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Class Attendance

Students are expected to attend their scheduled classes for the duration of the academic period. For eLearning classes, students are expected to regularly log in to access the class website and participate in the course according to the schedule of events outlined by the faculty/instructor. Any class session or activity missed, regardless of cause, reduces the opportunity for learning and may adversely affect a student’s achievement in the course. For the purposes of financial aid, Palm Beach State is not an attendance-taking institution.

Specific attendance and grading requirements for each course are stated in the respective course syllabus. These requirements may vary from course to course, and it is the student’s responsibility to read and adhere to the policies set forth by each class faculty/instructor syllabus. Students should seek any needed clarification from the class faculty/instructor.

Vocational Clock Hour Programs

All faculty and instructors who teach vocational clock hour programs are required to take attendance for every class meeting. Students who stop attending, withdraw or are dropped should be reported immediately. Faculty and instructors should not delay reporting students, as there is a chance they could receive Federal funds they are not entitled to keep.

Clock Hour/CCP Attendance: Unlike Credit Hour programs, students pursuing a career or workforce certificate in a Career Certificate Program (CCP) attend their classes on a “clock hour” basis. One hour of accountable attendance is based on the student’s actual presence and participation for a complete 60-minute period of instruction, which may include up to a 10-minute break. Instructors in clock hour programs are required to record attendance daily including the student’s arrival and departure times. Clock Hour/CCP program attendance is particularly important to financial aid distribution, which is based on the student’s completion of a specified number of hours and weeks (a defined payment period for the program). Each Clock Hour/CCP program will publish their course sequence, class schedule and projected payment periods at the beginning of the program.

Clock Hour/CCP Excused Absence: Unless otherwise stipulated or regulated by accrediting agencies, state licensing agencies or restrictions of the academic program, students enrolled in Clock Hour/CCP programs may have up to 10% of the total clock hours within each of the program’s defined payment periods considered as excused absences. These are absences for which the "seat time" does not have to be made up. Any missed hours exceeding the 10% excused absence threshold must be made up to meet progression and completion standards. (These makeup hours will not be used to meet Title IV financial aid attendance compliance.) Instructors will clearly identify within their course syllabus the specific attendance requirements for the course, including the possibilities and processes for making up time and missed assignments. The submission of assignments missed due to absences does not satisfy the "seat-time" requirement.

At the end of each academic period (including summer), CCP instructors and adjuncts must file a copy of all attendance records with their associate dean’s or immediate supervisor’s office.

Instructor Participation Verify

Palm Beach State College’s faculty/instructors are required by federal law and various agencies (i.e., Federal Financial Aid Title IV, Veterans Affairs, SEVIS, INS), to confirm class participation of students. Students who never attend a class during the add/drop period, plus three (3) days after add/drop, will be dropped from their class. For the purposes of financial aid, Palm Beach State is not an attendance-taking institution.

A non-participation status may cause a student’s financial aid funds or veteran benefits to be adjusted or rescinded.