Regular and punctual class attendance is required of all students in all courses. Faculty members are required to take attendance in all courses. Students must indicate their attendance of each class meeting in the manner prescribed by the professor. If a question later arises as to whether a student attended a particular class, the professor shall make that determination.
In the event that these rules addressing attendance requirements for part-time/hybrid students conflict with rules for the full-time students, these rules apply.
Students must keep track of their absences. Students should not expect the School of Law to warn them when their absences are close to exceeding allowable limits. Any such warning that might be given is gratuitous by a specific professor, advisor, or dean, and shall not be construed as creating an obligation on the part of the School of Law to provide a warning to any student.
Nothing in this rule shall prohibit a professor from using other methods to document attendance in addition to those listed below or from adopting a more restrictive attendance policy for a particular online course or for a module of a particular course. To the extent a professor adopts such a policy, that policy shall control.
Attendance Requirements for Online Modules
Except as otherwise noted herein, no student may miss more than twenty percent (20%) of the scheduled online modules in any course. Students on academic probation may miss no more than ten percent (10%) of the scheduled online modules in any course. For each course, the number of online modules will be determined based on the academic calendar and will be indicated on the course syllabus. When multiplying the number of scheduled modules by the percentages described above, the resulting number shall be rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.
Student attendance in online modules is defined as active participation in the course as described in the individual course syllabus. Online courses will, at a minimum, have weekly mechanisms for student participation, which can be documented by any or all of the following methods:
- • Completion of tests or quizzes
- • Discussion forums
- • Submission / completion of assignments
- • Video sessions
Instructors have the discretion to specify what level of student participation satisfies attendance requirements as documented by one or more of the methods set forth above. Attendance requirements should be set forth in the course syllabus.
Attendance Requirements for Residential On-Campus Sessions
In relation to the residential component of hybrid courses, attendance at each in-person residential component is expected. During the term of a course, no student may miss more than 15% of the scheduled on-campus class hours for any course. Students on probation may miss no more than ten percent (10%) of the scheduled on-campus hours for any course. For computation purposes involving periods of less than one hour, at the discretion of the professor, the student may be marked as absent for the entire hour.
Violations of the Attendance Policy
Students who fail to comply with the attendance requirements in any course shall be immediately administratively withdrawn from the course, and a grade of “AW” shall be given, except in the following academic success courses: Legal Foundations, Advanced Legal Reasoning, Legal Practice Skills, and Solving Legal Problems which are addressed below. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs has the discretion to excuse absences for good cause shown. A request for an excused absence, however, may not be submitted and will not be considered prior to the time the student has exceeded the allowable limit of absences or anticipates having to do so.
For Legal Foundations, Advanced Legal Reasoning, Legal Practice Skills, and Solving Legal Problems, students who fail to comply with the attendance requirements shall remain enrolled in the course, receive a presumptive grade of “F,” and be required to complete the next academic success course in the curriculum. However, at the instructor’s discretion, a student may be given the option to complete additional assignments to raise the student’s grade to no higher than a grade of “D.” To enable students to satisfy all graduation requirements while providing them with appropriate academic support, a student who receives a grade of “F” in a required academic success course may be permitted to complete a different academic success course instead of repeating the course, at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
A professor does not have the authority to excuse an absence.
Orientation Attendance Policy
Orientation at LMU Law contains substantive information that incoming students need when they begin law school and is different than undergraduate orientation programs. In addition to information about law school life, Orientation covers fundamental skills and substantive legal information that is key to first semester success. The decision to begin law school includes a commitment to attend the mandatory law school Orientation and incoming students must plan accordingly. The dates for 1L student Orientation are designated on the Academic Calendar. All incoming 1L students must attend all Orientation sessions as a prerequisite to enrollment in law school classes. Additionally, class sessions for some Fall semester courses are held for students in the Part-Time Hybrid program. Absences from these sessions will be treated as set forth above in the sections “Attendance Requirements for Residential On-Campus Sessions” and “Violations of the Attendance Policy.” Other portions of Orientation may be excused by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs only in extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances do not include a planned vacation or the timing of a student’s move to the Knoxville area.