Attendance Policy

Stratford University faculty members take and record attendance in the self-service portal. Students are expected to attend and be on time for all regularly scheduled campus classes and labs. Online attendance is demonstrated through student participation in assigned activities which include, but are not limited to, submission of academic assignments, completing quizzes or exams, or participating in discussion boards. Logging into a course without active participation does not constitute attendance. Students are responsible for all scheduled course time, course requirements, and course material. If a student is forced to miss class or an assignment, the student is expected to contact the faculty member to request make-up work and/or additional time. Faculty members are not required to assign make-up work.

Students who have a circumstance for which they must be absent, arrive late, or leave class early are responsible for obtaining the faculty member’s permission in advance. Circumstances may include, but are not limited to, serious illness of the student or immediate family member for whom the student is the primary caregiver, death of an immediate family member, military deployment, or unforeseen travel or relocation due to employment. Students who encounter an emergency requiring them to miss a non-lecture class must contact the faculty member as early as possible. Excessive absences, tardiness, or leaving early make it difficult for a student to meet academic objectives and causes a student to receive a lower grade including the possibility of failing the course, even if the circumstances were unavoidable.

Appeals for Absences

A student who is absent without notification is contacted by the faculty member and Student Support Services. Upon reaching three consecutive absences, notification is sent to the student by Student Support Services and the registrar explaining they have reached the absence limit for the course and must file an appeal to remain in the course. The appeal form is attached with the notification and explains the required documentation for submission to the campus president, student accounts, registrar, and student support who notifies the student. The student has five business days to submit the appeal and is instructed to attend class during that period.

If the appeal is not granted, the student is informed of the decision; the registrar removes the student from the course as of the date of the third absence, and assigns a grade based on attendance withdrawal guidelines. If the appeal is granted, the student is informed of the decision and reminded any additional absences result in immediate removal from the course with grade based on attendance withdrawal guidelines. If circumstances are such that due to length of the class absences or the length of the anticipated absence, the preferable course of action is withdrawal, the student may petition the campus president for a tuition adjustment based on the University refund policy.