Bachelor of Education Attendance
Bachelor of Education Program Attendance Policy
Excused Absences: If a student is absent for illness, bereavement, religious observance, varsity athletic competitions, or other extenuating circumstances, the student will not be penalized. However, the student must provide instructors with notice in advance of the absence, or within a reasonable time frame (typically within 24 hours or when the student could be safely and reasonably expected to do so) following the absence and are responsible for all the work and class activities that are missed during the absence. Extra readings or make-up assignments may be required. Prolonged absences due to illness should be discussed with the Director/Dean’s designate and may require a Leave of Absence from the B.Ed. program.
Unexcused Absences: All other absences which do not fall under the excused absence criteria above will be considered unexcused absences. Further, all absences which would have qualified as excused absences but are not communicated to the instructor within a reasonable time frame (typically within 24 hours or when the student could be safely and reasonably expected to do so) will be considered unexcused absences. All unexcused absences will be counted towards the 20% threshold for class attendance as described below.
Process: When three unexcused absences are recorded, the instructor will inform the Director/Dean’s designate and is encouraged to also submit a Student Retention Alert (SRA) via WebAdvisor. In cases where unexcused absenteeism exceeds 20% (i.e., more than 3 classes in 9-week courses; more than 2 classes in 6-week courses), the student may be excluded from submitting/presenting a major final assignment, writing a final in-class test, or writing a final examination. If an instructor chooses to exclude a student from such an evaluation, the Dean, the Director Director/Dean’s designate, and the student must be notified in writing prior to the evaluation in question. Students who wish to appeal this decision may appeal to the Dean as per the Nipissing University Appeals and Petition Policy.
Nipissing University acknowledges Western University’s Faculty of Education, whose related attendance policy provided background and a foundation in best practices that assisted in the development of this policy.
The Attendance Policy for programs other than BEd can be found here