Every school day, all college students have to make a choice: do I attend class today? Do I really need those notes?
Most professors would argue yes, you really need those notes.
Even plenty of students agree it’s in their every benefit to make a priority of attending class. Other life interferences, however, might prevent a student from attaining perfect attendance.
So how do NIU Huskies feel about skipping class and attendance expectations on campus?
Grant Rangel, a sophomore physics major, avoids missing class but points out that sometimes making it to every class on time isn’t possible due to other life commitments.
Q: “Do you ever skip class?”
A: “I don’t skip, but I am sometimes a little late due to other reasons like work and stuff.”
Q: “Do you think attendance should be mandatory?”
A: “I would say that’s probably up to the teacher and how they design the class. I would say they would probably have to make that decision.”
To Kijuana Duplessis, a sophomore music performance and education major, mandatory attendance is both a yes and a no in the classroom.
Q: “Have you ever skipped class?”
A: “Yes, I have.”
Q: “Why?”
A: “For extra sleep!”
Q: “Do you think attendance should be mandatory?”
A: “It’s a yes, and it’s still a no at the same time. Attendance should be mandatory but I think that some of the excuses that teachers are expecting you to have reasons for, for leaving class just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Emma Casey-Fusco, a junior psychology major, says attendance becomes more important depending on your individual learning strategies.
Q: “Do you ever skip class?”
A: “Sometimes, but only when I’m sick though.”
Q: “Do you think attendance should be mandatory?”
A: “Honestly, it depends on, like, how you learn better. But, like, honestly, I don’t think so. But it depends, again, like if you learn better with the professor in-person or online.”
For Tamiah Griffin, a first-year art major, whether mandatory attendance is justified is dependent on the type of class.
Q: “Do you think attendance should be mandatory?”
A: “Yes and no. Like for my math class, I can’t really understand what he’s saying, and it’s such a huge classroom. I wouldn’t think that it should be mandatory in a setting like that. But with more intimate classrooms, I’d think so.”
