Annotated Bibliography: College Class Attendance Should Not Be Mandatory

Bugeja, Michael. “Attendance Not Required.” Inside Higher Education,December 17, 2012,  https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/12/17/essay-unusual-approach-classroom-attendance#sthash.3eZ8I0dT.FvgYhVcY.dpbs.

This online article shares Bugeja’s vision about college attendance policies and student achievement in learning. In her article, Michael Bugeja, the director of the   Green School of Journalism and Communication at lowa State University, accepts the  position that college class attendance should not be mandatory; at the same time, it is crucially important to explain students the correlation between class attendance and high achievement in learning. Bugeja states that students should develop their own  priorities, appreciations, and academic values. Instead of mandatory education    policies and regulations, educators should encourage student motivation, honesty,  and trust. Bugeja explains that trustful teacher-student relationships are very  important to any attendance policy; through his personal experiences and observations, the author concludes that student with the fewest absences almost  always receive the highest grades.

Clair, Karen. “A Case Against Compulsory Class Attendance Policies in Higher Education.” Innovative Higher Education, vol. 23, no. 3, March 1999, pp. 171-180.

In her case study, Clair Karen deeply analyses and examines variety of sources regarding class attendance implementations, studies the relationships betweenstudent academic achievement and class attendance, and concludes that the   individual’s success in learning does not depend on his or her college class attendance. Additionally, there are a number of other important factors that may  contribute to the student’s poor performance and low achievements in learning. In her study, Clair uses Pintrich’s theoretical model of student motivation in the classroom and deeply evaluates the issue of class attendance and its relation to student success  and motivation in learning. Clair finds that class attendance in higher education is linked to student motivation and desire to learn hard, and the required college regular attendance does not guarantee student success and high achievements in learning.

Gross Davis, Barbara. Tools for Teaching. Jossey-Bass Higher and adult Education Series, John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Barbara Gross Davis in her book analyses the overall approach to teaching, classroom  strategies, student learning, and certain course policies. She explains that it is an  educator’s job to encourage and motivate students to attend the classes, thus, first and  foremost, it is crucially important to build effective teacher-student relationships, effective collaboration, and trustworthy classroom environment. Gross Davis explains   that college class attendance should not be mandatory; instead, from the beginning it      can be very helpful to inform students about the importance of college attendance and  its influence on student productivity, grading system, and academic achievement. In  her book, the author offers good general advices and multiple methodologies that  allow educators to encourage good attendance.

Osman, Rachel. “Should Class attendance Be Mandatory? Students, Professors say no.” USA Today College, March 25, 2012, http://college.usatoday.com/2012/03/25/should- class-attendance-be-mandatory-students-professors-say-no/.

In her online article, Rachel Osman examines and analyses multiple thoughts,attitudes, and ideas about college classroom attendance policies. Students and professors from different educational institutions do not agree with mandatory  attendance policies and explain the reasons. Osman in her article explains that   educators want to teach their students directly, but it is also important to consider  students’ rights and decisions, freedom of choices, their priorities, and responsibility to manage their own time. Some educators believe that college attendance policies must balance both students and teachers sides offering a happy medium.

Pintrich, Paul. “Student Motivation in the College Classroom.” From K.W. Richard &  McLaran Sawyer, Handbook of College Teaching: Theory and Application, Greenwood Press, 1994.

Paul Pintrich, known as the founder of the model of college student motivation in the classroom, explains that lack of student motivation is one of the biggest issues that affect college attendance, performance, and student achievement in learning. He  states that first and foremost, it is critical to encourage a student to learn and  achieve results. Pintrich explains that making college class attendance mandatory  does not improve students’ productivity, performance, or motivate them to achieve  better results in learning. Moreover, mandatory classroom attendance may lead to negative behaviors, student passivity in learning, anxiety, poor performance, and lack of affords and productivity. Pintrich concludes that instead of mandatory college attendance it is essential to develop student’s sense of personal control, which can  positively affect his or her ambitions, attendance, and desire to learn.