Students are expected to attend every class. (See Seton Hill University Catalog, p. 28-29, “Class Attendance” and “Excused Absences”.) Because a large percentage of your course grade depends on your timely completion of workbook submissions that prepare you for exercises, and exercises that prepare you for larger papers, falling behind or procrastinating can lead to missed deadlines (which is big trouble in a news writing course).

A student’s final grade is lowered by the proportion of unexcused absences. Thus, a student with a final grade of B+ (3.3 out of 4) with a record of 10% unexcused absences would get a B- (90% of 3.3 = 2.97). Participation can affect your final mark in a similar way.

Seton Hill University recognizes that extra-curricular activities of all sorts are important components of a liberal arts education. Nevertheless:

• Students who miss a class period for any reason are still responsible for the material covered that day.
• An excused absence does not automatically grant an extension for any work collected or assigned that day.

If you are absent from class without an approved excuse on a day when a major assignment is due -- perhaps because you stayed up all night working on a paper and are too tired to attend class -- the assignment will be counted an extra day late. (You might as well go to bed without finishing the paper, come to class so you don't fall farther behind, and then turn in the paper the next morning.)

5.1.1. Emergency Absences

Those who miss class due to an unplanned emergency should submit an “Absence Form,” with proper documentation, as soon as possible.

For each class that you miss, print out and complete an “Absence Form” (available at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/teaching/AbsenceForm.htm). After you initiate this contact, we can discuss when or whether it will be possible for you to make up the work that you missed.

Before you contact me, please consult the syllabus and/or a classmate's notes to determine what you missed. (If you ask me to e-mail you a summary of what you missed in class, I will refer you to this document.)

For some classroom activities, such as copyediting peer drafts, there may be no appropriate make-up assignment. (See 5.2 Participation.)

5.1.2. Scheduled Absences

Those who miss class due to a scheduled activity must plan to complete all make-up assignments before the missed class. This typically means that you must submit an acceptable “Absence Form” (see above) before the date you plan to be absent.