Flexible Teaching Guide

Flexible Attendance Policy 

While classroom attendance and participation are vital characteristics of an Etown education, it is important, given significant medical concerns, that our students have some leeway to meet your expectations for participation if required to quarantine due to illness or other potential limitations. Below are some guiding principles and sample attendance policies used at other colleges and universities:

Guiding Principles: 

  • Establish your presence as the instructor and invite students to be present in all modalities of the course (in-person and on-line). 
  • Provide a statement on the importance of class attendance and participation.  
  • Include information in your syllabus or Canvas course page that explains how and when you want students to contact you about an absence. 
  • Students experiencing extended absence are also going to experience a lot of anxiety on top of illness. Anything you can do to reduce barriers to communication may increase the likelihood they reach out for help. 

Sample Attendance Statement From the University of Kansas 

The knowledge and skills you will gain in this course highly depend on your participation in class learning activities. Because of that, I expect you to attend all class sessions unless you are ill or have a valid reason for missing. I plan to track class attendance to help me understand how and when students are engaging in the course. If you are ill or have another valid reason for missing, please contact me by email in advance of the absence.  

If you face challenges to fully participating in class due to illness, please let me know, and please contact me if you expect to miss class. I am available and ready to support your success.  

If you are having any difficulties meeting the requirements for the course and are thinking about dropping, please reach out to me. I would like to have the chance to hear about what you are struggling with to see if there is a way to help you meet the outcomes of the course. 

Sample Attendance Statement From Emory University 

Some students might be sick or will need to go into quarantine. If you are sick, understand that I will be flexible about attendance. Please make sure to email me so that we can discuss your individual circumstances. For students in quarantine who are well, we have provided ways that you can keep up with your schoolwork.  Please also contact me via email if you are in quarantine. 

Sample Attendance Statement From Towson University 

The exceptional circumstances presented by the lingering impacts of the COVID pandemic create the potential for additional flexibility in qualifying absences as excused. Such extenuations might include absences related to extended illness, quarantine, caring for family members, childcare (and support of children’s online learning) due to school closures, or urgent job concerns related to financial need, emergency situations, or food insecurity. Students requesting an excused absence must contact the instructor as soon as possible. Absences that do not fall into any of the above categories are unexcused. 

Equivalent Experiences 

Should students miss a class meeting, finding a reasonable, equivalent experience will help students continue to make progress toward the learning outcomes. Below is a list of alternate activities one might implement if a student misses a class meeting and seeks an opportunity to make up the missed work. 

If a student misses a lecture, you might try:

  • recording your lectures to share with students who are unable to attend in-person or sharing content that was previously recorded during remote learning. Remember, you can limit who has access to this content by posting it as an assignment in Canvas and assigning it only to those who you want to have access to it. 
  • Sharing lecture notes with absent students.
  • Inviting students to find related materials in open access platforms on your key lecture topic and report to you in writing what he/she/they have learned. 
  • meeting during your office hours to review the material covered in your lecture. 

If a student misses an interactive discussion or collaborative activities, you might try:

  • assigning a short response paper. 
  • creating a discussion board in Canvas for the student(s) who missed class. In Canvas students can submit written and/or video responses to your prompt.
  • having the absent students submit discussion questions about the topic of the class discussion for the students attending to answer. 
  • leading a similar activity or discussion during office hours over Zoom or Teams with the student(s) who missed class. 
  • grouping present and absent students together to work collaboratively on small projects or problem sets. Absent students may be able to engage in small group work outside of class in Zoom or Teams but may need some assistance in connecting with their group mates. 

If a student misses a lab, you might try:

  • creating flexibility in your class calendar for lab make-up. This can also be useful for students who need remediation and would benefit from redoing a lab project. 

If a student misses a studio or hands-on experience, you might try:

  • creating flexibility in your class calendar for a make-up period wherein students can gain access to the lab and/or necessary equipment to complete hands-on assignments and activities.

If a student misses an exam, you might try:

  • creating multiple low-stakes assignments rather than a few high-stakes exams.  
  • creating a drop policy (students can drop the lowest exam score or skip an exam). Students could use this option if absent. 
  • leveraging the testing center in the Center for Student Success to facilitate exams and quizzes once students are cleared to return to in-person learning. 
  • creating an alternative assessment that can be delivered via Canvas for students to take remotely. 
  • administering exams verbally over Zoom, if applicable.  
  • reimagining exams entirely. For example, if your exam becomes a take-home exam all students can complete their exam in the same timeframe.  

Additional Resources

Self-guided Professional Development Modules

Giving Feedback in the Online Environment: This course offers valuable information designed to help instructors feel more confident providing feedback in online settings. Experienced teachers my find this unit a timely addition to existing techniques and novice facilitators can use the course to develop foundational knowledge. Designed by a learning scientist, this course gives you access to resources you can revisit and grow as you move forward in your teaching. You can self-enroll anytime in this course here.

Teaching Presence Across Modalities: This course aims to help you hone your skills in establishing your teaching presence across multiple modes of instructional delivery. The culminating activity for this course consists of completing a personalized teaching perspectives inventory that will give you immediate feedback from which you can develop your own professional learning goals. Our focus in this course is to help you succeed in any learning environment by giving you timely, relevant pedagogical knowledge and teaching tools to inform your practice. You can self-enroll in this course here.

Trauma-informed Practice: This course is geared toward covering the basics in application and terminology of trauma-informed approaches. Regardless of your level of professional experience with this topic, you probably have past personal experience from which you can draw and relate to the learning content of this timely course. Through the modules, you will become acquainted with some of the theoretical underpinnings as well as cover the principal guidelines for trauma-informed practice. You can self-enroll for this course here.