Post by Rebecca Brackmann on Mar 16, 2018 20:46:53 GMT
I'm trying to think through something and would love feedback. I have very specific attendance policies, with stringent penalties after a certain number of unexcused absences. I've also had a policy of "you can't pass this class if you miss more than 9 classes for any reason, excused or not." I actually started this as a way to protect good students from themselves--I had a student diagnosed with cancer who tried too hard to come back in my class, to the detriment of his overall GPA.
I have some students now, though, with persistent, chronic illnesses who often have to miss swathes of class. In one case, the student is an English major so I know her well. She's capable of keeping up, yet she always seems to be on the edge of failing because of my policy. I wrote this policy with the assumption (which I now recognize as ableist) that students had to face repercussions for missing class since they had the opportunity to attend. How about the rest of you? Do you have similar hard limits? What do you do with students who have disabilities which make those limits unreasonable? Is there a better way to word this?
Associate Professor of English Lincoln Memorial University
KPA Executive Director
I have some students now, though, with persistent, chronic illnesses who often have to miss swathes of class. In one case, the student is an English major so I know her well. She's capable of keeping up, yet she always seems to be on the edge of failing because of my policy. I wrote this policy with the assumption (which I now recognize as ableist) that students had to face repercussions for missing class since they had the opportunity to attend. How about the rest of you? Do you have similar hard limits? What do you do with students who have disabilities which make those limits unreasonable? Is there a better way to word this?
Associate Professor of English Lincoln Memorial University
KPA Executive Director
