16.3 Adult Student Attendance

Post-Secondary students will be allowed no more than eight (8) absences per semester and four (4) absences for the summer semester. Makeup of seat time will be allowed up to 12 hours per semester for full time students and 6 hours for half time students. If a student exceeds the maximum number of absences with no seat time makeup, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken up to and including dismissal.

Seat time makeup may be made up for documented absences with due dates determined by the instructor. Documentation should be turned in to the Attendance Secretary and will be approved by the Executive Director of Instructional Development. Documentation is not required to make up work or daily grades but is required for missing a test.

The Executive Director of Instructional Development or Administrator for appropriate extenuating circumstances may waive this policy. Students receiving Federal Financial Aid and Veterans Administration benefits must maintain 90% attendance for each semester in order to continue receiving benefits. Any student who is a military reservist or National Guardsman that is called for active duty or drill duty will be granted a temporary leave of absence and can resume instruction upon return without penalty. Variances from the above policy shall be addressed in the individual handbooks.

Being to work on time is an important part of being employable, therefore, students must be in class at the designated time. Habitual and/or excessive tardies will result in the instructor not being able to recommend a student to a potential employer. Tardies count toward attendance as follows: A. Any tardy up to one hour in length will count as 1 hour’s absence. B. Any tardy from one hour or two hours will equate to 2 hours absence. C. Any tardy after two hours will be equivalent to a full session’s absence (3 hours). D. Tardies will also be assessed appropriately for leaving class early. E. If a student exceeds 10 tardies per semester with no seat time makeup, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken up to and including dismissal.

Temporary Interrupt (Leaves of Absence) may be granted to students under certain conditions. Approval by the instructional leader or his or her designee is required in all such cases. If an adult student misses five (5) consecutive days of scheduled instruction without proper notification, his/her enrollment will be interrupted. If absences were due to sickness or other extenuating circumstances, the student may be reinstated upon approval of the Director of Instruction or his or her designee; if not, the interruption will be permanent for that grading period.

Written documentation of circumstances is required for this approval. Temporary interruptions will not exceed 20 school days. Medical programs will not exceed a maximum of a 5-day temporary interrupt per semester.

Arrangements to Complete Work Missed. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the instructor and make arrangements to complete work missed. No penalty will be assessed if work is made up in the required time frame. The normal time frame is considered to be one (1) day for each day missed. In situations which require more time due to the nature of the program, the instructor is to set the date when make-up work is due. Specific student attendance policies are defined in the student handbook.

1. Academic Probation. Any student having unsatisfactory academic progress will be counseled and may be placed on probation. A secondary student will have until the next grading period to achieve satisfactory academic progress or face possible removal from the program. Adult student probation requirements are defined in the applicable student handbook.
2. Failing Grades. A secondary student failing a semester may be dropped from the course(s) and/or returned to the partner school. A post-secondary student who receives financial aid and fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress may be disqualified for further financial aid. A post-secondary student who fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress may be dropped from the program. In career programs where requirements by an outside agency exist, criteria for failure of the course(s) are defined in the applicable student handbook. If a student fails a course within a Program, guidelines for any permitted repeat of that course are defined in the applicable student handbook. Student removal from a course or career programs shall be based on recommendation by the instructor and approved by the Executive Director of Instructional Development.
3. Each week instructors will report a list of secondary students failing the program to the registrar. During the second and fourth 9-weeks, the list will include students that are failing for the semester rather than the 9-week period. The registrar will establish and communicate the weekly due date for teacher reporting in relation to the expectations of partner schools. The registrar will compile a list of failing students for each partner school and issue those lists to schools weekly
4. Reporting Grades. Full-time instructors will record at least two assignment grades for each student for each week that they are in attendance. Grades will be tagged to separate program courses appropriately. Final course averages of adult students will be comprised of a number of assignments that is appropriate for the number of hours associated with each course of a program. Instructors will lock each student’s grade inside of the Sonis gradebook as the student completes the requirements for each course. All grades for secondary students will be entered in time to meet reporting deadlines of partner schools. These deadlines will be communicated by the registrar or Executive Director of Instructional Development each semester by email. The campus registrar will maintain the permanent student records and issue official transcripts. Secondary student grades will be sent by the campus registrar to each secondary student’s high school. Semester grades are recorded on the student’s transcript by the partner school and becomes a part of his/her permanent high school record.

Grading Options

During the first- class session, the instructor will explain the grading options available in the course. The instructor must choose a grading option at the beginning of the course before any testing/grading, and there can be no changes once the course is underway. The options are:

The grade of “I” (Incomplete) will NOT be used at the completion of a course.

Grades are recorded by the instructor and reported at the end of the course to the campus short-term supervisor (or assistant director). The supervisor (or assistant director) will direct the entry of grades into the technology center system. At the end of the course, the campus registrar will make available grade reports upon request.

The superintendent must approve any exceptions to this policy.