classes with him were in her freshman year.  She did keep in touch with him a little in her sophomore year but I don't think it's enough for a good recommendation source since it's not recent.  She does like the calculus instructor a lot (she did go see him once when she was in his class before) so I'm hoping she'll make an effort.  

Edited August 20, 2018 by Kassia

[RootAnn]

51 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I know, but this is really hard for her.  

Yep. All the more reason for her to make herself do it.