Classes in the regular program are not offered ordinarily for less than ten students at the 100-200 level or for less than seven students at the 300-400 level. With the consent of the appropriate Dean, exceptions may be made for good reasons, such as the need to offer the course as part of a major program.
It is especially important that classes be held at the stated time immediately before and after vacation periods, and that examinations are administered at the time indicated on the schedule. The examination period is scheduled so that all courses are assigned an examination period. If for some reason the instructor wishes to provide some other activity than that of testing during this period, the instructor has that right. This period is, however, a regular part of the course and must be scheduled for some activity by the instructor. Changing one class or examination for the convenience of either students or faculty frequently complicates the holding of other classes or examinations at their stated times. Permission to move the time of a scheduled final examination must be obtained from the appropriate Dean.
Faculty Attendance at Classes
Faculty members are expected to meet their classes as scheduled. In case of unavoidable absence, the professor notifies the appropriate Area Coordinator, who will notify the Dean of Faculty if necessary for further coordination. If a faculty member wishes to switch modalities (in person to Zoom or online asynchronous), due to an illness or other unexpected situation that is not noted on the syllabus, this is permissible for up to one week’s worth of class sessions over the course of the semester. Specific permission by the Area Coordinator, in consultation with the Dean of Faculty, is necessary for a continuation of the new modality beyond one week. Students should be notified of a change of modality as soon as possible, via email.
Student Attendance at Classes
Each member of the Wilmington College faculty will provide all students enrolled in his/her courses with a written statement on attendance policy for each particular course in the course syllabus. This statement will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines that term. The College accepts these four categories of excused absences:
- Activities in which the student serves as an official representative of the College (e.g., musical performances, athletic contests, field trips).
- Personal illness, with documentation by the College nurse or a physician, if possible. In relation to students experiencing COVID19 related symptoms or illness, students should be provided an excused absence and should not be penalized for electing not to attend physical classes in these instances.
- Family or personal emergencies.
- When severe weather makes travel to campus dangerous.*
Wilmington College recognizes that reasonable attendance requirements will vary somewhat between disciplines, professors and even an individual's courses. The purpose of this policy is to ensure all concerned are clear about expectations in a given course. Faculty members are expected to accept the College's basic definition of excused absences in their individual policies and monitor attendance, but faculty members may also choose to accept other absences as excused (entirely at the discretion of each faculty member). Students are expected to be responsible for informing faculty members about excused absences (including documentation, if required) and for arranging to make up all work missed because of absences. An excused absence in no way removes this responsibility or obligates the professor to provide a student with special assignments or opportunities.
Good communication between students and faculty members is essential in cases of excused absences. Students are responsible for initiating this communication and in as timely a manner as possible. Students who will have to miss class to represent the College should provide schedules of these absences to the faculty member as soon in the semester as they are known. In all cases, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss excused absences with affected faculty members and to provide documentation of the excused nature of the absence, if the faculty member requires it.
Attendance Policies for Courses with Alternative Modes of Delivery at Main Campus
Hybrid Flex Courses
Attendance Policy for Hybrid Flex Courses
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. In order 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.
Hybrid Traditional Courses
Attendance Policy for Hybrid Traditional Courses
Students enrolled in hybrid traditional courses must participate in scheduled classroom and corresponding online synchronous sessions as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete 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 traditional courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but is not limited to
- Not attending scheduled physical classroom sessions and online synchronous 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 activities; or
- Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters 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 actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled physical classroom and corresponding synchronous sessions, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.
Note: In addition to including the attendance policy statement above in the hybrid traditional 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. In order 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.
Online (Asynchronous) Courses
Attendance Policy for Online (Asynchronous) Courses
Wilmington College defines an online course week as one which commences at 6:00 A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. All students enrolled in Online (asynchronous) courses must log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete weekly assignment(s) or other academic related activities, to be determined by the instructor.
Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of online courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but is not limited to
- 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 activities; or
- Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters 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 actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.
Note: In addition to including the attendance policy statement above in the online (asynchronous) 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 online syllabus. In order 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.
Online Synchronous Courses
Attendance Policy for Online Synchronous Courses
Wilmington College defines an online course week as one which commences at 6:00 A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. Students enrolled in online synchronous courses must participate in scheduled online synchronous sessions as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete any assignment(s) or other academic activities, to be determined by the instructor.
Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of online courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but is not limited to
- Not attending scheduled online synchronous 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 activities; or
- Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters 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 actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled synchronous sessions, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.
Note: In addition to including the attendance policy statement above in the online synchronous 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. In order 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.
Regular and Substantive Interaction Policy for Online and Hybrid Delivery Formats
Those teaching online or hybrid classes must fulfill two requirements in relation to students weekly participation and engagement in academic related activities: (1) for online (asynchronous) courses they must require students to participate on a weekly basis in online forums where interaction with faculty and other students take place; for those teaching online synchronous classes they must require participation in scheduled synchronous sessions; for those teaching hybrid traditional classes they must require participation in scheduled class sessions and corresponding synchronous sessions, and hybrid flex classes they must require students participation in scheduled class sessions; and (2) they must include at least one other form of weekly academic engagement in which students complete a designated activity or assignment for which some type of graded or ungraded feedback from the faculty member is provided. For this purpose, the “weekly engagement” may include:
- submitting an academic assignment
- taking a quiz or exam, completing an interactive tutorial, receiving computer assisted instruction, or participating in a lab
- attending a faculty assigned study group (led by the faculty member or reporting out on assignment to the faculty member)
- participating in a weekly online discussion board about the course subject
- initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject
The weekly participation and engagement must be described and entered into Blackboard.