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| For more than a year, the issue of attendance has come up in various conversations in the Center. Students take self-described mental health days or they just don’t show up. Last year, I was on sabbatical from teaching. This year, my fall class was fine, just one chronic attendance issue who was on numerous radar screens. My spring class on the other hand, is on pace to set a record, or should I say extend the record. I teach four days a week with 23 students. With eight weeks past, I have not had 100% attendance on any day this semester – that’s over 30 days of instruction without a single day of all students present!
This is a first in over 30 years of teaching (I started grad school at age 12 🙂). Typically, attendance is not an issue for me. In the Pittsburgh public school system, a student is considered chronically absent if they miss at least 10% of the school days. By this measure, 11 of my students are chronically absent. A recent piece in the Chronicle, Admin 101: How to Help Professors in Their ‘Worst Semester Ever’, suggests I am not alone. Beyond attendance, the article explores the issue of student disengagement. While I am on the fence about the suggestions to administrators, I do think the article raises some important concerns in higher ed that reach beyond Denison. To this end, the Center is happy to announce a save the date for “Healthy Minds, Thriving Campus: Strategies for Student and Faculty Well-being,” for May 8, 2024. See details below. |