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How important is attendance?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I've been at uni for a month now and have missed probably 4 full days and about 5 lectures on other days due to being lazy.
I should have gone in today - i had 2 lectures in the morning (10-12) i was really tired when i woke up so i didnt bother going to the 1st one then the second i thought, well theres no point going in for 1 hour then having a 2.5 hour gap with nothing to do so i didnt bother with that one.
I'm supposed to be in a seminar at 2.30 - i went to the bus stop, stood there for 10 minutes then realised i would be late if i went so turned round and came home.
So just how important is attendance? i mean i know theres a chance i could miss something important but like does it affect my grade at the end of the year? or will i booted off for non-attendance or anything?
I should have gone in today - i had 2 lectures in the morning (10-12) i was really tired when i woke up so i didnt bother going to the 1st one then the second i thought, well theres no point going in for 1 hour then having a 2.5 hour gap with nothing to do so i didnt bother with that one.
I'm supposed to be in a seminar at 2.30 - i went to the bus stop, stood there for 10 minutes then realised i would be late if i went so turned round and came home.
So just how important is attendance? i mean i know theres a chance i could miss something important but like does it affect my grade at the end of the year? or will i booted off for non-attendance or anything?
Post edited by JustV on
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well every department is different. i know people who had to have meetings with their tutors if they missed more than 3 seminars yet i probably missed half the year and no-one said a word. thats not a good thing though. once you start missing lectures/tutorials its a downward spiral. you don't want to go to the next one because you won't know what they're talking about, you haven't done your homework so you won't be able to answer questions. its shit! sort it out now before it all gets too much and stresses you out. its not as important in 1st year but it is in 2nd and 3rd! you miss out on so much more than you realise.
Tutorials account for 10% of the year, 5% attendance/5% participation so they go hand in hand. Lectures don't account for anything and you don't need to sign in so I tend to miss them quite a lot, especially the one's on at 10 in the morning and shit.
If you continually miss classes you might be summonded to a committee to explain why you're missing them.
In the first year attendance isn't a dealbreaker unless it's absolutely diabolical, don't stress about missing bits and bobs and it's not even a problem if you wake up hungover some mornings and just basically can't be arsed. But you shouldn't let yourself get into habits of getting away with attending as little as possible, it's a slippery slope as lipsy was saying. It's a good sign that you're actually asking, because a lot of people just let it slide and slide until it does become a big issue. I think that you should give yourself the kick up the arse NOW and make a real effort to go to lectures and seminars, because even if you aren't missing anything vital and they are things you can catch up on... well, it's still better to go anyway. I guess I feel pretty strongly about this as I watched so many of my friends piss away three years being dicks and never going to any lectures or tutorials or seminars and seriously, seriously doing the bare minimum. I guess for some people that's the point of uni, but I can't understand that way of thinking as it's a really fantastic opportunity to be able to study and also learn how to balance your life in terms of work, socialising and downtime.
It might be clear from what I said that I had a somewhat different Uni experience, though
Just out of interest, are you happy with the course you've chosen?
Final year. Its departmental policy though, its been like that since my first year.
I kind of wish i'd taken digital media technology however because arty stuff is what i'm best at.
not bragging, i just couldnt be bothered most of the time
the lectures were poor and always cut short so i couldnt really motivate myself
I can turn up to as many or as few lectures as I like, but I do have to do the work and show up with it done at the supervisions. I also have to pass the exams at the end of the year. Having a full set of lecture notes as a result of turning up is a good step towards that.
You would probably know if your course had a policy of punishing people that don't turn up, they usually tell you about this one loud and clear if they do!
I don't get marks just for attending though.
Only 1 missed seminar a year is authorised. If you miss any more than one then you get the tutors on your back.
Tbh, you aren't at uni to skive. You are paying for those lectures/seminars. Go to them.
Some lecturers have started taking registers in lectures. I suppose its to see who actually goes them.
Totally depends on your uni and the units in question - sometimes prosribed, sometimes optional. As you progress they'll probably become compulsory if they ain't at the moment though.
i had over 100 pages of notes from the random lectures i did go to and just had to bin all of it cos it was incomplete and inaccurate, and i ended up prety much learning the entire course material from scratch as i'd forgotten it all (not good when you only do day before exam revision
So yeah i think attendance is more important for learning purposes more than regulations