Attendance Policy

Regular, punctual class attendance is the responsibility of every student who enrolls at Central Florida Community College. Likewise, the institution is committed to enforcing the attendance policy in an effort to assist students in achieving their educational objectives. The documentation of student absences will begin the first class day, regardless of when the student registers. When a student has a legitimate reason for being absent, the instructor has the option of permitting the student to make up work missed and may require an explanation for absence.

The college reserves the right to evaluateindividual cases of non-attendance. In general, students are graded on the basis of intellectual effort and performance. Class participation is a significant measure of performance, and non-
attendance can adversely affect a student’s grade.

Attendance at authorized off-campus student activities (such as student organization meetings or athletic events) is permitted to count toward class attendance or approved absence on the instructor’s class records. Students must give advance notice of the intended absence, within guidelines set by the individual instructor, in order to have the opportunity to prepare assignments and make up or avoid missing tests. Faculty members are expected to establish non-punitive policies toward attendance at such college-sponsored, off-campus student activities such as student organization meetings or athletic events.

If conflicts exist between a student’s regularly-scheduled class and another activity (including the requirements of other classes), the student’s regularly-scheduled class should receive priority. Instructors understand that students may be given extra credit for such events, but no student will be penalized for non-attendance.

If a student accumulates so many absences that further enrollment in a course appears to be of little value, the instructor may drop the student from the course.

Students enrolled in occupational certificate programs are permitted two unexcused absences within any attendance month. Students who exceed this number of unexcused absences may be placed on probation and, if additional unexcused absences occur, dropped from the program. The instructor determines whether or not an absence is excused, considering such factors as sickness, accidents and other contingencies beyond the control of the student.

Students enrolling in certain technical programs, e.g., nursing, criminal justice, and cosmetology, are expected to meet specific guidelines.