{"id":211531,"date":"2026-03-30T11:48:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211531\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:48:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:48:06","slug":"professors-should-offer-more-flexible-attendance-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/211531\/","title":{"rendered":"Professors should offer more flexible attendance policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>If you are paying for your classes, you should be able to choose when you go. ORACLE PHOTO\/DYLAN SABOL<\/p>\n

I woke up for class a few weeks ago and was exhausted. I had a late night doing homework and wasn\u2019t ready mentally to attend a full day of classes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was fully prepared to stay asleep and take a day for myself. But then I remembered that my class required attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That meant missing one day wasn\u2019t just about catching up later \u2014 it would directly impact my grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What should have been a simple decision about my own well-being turned into a calculation of consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Strict attendance policies can feel less like support and more like pressure.<\/p>\n

Instead of encouraging students to show up engaged and ready to learn, these rules often push us into classrooms where we are distracted or simply not at our best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professors should be more lenient with attendance policies, taking into account that students have lives outside the classroom and sometimes need a break for a day or two.<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: How to survive class registration at USF <\/a><\/p>\n

The pressure isn\u2019t accidental \u2014 it is built into how USF\u2019s attendance policies work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF\u2019s general attendance policy states<\/a> that students are \u201cexpected to attend classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the specifics \u2014 like how many absences are allowed or how attendance affects grades \u2014 are determined by professors and outlined in their syllabi, according to USF.<\/a><\/p>\n

This means that, depending on the course, missing even one class can directly affect your overall grade or your enrollment status.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The realization that I could fail based on attendance alone changed the situation completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t about whether I needed rest anymore. It was about whether I could afford to take it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am taking five classes this semester. One of the attendance policies states that I can miss two classes, but after that, my attendance grade drops by 5% for each unexcused absence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That small margin for absence turns every missed class into a risk and reason to be anxious.<\/p>\n

Suddenly being sick, overwhelmed or dealing with something unexpected feels less like a valid reason and more like a penalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What makes it even more complicated is that not every class follows the same rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: USF students trade textbooks for taste tests in these classes<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some professors are strict like mine, enforcing detailed attendance policies.<\/p>\n

Others are more lenient and laid-back \u2014 like previous professors who didn\u2019t require me to attend class at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This inconsistency leaves students trying to navigate a different set of expectations in every classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It raises the questions of what an ideal, university-wide attendance policy should look like \u2014 and whether USF should implement a consistent standard across all classes to avoid confusion.<\/p>\n

Danila Tuazon, a sophomore health sciences major, said there should be changes to the professor\u2019s attendance policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be a guideline more flexible to students because most have other priorities besides school,\u201d Tuazon said. \u201cThey should provide resources and flexibility where they can learn in and out of the classroom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her words reflect a reality many students face, but few policies acknowledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professors can offer alternatives such as posting class slides on Canvas, offering reasonable deadline extensions or prioritizing weekly check-ins for students who weren\u2019t able to attend class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Education should not punish students for balancing responsibilities \u2014 it should support them in navigating them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By rethinking rigid attendance rules, professors can prioritize creating an environment that sets students up to succeed, both in and out of the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you are paying for your classes, you should be able to choose when you go. ORACLE PHOTO\/DYLAN…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-211531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}