Mandatory Attendance

[Comm-Law]

I think the ABA mandates that students attend at least 15% of the scheduled class sessions.

Do you mean the ABA mandates that students attend at least 85% of the schedule.  15% of the schedule would seem pretty lax... that's only about 4 or 5 classes out of 30.

- Comm-Law

[Comm-Law]

In particular, Legal Writing is the most harsh with TWO allowed abscenses this semester and only ONE allowed abscense next semester (and no... your sick/skip days don't carry).  Seems that I'll be attending class with some very sick people at some point this year because it doesn't seem to be an option to stay home with the flu, pnemonia or strep-throat!

I think that the attendence policy for our class was written by the head of the LRW program and that it is the same for all of the classes. I may be wrong though. Anyways, our teacher in particular seems like if you really have to miss, she will excuse it. I scheduled an interview for a summer job for this coming Tuesday when I was under the assumption that there was no class. Today after she changed that, I spoke with her and she was totally cool about it and told me not to worry about it at all. I still may be able to get to class though. It will be a close call.

Im starting to think that the administration is breathing down their necks to enfore strict attendence. Then like you said, the teachers don't want to come off like that so they just blame it on the ABA.

I'm glad to hear that the LRW prof was reasonable with you regarding that "unscheduled" class for next week.  I'm also glad to hear that you are going to use Tues for an interview instead of shooting out to Vegas again

- Comm-Law

[eray01]

I'm sorry. I meant to say that you can't miss more than 15 percent. It's been a long week.

[mucho]

[...] The good news is he allows for doctor's appts. and the occasional car trouble if you call before class.

Not so with most of our professors: once I had to take my car to the mechanic for a wheel alignement/balancing (which had to be done right away) and I was not allowed to even though I called him a day before.

[txlawstu]

My school has an attendance policy and yes they pass a role.  However, our attendance policy is based on ABA requirements.  The school is so new, they are still scared to veer off the ABA guidelines and get in any trouble.  I can't say that I blame them even if the attendance policy is a pain in the butt.

If your attendance is based on anything other than a percentage of the credit hours, then it's your school's policy and don't let them get away with blaming the ABA.  Our's is that if it's a 3 or 4 hour class you can not miss more then 7 classes.  If it's 2 hour or less, you can not miss more than three classes.  The subject of the class makes absolutely no difference to the ABA, they just want the students to attend class, all of the classes.

[PSUDSL08]

From my experience, it depends upon the school and the professor. My old school had a strict attendance policy in all classes. You were allowed 4 unexcused absences in a class that went for 1hr and 15min (2x week), and 6 misses for class that went for 50 min (3x week). Attendance sheets were passed around in every class.

At my current school, the attendance policy is the same, although there are some professors that don't choose to take attendance. They merely have the school's attendance policy regurgitated in their syllabi, but don't uphold it. Two of my classes are based upon paper grading only, which means that class participation is minimal and the professor rarely sends around an attendance sheet. I've finished the papers and I'm lucky if I go to these classes once a week. I've found (especially now in my 3L year) that even the stricter professors have been willing to grant me excused absences for interviews, traveling, etc.

Personally, I hate attendance policies. We are not at a job where your attendance is critical...they are not paying us to go to school, were paying them for a service. If we choose not to use that service to its fullest extent, that only hurts us in the longrun

[jeffislouie]

ABA rules require that students attend 75% of all classes to sit for the final.  This is not a school function, save that it is part of the rules the ABA has put in place.
So far as I can tell, this exists only to validate the educational 'system' as valid.  Without such restrictions, students would be able to enroll in classes, never attend, study hard, pass exams and pass the bar.  These regulations are in place so as to continue the monopoly the ABA has on law school accreditation.

We all know people who could pass any class without attending a single one.  Most of us could pass a good chunk of our classes without ever attending classes.

At my school, they are very careful to meet this requirement.  Supposedly, one woman was removed from a Contracts final last semester because she had violated this rule.

It's sad and speaks volumes to the continuing hypocritical nature of the educational system in America.  We are asked to behave like adults, then perpetually treated like children.

I do not know anyone attending any school that hasn't run into attendance sheets, though I'm sure it varies by school and professor.

[nealric]

ABA rules require that students attend 75% of all classes to sit for the final.  This is not a school function, save that it is part of the rules the ABA has put in place.

Taking attendance is unheard of here. It's perfectly acceptable to never go to class and just sit for the final if you so chose.

[jeffislouie]

ABA rules require that students attend 75% of all classes to sit for the final.  This is not a school function, save that it is part of the rules the ABA has put in place.

Taking attendance is unheard of here. It's perfectly acceptable to never go to class and just sit for the final if you so chose.

Man I wish I was enrolled at your school.
Where I go, this is strictly monitored.  All the classes, save for legal writing, have passed around attendance books.  If you get caught signing someone else in when they aren't there, you risk suspension, expulsion, etc.  In legal writing, the prof takes her own attendance using a diagram she made with our names and where we sit.
I've heard that once you get past 1L, many prof's don't bother, but us 1L's are rigidly monitored for attendance.  Like I said, last semester they took a girl out of the final because she had missed too many classes.
It's a lower tier school, and I've heard talk that they tend to grade harder and follow the rules much more strictly.