All students enrolled in hybrid flex courses must participate in required classroom sessions, as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete or submit any assignment(s) or other academic related activities, to be determined by the instructor.
Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of hybrid flex courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but is not limited to:
- Not attending required physical class sessions.
- Not following the instructor’s participation guidelines as stated in the syllabus.
- Not submitting required assignments.
- Not contributing meaningful discussion in required chat rooms, discussion boards, or other online forums.
- Not participating in scheduled academic activities; or
- Failure to communicate with the instructor as required. Failure to attend as defined above constitutes an absence.
It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are academically engaged and participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled classroom sessions, attending synchronous online sessions, and contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.
Note: In addition to including the attendance policy statement above in the hybrid
flex syllabus template and in the Start Here section in Blackboard, faculty will specify what
role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive
absences as the professor defines in the syllabus. To meet USDOE requirements
with respect to weekly participation in academic related activities, substantive and regular
interaction, and determining students’ last date of attendance, faculty will need to record
student participation or non-participation each week in Blackboard and be able to provide
supporting documentation if required. These records in Blackboard will be archived for
federal regulatory purposes.