04 Attendance and Class Requirements

04.1 Attendance

04.11(fs) General

Students are expected to accept the responsibility for satisfactory attendance in each course for which they are registered. What constitutes satisfactory attendance shall be determined in each course by the instructor within the framework of rules 04.12(fs) to 04.16.

04.12(fs) Absences from examination and laboratory periods

Any student who is absent without excuse from an announced test, quiz, examination, or laboratory period may, at the discretion of the instructor, be penalized for such absence or be allowed to make up the work missed.

04.13(fs) Excused absences

The designation of excused absences and the assignment of any subsequent makeup work are the prerogative of the course instructor. It is expected that instructors will be reasonable in the exercise of this prerogative. In general, students may be excused for reasons such as (a) ill health, (b) participation in official intercollegiate events, (c) personal emergencies (d) instructional trips, and (e) important religious holidays and/or observances as discussed with the instructor, and they will then not be subject to academic penalty.

04.131(fs) Absence on voting day

In order that UNH students may fully exercise their constitutional right to vote in New Hampshire state and federal elections, no examinations will be scheduled on the first Tuesday of November, and such should be designated in the University calendars. Opportunities for makeup of other scheduled exercises on those days should be provided where necessary. Faculty are requested to cooperate to the fullest extent with students from communities scheduling elections at other times.

04.14(fs) Absences in certain courses

In courses where students’ grades or credit may be affected by their record of attendance, as in certain courses of the Department of English, Department of Kinesiology, Department of Music, and the ROTC programs, unexcused absences may entail penalties of lowered grades or loss of credit.

04.15(fs) Excessive absences

When students absent themselves from class to such extent that their own progress or that of the class or group is seriously impaired, they will be reported to the dean of their college by their instructor. When reports are received by a college dean, the dean will consider each student’s class standing, academic record, and other pertinent factors; the dean may then

  1. warn the student against continued absences by letter or by interview
  2. place the student on scholastic warning—see 05.11(fs)—or
  3. report the student to the Academic Standards and Advising Committee for a decision as to whether the student shall continue in the University.

04.16 Weekly common exam hours

Tuesday and Thursday from 12:40 pm to 2:00 pm are University “free” hours, which are reserved for convocations or common exams for multi-section courses. Normally, classes and labs are not scheduled during these hours. The Registrar may allow some exceptions to this policy; however, any classes or labs scheduled during these hours must excuse without penalty all students whose attendance is also required for common exams. (footnote 3) Thursday evening from 7:10 – pm to 9:00 pm is also designated as a common exam time when students must be excused without penalty from their regularly scheduled classes or labs if a common exam is scheduled at the same time.1

04.2 Class Requirements

04.21(fs) Class period

The normal class period for recitation and lectures shall be from one hour to ninety minutes, and for laboratory exercises, from two to five hours. Ten minutes shall be deemed sufficient for the change of classes.

04.211(fs) UNH Credit Hour Policy

The University of New Hampshire is in compliance with the federal definition of credit hour. For each credit hour, the university requires, at a minimum, the equivalent of three hours of student academic work each week assuming a 14-15 week semester (student workload for shorter length terms must be increased proportionally per week to maintain approximately the required 42-45 hours of work per credit per term). For example, a 4 credit course over a 14 week semester reflects 168 hours of work. Student work reflects intended learning outcomes and is verified through evidence of student achievement.

04.212(fs) Class visitation

Visitors may be admitted to individual classes with the consent of the instructor. Active participation by a visitor in class discussions is permitted only upon invitation of the instructor.

04.213 (fs) Student Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom

Regarding the policy on cell phone/PDA/pager/digital music player/laptop/other electronic device use during class, students may not use cell phones, PDAs, pager, digital music players, laptops and other electronic devices during class unless designated by the course instructor. If use of any of these items is permitted by the course instructor, these items are not allowed to be used for non-class activities. If you, the student, have a learning disability that requires the use of one of these items, you must provide evidence from Student Accessibility Services (SAS), to inform the course instructor of this situation so that they can accommodate your use. Also, if you need to leave a cell phone on for an emergency situation, you should inform the course instructor at the beginning of the class session as well as keep the phone on in a silent mode, so as not to disrupt the course.

1

Common exam times are not applicable to Thompson School courses.