Absentee Policy

Texarkana College’s absentee policy allows instructors to withdraw a student from a course due to excessive absences. If a student leaves and returns during class or leaves the class before the class is over, he/she may be considered absent. Three tardies constitute one absence. It is the student’s responsibility to check the syllabus for each instructor’s tardy policy.

In some workforce/vocation areas, such as nursing and cosmetology, certification requirements necessitate an absentee policy that is more stringent than the institutional policy. In these instances, the matter of certification takes precedence over local policies, since certification policies are established by the State of Texas.

Faculty members are not obligated to provide opportunities for students to make up missed assignments and tests as a result of a student’s absence from class. Experience demonstrates that regular attendance enhances academic success. As such, students are expected to attend each meeting of their registered courses.

A student should not stop attending a class without formally withdrawing from the course by the institution’s published Last Day for Students to Drop. If a student stops attending class after the published Last Day for Students to Drop, the student may receive a grade of “F” in the class. The instructor will submit the last date of attendance for students receiving a grade of “F” or “W”.

Withdrawal from a course(s) may affect a student’s current or future financial aid eligibility. Students should consult the Financial Aid Office to learn both short- and long-term consequences of a withdrawal.

Excused Absences

A student’s absence due to school trips and/or school business will not be counted against a student’s allowable number of absences. Military duty and absences for Holy Days (FC LEGAL) are covered in a separate section of the catalog/handbook. These are the only excused absences that are considered by Texarkana College. Responsibility for work missed for any absence is placed on the student. Instructors are required to allow students to make up work missed if the absence is due to TC school business, TC school trips, military duty or religious holy days when students follow the correct notification procedures. Instructors are not required to allow students to make up work for absences due to other reasons. Make-up policies are listed in each individual instructor’s syllabus.

Students interested in Health Sciences should check with the division dean prior to entering the program.

Online/Hybrid Course Absences

Absence in an online course is defined as the lack of an active post or submission within the course, including discussion board posts, written assignments, and tests.  This standard will be used to determine all absentee issues, including but not limited to 12^th Day Census reports, last date of attendance, and involuntary withdrawal from a course due to absences. All online students must complete an Enrollment Verification Activity within the first week of class (activity depends upon the professor); otherwise, the professor may drop the student for not having attended. Students must complete at least one activity in their online class per week. Each week in which a student does not complete an activity will be counted as an absence.

If a student is taking a hybrid course and it does not meet during the first week of class, the student must also complete an Enrollment Verification Activity within the first week of class; otherwise, the student may be dropped for not having attended.

Maximum Allowable Absences

After official registration, any absences over 10% of the scheduled meetings are considered excessive. The following number of unexcused absences will be the maximum allowable before a student may be dropped from the class. Mandated program certification requirements detailed for certain programs regarding the maximum allowable unexcused absences takes precedence over the following information. Three tardies count as one absence.