Student Attendance Survey Year 1
Students were asked to rate 10 items reflecting reasons for missing class of a 5-point scale (where 1 =
Strongly Disagree, 3 = Neutral, and 5 = Strongly Agree). Students rated each item twice, as a reflection of
whether it affected their own decision to miss class and whether they thought it affected their
classmates’ decisions to miss class. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to compare the responses
reflecting personal and peer reasons for missing class. Statistically significant differences were found for
all items (p < .01). For the majority of items, mean ratings were higher for perceptions of classmates,
meaning that students felt that their classmates were more influenced by these reasons to miss class.
The exceptions were items 6 and 7, which reflected reasons for attending class. For these two items,
mean ratings were higher for individuals, meaning that students felt that these reasons influenced their
person decision to attend class more than for their classmates. Means and standard deviations (SD) are
reported in the table below.
Item
You
M
Your Classmates
SD
M
SD
1. I worked so hard to get into Med - Now that I am
here, I can relax a little
1.71
.90
3.06
1.19
2. I can’t fail Med school
2.02
1.26
3.33
1.14
3. All I want is a “P,” and If I get an “F” I can always
remediate
1.38
.67
3.27
1.07
4. I can get notes/lecture recordings online or from
friends
2.77
1.22
3.71
.90
5. Attendance is not mandatory so it doesn’t matter if I
miss class
1.72
.95
3.30
1.02
6. I feel like I should go to class because
Professors/Clinicians dedicate a lot of time to make and
present lecture material
4.08
.79
3.02
.96
7. Regular attendance is a reflection of Professionalism
4.21
.87
3.13
.89
8. The person giving the lecture, or the course that the
lecture is for, affects my decision to go to class
3.42
1.11
4.00
.77
9. I can study better on my own
3.06
1.14
3.81
.98
10. When I am too far behind or have too much other
work to do, I will skip class
2.60
1.29
4.13
.87
Students were given the opportunity to provide any comments or suggestions about the attendance
problem or how to address the issue. Twenty-two students provided feedback. Responses were
analyzed for common themes. Results are presented below.
Attendance is not a serious concern
Five respondents indicated that they did not think that poor attendance was a serious concern, as there
were relatively few students who regularly missed class. Other students commented that poor
attendance should only be an issue if performance is declining, Comments reflecting this include:
I have not noticed a significant lack of attendance in many of the classes. Although it may be possible
identify some classes that students are skipping more regularly, I don't believe that this is a
representation of the class as a whole.
I feel that the College is under the belief that a substantial number of my classmates are consistently
missing lectures. I really do not feel this is true. I believe that a small minority of students skip lecture on
a regular basis (I am unaware of their reasons). The MAJORITY of us are here - all the time - regardless of
what assignments are due or what exams are scheduled in the near future.
I do not think attendance in classes is an issue- not until students start failing and doing significantly
worse in their course work should it become an issue. If students do not find the lectures helpful then
they should not be forced to go. As far as I can tell, many students DO find the lectures useful and a
majority of students show up every day!
Attendance should be a personal responsibility
Five students commented that they feel that as adults in a professional college, students should be
responsible for their own attendance. Students still felt that it was important to attend class, but felt
that they should make their own choices and this shouldn’t be enforced by the College. Comments
reflecting this theme include:
I believe that it is our responsibility to attend classes, and as adult learners, it is our responsibility to
make good choices regarding attendance and face the consequences that come with missing classes
(such as having to do more independent study, seeking out additional resources, etc).
I feel we are all responsible adults and we should not be forced to go to class. If someone decides they
cannot attend, that becomes their problem and the college should not have to babysit us. I think it is
disappointing so many people skip right before an exam, but it would be unfair to demand attendance,
as I myself missed a few days before the Mod 6 exam due to illness, and would hate to be lumped in with
those who can’t keep up with the course work.
Making every class mandatory will most likely be more of a problem than anything else. Things
sometimes come up and we can't go to a class but as long as we're able to keep up with things and don't
make missing class a habit it's all right. Making class mandatory (which means, one would assume, that
missing would result in some sort of disciplinary action) would be punishing those who regularly attend
class but once or twice aren't able to make it because some people have the wrong attitude towards
attendance.
Determining how many students miss class and why
Four students indicated that it would be beneficial for the College to determine how many students are
missing class on a regular basis and reasons why students might be missing class. One student suggested
that a clicker roll call would be useful to identify those who skip on a regular basis. Comments
supporting this include:
As I noted in the survey, it may be of value to do clicker roll call in order to identify those who are
skipping on a regular basis. People will have a variety of reasons for skipping (as the survey illustrated)
and they vary in terms of appropriateness. Because of this it may be worthwhile to do occasional clicker
roll calls to identify those who are skipping on a regular basis and treat those on a case by case basis.
I think it would be a good idea for a faculty member to sit in on our lectures for a few days and gather
some OBJECTIVE evidence that would warrant a radical change in attendance policy.
Attendance should be enforced
Three students indicated that attendance should be enforced to some degree. These students indicated
that a certain number of missed classes, or classes missed for illness would be acceptable. Comments
are as follows:
Small groups should be 100% mandatory (including showing up on time), with absences, or requests for
leave handled on an individual basis. Ex. skipping for ice bowl would not be granted, however, skipping
for illnesses (without the need for a note), conferences would be granted. As for lectures, I think they
should be 90% mandatory, with the 10% being excusable and inexcusable absences. Anything above 10%
would be handled on an individual basis.
I think attendance is incredibly important but there are the occasional times that someone will be
required to miss lecture. I guess if attendance was going to be mandatory you could maybe have a
couple of grace classes. As in, you can miss 5 lectures, but after that, it becomes an issue of
professionalism?
It may also be worthwhile to set a cutoff of the number of classes that one can skip. After that cutoff
number, additional documentation/discussions may be needed.
Student learning style
Three students commented that at times, students may learn better on their own. This is particularly
true for poor lecture delivery or when students might already be familiar with the topic. Comments
were as follows:
I always try to go to class, but sometimes it is very, very difficult to go when I know that I am not going to
learn anything from the lecture (whether that is because of the lecture material, because I am too tired
and won't be able to concentrate, or because of the lecturing skills of the person who is giving the
lecture). I feel that students learn in many different ways, and some people just cannot learn during a
lecture.
I think that first year lectures do not need to be mandatory (not including integrative cases, labs, and
small group sessions). I believe that the college should encourage students to always come to class, but if
the student decides to miss a class or two then that is completely up to them. All medical students have
been accepted into the college of medicine for a reason and clearly they have developed strong study
habits which are effective for them. I know that for me personally some lectures (from various
professors) are effectively pointless for me to attend because I rarely gain any knowledge during the
presentation. However, when studying the notes on my own time, I have never had a problem
understanding or mastering the material.
Better lecturers that do not leave me feeling completely confused and like I would be better off just going
over the material on my own
Stricter performance standards
Two students commented that instead of focusing on attendance, the College should instead have
stricter performance standards and focus on study skills. This is reflected in the following comments:
For those who do this poorly, who don't come to class despite poor outcomes on assignments and exams,
who don't ask for help and make the effort--then those people can be dealt with on a case by case basis
by the College and afforded leniency only to the degree that it is due
For the most part, I think most people periodically skip class (i.e. before exams, when assignments are
due). This is the way they operate. However, I don't think it is their skipping class which is hurting their
education. Rather, it is the lifestyle of procrastination that must be changed. I don't skip because I have
regular study habits. Many of the students, including myself, could skip class and still get 90's, because
we are regular studiers. It is the procrastinating lifestyle that is the real game-changer. The College of
Medicine would maybe benefit from doing a survey on who has regular study habits, and work with
those that don't. Of course this in no an all-encompassing solution; there are inevitably those few people
that just don't care enough to come to class. What to do about those people is beyond me; they are
obviously in the wrong profession.
Participation marks
Two students suggested that having participation marks might encourage higher attendance. This is
reflected in the following comments:
Lots of times I think that people are not getting anything out of the lecture, so they almost feel cheated
out of their own time to come, so I think that having participation marks put into the course (whether by
class discussion or clicker questions or something like that) would work well. Because this way at least
you are being rewarded for coming to class and getting something out of it, and are not feeling like you
wasted your time by coming to class.
Using clicker questions in class to facilitate participation marks, rather than in-class quizzes, would be a
beneficial strategy to increasing class attendance. I disagree with using clickers for marks-based quizzes
as I feel there too much uncertainty with the technology and no way for the student to confirm that they
have submitted the answer that they have intended. Participation marks (and therefore clicker-role call)
allows for lecturers to access class attendance/student understanding without placing performance
stresses on the students.