Grading criteria for attendance and class participation

Determining Grades for Attendance, Class Participation and Daily Work

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory in all classes as it affects the individual and group learning experience. Latecomers are disruptive to the instructor and other learners, and interrupt the flow of learning.

Absent learners, without prior notice, medical note or accepted explanation will be marked as “ABSENT” for the class, and lose 100% of the attendance and participation points for the class.

Latecomers, may or may not be admitted to the class (at the instructor’s discretion) will be marked as “LATE”, and will lose 50% of the attendance and participation points for the class.

Repeated absences and / or lateness is indicative of a different situation and will be addressed by the instructor and/or program staff. “REPEATED ABSENCES AND/OR LATENESS” will result in additional reductions in attendance and participation points for classes.

All students are required to sign in for class.

All attendance and participation points for classes are recorded.

Classroom Participation

In-Class Participation

Students who prepare for class and actively participate in discussion are more engaged and learn more, and contribute to the learning experiences of other students. In addition to attendance, students receive points for qualitative contributions that advance the discussion. Students who participate by asking trivial questions or making uninformed or off-topic comments will not earn points.

• Meaningful class participation is taken seriously, and students can use the feedback to improve their in-class contributions.
• Grading is based on:
  • evaluation of the quality of the student’s preparation for class discussion
  • the substance of contributions made to discussion
  • aspects of general class citizenship (listening skills, responding to other students with respect, promoting on-topic discussion).
  • (Improvements in the quality of discussion are observed and noticed throughout the term. Consequently, students have the opportunity to improve the quality of their participation.

Online Participation

Class participation is not limited to in-class (face-to-face) participation. Online participation (through threaded discussions, blogs, hashtag postings, videos and social media) all contribute points to the Attendance and Class Participation grade.