Attendance Probation and Termination
As a school with program hours greater than 200 hrs, and regular attendance recorded and tracked,students are at risk for attendance probation when they exceed 20% absence of the course scheduled time. QUESTIONS: (1) is that 20 % of the entire course time scheduled for the term or at the point where the student has exceeded 20% absence relative to the completed scheduled time to date? That is...after 5 weeks of classes the calculated absence to scheduled time exceeds 20%...should the student be placed on attendance probation or terminate at that point? (2) Are there "mitigating" circumstances that can be used to save the student from attendance probation or termination? If so0, what might they be?
John,
These are excellent questions. In response: 1) It is 20% of the total program hours. The TWC Rules specifically state "more than 20% of the total course time hours in a program..." Unfortunately, some students "front load" all their available absences early in the program which leads to poor performance and (often) drops when they exceed 20% of the total hours. Regarding termination or probation: if the student exceeds 20% of the total program, termination is the only option. Otherwise, a high level of absences require probation PER your policy as stated in the catalog. 2) The primary tool to save a student with mitigating circumstances is to grant an LOA (Leave of Absence-Jury duty, Military, Medical) this must follow your catalog which should follow TWC CSC (as well as Accreditation and Dept. of Educ. rules). LOAs should be an exception and only according to the school's policy. The 20% rule provides a large cushion for the usual circumstances. Another way to think about this is: if you have a 1000 hour program, 20% = 200 hours of absence. If your program meets 20 hours a week, do you want someone with 10 weeks of accumulated absence to represent your institution to employers?
se Facilitator
