Class Attendance

The attendance policy at Bladen Community College is based on regular, punctual, and continuing attendance at all class lecture, laboratory, and clinical periods. Any student of the institution shall be granted one (1) excused absence per semester in accordance with the conditions listed in the following:

1. The one (1) excused absence per semester may be used for religious observance by the faith of a student.
2. The student must submit a written request on the Student Notification for Excused Absence form to the Vice President for Student Services or designee at least ten (10) class days prior to the date the student intends to be absent.
3. The Vice President for Student Services or designee shall notify appropriate faculty within 72 hours of receiving the request. Faculty members are expected to note the excused absence in class record documents.
4. Students granted an excused absence shall be given the opportunity to make up all work or tests missed within the semester in which the absence occurred.
5. Instructors/faculty are prohibited from implementing unnecessary sanctions, requiring additional work, or making unreasonable requests of students who are duly granted an excused absence.
6. Should other provisions of the NC Administrative Code or the General Statutes apply, the College shall implement requirements to comply with those provisions.

Unexcused absences are subject to academic penalty at the instructor’s discretion. Missed assignments due to absences or failure to complete assignments by assigned due dates may be completed at the convenience of the instructor.  For more details, refer to the course syllabus.

Discussion forums, documented face-to-face meetings, submitted assignments, or submitted tests will serve as attendance verification for distance delivery venues. Instructors/Faculty will maintain an accurate attendance roster to effectively support the following:

1. Attendance at all class meetings is expected. Absences seriously disrupt students’ progress in a class and diminish the quality of group interaction. Late arrivals and/or early departures may count toward total absences in courses.
2. Students who have not attended at least one class session by the ten (10) percent date of the course will be withdrawn by the instructor as “never attended”. Official entry into distance courses consists of documented completion by students of the orientation/syllabus quiz or icebreaker assignment within the Learning Management System (LMS) by the ten (10) percent date of the course. No tuition and fee adjustments will be made to the student’s registration statement.
3. Students whose absences exceed 20 percent of all scheduled contact hours will be withdrawn from the course by the instructor for excessive absences. In such cases, re-admittance to class will be at the discretion of the instructor and the Registrar. Based on contact hours, the number of hours that may be missed for the most common courses are listed:

   Contact Hours	Twenty Percent
   32 hours	6 hours
   48 hours	10 hours
   64 hours	14 hours
   80 hours	16 hours

4. Students who do not attend for two consecutive weeks will be withdrawn from the course by the instructor.
5. Attendance policies provided to students by individual instructors through course syllabi will reflect the existing policy of the College. Because of the nature of some courses, some instructors may have more restrictive attendance requirements.