Attendance and Administrative Withdrawal Policies

Attendance Policy

Martin Community College recognizes that academic success is tied to regular attendance and completion of assigned work and tasks in a timely manner. Students are expected to attend a minimum of 80 percent of the total hours of a course, which includes classes, labs, and shops. Some courses and programs have stricter attendance requirements of 85, 90, or 95 percent based upon the difficulty and complexity of the subject matter. General Education and Developmental courses re-quire 85 percent attendance. The syllabus for each course will specify the attendance requirement. Attendance is recorded in online classes; attendance is usually recorded through students’ submission of assignments.

Students must be present in at least one class during the first ten percent (10%) of a course in order to be considered en-rolled in the class. If a student has not attended at least one class session by the ten percent census date, the instructor will submit a grade of “NA.”

Students who miss more than six contiguous contact hours or fail to attend the required percentage of total hours without a justifiable absence and verifiable contact with the instructor will be administratively withdrawn from the class by the instructor and may result in a failing grade for the course if after the Last Date for Withdrawal (LDW). The course syllabus will indicate what the instructor considers a justifiable absence and will define “verifiable contact.” The last day to officially withdraw without receiving an “F” is published in the academic calendar for each academic term. The official withdrawal date for mini-sessions, block courses, or other nontraditional schedules are available from the Registrar.

When a student has been administratively withdrawn from a course, and he/she wishes to be reinstated, he/she must con-tact the instructor of the course within 5 days of being administratively withdrawn. Reinstatement can only be allowed before the LDW. If the instructor grants the student’s request to be reinstated to the course, a Course Reinstatement form must be signed by the instructor and submitted to the Registrar.

Make-up work may be allowed at the discretion of the instructor, and the instructor’s policy on make-up work will be included in the course syllabus. Students in clinical and cooperative educational work experiences must complete 100 percent of the required hours to receive a passing grade. Clinical or cooperative work experience make-up hours require clinical or cooperative educational work site approval and approval of the instructor.

Habitual tardiness and/or early departure in a course may, at the discretion of the instructor, be considered in computing class attendance. The course syllabus will include the instructor’s definition of tardiness and early departure.

Students will be counted absent from the date they register for each course.

Note: Under DVA regulations, the enrollment of veterans or dependents will be terminated or adjusted if they are admin-istratively withdrawn or if they officially withdraw.

If an instructor fails to report for a class within 15 minutes of the scheduled beginning time and has not left instructions, those students present should sign a sheet before leaving and should designate a student to submit it to the Chief Academic Officer.

Scheduled Academic Closure Attendance Policy

If the campus has a scheduled academic closure, a student’s online attendance will be recorded in Self-Service on the next academic calendar day. For example, the campus is closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 16th. If a student submits work on that date, their attendance will be recorded in Self-Service as January 17th. This policy is not inclusive of unscheduled closures, such as inclement weather days.

Administrative Withdrawal Policy

Martin Community College is an attendance taking institution. Instructors may administratively withdraw a student miss-ing six (6) contiguous hours or failing to attend the required percentage of total hours of a course without justifiable ab-sence and verifiable contact with the instructor. Students who exceed the allowed number of absences for a course must be administratively withdrawn which should occur no more than 30 days from the last date of attendance. If a student notifies the instructor of their intent to withdraw, the instructor should advise the student to complete the course withdrawal form found in the Registrar’s Office.

Administrative withdrawals are to be submitted by the faculty to the Registrar’s Office within 21 days of the Last Day of Attendance. If a student stops attending within the last 6 contiguous hours of the course, an AW will not be submitted. The student will receive the grade they earned.

Students who are administratively withdrawn, per the Attendance Policy, before the Last Date of Withdrawal (LDW) will automatically receive a W grade for the course. When a student has been administratively withdrawn from a course and he/she wishes to be reinstated, he/she must contact the instructor of the course within 5 days of being administra-tively withdrawn. If the instructor grants the student’s request to be reinstated to the course, a Course Reinstatement form must be signed by the instructor and submitted to the Registrar. Students who are administratively withdrawn after the LDW will receive a WF for the course and instructors should indicate the student’s LDA. The Last Date for With-drawal (LDW) can be found for each term on the Academic Calendar.