By Bethany Narvaez/ nw news editor
College is an important period when students begin to establish themselves as mature young adults. Beyond academic coursework, students learn important life skills such as time management and accountability.
So, why does TCC feel the need to institute an attendance policy that allows faculty to drop students from a class for excessive absences?
Students paying for their college education out of their own pockets with no federal or school scholarships should have control over their academic career, including how often they attend class.
The TCC student handbook states, “A student in an on-campus course missing a cumulative 15 percent of the class meetings and not keeping up with the course assignments may be dropped at the discretion of the instructor.”
If students can stay up to date with coursework while maintaining a passing class average, TCC should not be allowed to drop students based on low attendance.
Even if students cannot keep up with class assignments or maintain a satisfactory average due to recurring absences, the responsibility to drop the course should be on the students.
Other local community colleges such as the Dallas County Community College District hold policies unlike TCC’s. In regards to attendance, DCCCD’s website states, “As a college student, you are considered a responsible adult. If you are unable to complete the course(s) for which you have registered, it is your responsibility to withdraw formally from the course(s).”
North Central Texas College has a similar policy, putting students in charge of their own attendance and deciding if a class should be dropped.
While I believe regular class attendance is important for academic success, I also believe that decision should be left to each individual student, not the administration.