Classroom Management: Rosters and Deadlines
Important Processes for Faculty
First Day Attendance Policy. Enrollments in many classes are at the maximum set by the departments. To
help students, department chairs, and advisors identify available spaces in classes during the drop-add period,
it is helpful if faculty use the policy that permits them to drop from the roster any students who do not attend
class on the first day. Students have no particular incentive to drop a course from their schedules quickly when
they change their registration plans, and therefore it is beneficial to students seeking available spaces in
classes if faculty go ahead and drop students who do not attend on the first day.
Procedure: Check your Summary Class List, available under Faculty Services when you log in to Murphy
Online, for students that are not in attendance. Send a message to the Office of the University Registrar
notifying them of the student’s absences at:
Registrar@stthomas.edu
Provide the course number and section, the course CRN (identified in the second line of Course Information on
the Summary Class List) and the name and ID number of students who did not attend on the first day and
should be dropped from the roster. Of course, you may use your judgment in following this policy—a student
who knows he or she must miss the first day should contact the instructor in advance and you can respect the
student’s request not to be dropped.
Check Your Rosters. Throughout the Drop/Add Period. It is helpful if you check your rosters carefully and
make sure that all students who are attending the class are in fact listed on the class roster and all students
listed on the class roster are attending the class. If a student is attending your class but is not on the class
roster, please ask the student about his or her status. In some cases, students who have not made satisfactory
arrangements with the business office are not permitted to register until a business office problem has been
resolved. There is good communication between academic affairs and the business office and our colleagues
in the business office handle these cases sensitively and prudently. You can be assured that if the business
office has placed a hold on a student’s ability to register for classes, this has been done carefully and for a
good reason. If a student tells you that such a hold has been placed by mistake or is in the process of being
worked out, please send the student to see Michael Jordan in AQU 110G and he will make sure the student’s
situation is being handled properly.
Students missing in action. If the student is listed on your class roster, but is not attending please notify
Academic Advising at 2-6300, and they will complete a follow-up with the student.
Final Examinations. Each semester ends with a final examination period. A two-hour session is scheduled for
the final examination in each course in regular semesters. Final examinations are not administered other than
during the final exam week. However, if it is agreeable to students and the instructor to hold the final
examination at a time other than the time scheduled, the exam may be held at another time within the final
exam week. Instructors will determine the final examination times for January term and summer session
courses.
Mid Term Grades. Midterm grades generally are posted only for undergraduate students. Students and
advisers find them useful in assessing student progress through the midterm. These grades are unofficial, do
not appear on permanent student records and do not affect student grade-point averages. They generally are
retained only until the final grading period begins. It is important to provide the midterm grade for
undergraduate students to assist advisors in working with their advisees.
Final Grades. It is very important that final grades be assigned on Murphy online by the assigned deadline
date. A timely submission of grades allows students to provide verification of their grades to employers and
scholarship institutions and allows for expedient processing for graduation. Delays can cause concerns for
your students.