Governing Excessive Absences in the Classroom: Policy Considerations and Instructor Prerogatives.

In recent years there has been some contusion as to whether an instructor in an institution of higher learning may impose an academic penalty for failure to attend classes regularly. This article presents the circumstances under which such actions are permissible. Additionally, this article discusses under what circumstances court rulings on class policies apply to public schools (secondary and primary) and those that apply to higher education (colleges and universities). General guidelines are also offered for developing defensible policies on class attendance.