Maintaining Student Advising Records

Each instructor is encouraged to maintain class attendance records. Students should attend all classes for which they have registered (on campus, online, hybrid, etc.). Northeast Alabama Community College is a nonattendance taking institution. This means that instructors do not have to keep attendance in a standard roll book. However, attendance reporting is required in order to comply with a number of financial aid programs. A student’s grade may not be based on attendance, but a documentation of attendance is needed to verify a student’s first and last date of attendance. Instructors must be able to produce an accurate Last Date of Attendance (LDA) for students receiving an Incomplete (I), Withdrawal (W), or a Failing Grade (F) in their courses. Instructors who choose to keep an attendance roll may refer to the last date the student attended class for this documentation. Those not keeping an attendance roll must prove LDA through other means. More information on ways of documenting LDA may be accessed through the Student Financial Aid Office or through the Dean of Instruction’s Office. Each semester, instructors must submit an Attendance Verification for each course. Students who have not attended class regularly, regardless of the reason or circumstance, should withdraw from that class before poor attendance interferes with the student’s ability to achieve the objectives required in the course. Withdrawal from class can affect eligibility for federal financial aid. The attendance Policy must be published in course syllabi and communicated to students orally on the first day of class. An instructor’s absences are not counted as student absences. Verified military and jury duty must be considered excused absences. College-sponsored activities approved by the Dean of Instruction must be considered excused absences. Provisions for makeup work, if allowed, must be outlined in the course syllabus. Students have the right to appeal and may do so by following the College’s General Grievance Policy.