General
Effective: 09/11/2023
Regular attendance in scheduled ground classes, clinical and externship experiences, and frequent and full participation in online activities is expected of all students. It is expected that students will complete all assigned work, both online and on ground, and complete all homework to receive the full benefit of the program. When a student enrolls, that student accepts the responsibility of participating fully in all coursework. Attendance is recorded for all appropriate online and on-ground activities and becomes part of the student’s permanent record with the school.
Concorde recognizes, however, that unforeseen situations do occur in students’ lives. For this reason, Concorde allows for specific Attendance Warning and Attendance Probation periods.
In all cases, a student will be withdrawn on the first business day following 14 consecutive calendar days of nonattendance online or on ground, excluding holidays and term breaks published in the school catalog.
Blended Programs (exclusive of externship & clinical)
Effective: 03/11/2021
Attendance for blended programs/courses may consist of the following:
- Ground Attendance(GA) is time awarded for classes scheduled at specific times on campus. Students are scheduled for these classes and any time absent will be recorded. This attendance includes on-campus lecture or lab activities. Students are expected to attend all GA activities within a term.
- Online Attendance(OA) are academic activities that a student completes online on his or her own schedule. These would include assignments, projects, simulation, and other academically related non-homework activities. Students will be awarded attendance based on the online completion and/or submission of activities.
Homework is incorporated into many classes and is to be completed on the students’ own time.Attendance is never awarded for activities identified as homework.
Sample Online Assignments Identified as “Homework”
Excessive Absences
Effective: 03/11/2021
Excessive absences will prevent a student from achieving course and program outcomes. For the purposes of this policy, excessive absences are defined as:
- Missing more than 20 percent of total scheduled Ground Attendance hours within a module for programs on four-week modules.
- Missing more than 10 percent of total scheduled Ground Attendance hours within a term for programs on 10-week or longer terms.
Attendance Warning
Effective: 03/11/2021
A student will be advised of their attendance performance and placed on Attendance Warning at the end of the first module or term during which the student has excessive absences. The student will remain on Attendance Warning until the end of the next term or module.
Attendance Probation
Effective: 03/11/2021
A student who is already in an Attendance Warning status will be advised of possible withdrawal and placed on Attendance Probation at the end of an Attendance Warning term or module during which the student has excessive absences. A student already on Attendance Probation will be withdrawn immediately upon having excessive absences during the term or module. A student who does not have excessive absences will remain on Attendance Probation until the end of the following term or module.
Return to Good Standing
Effective: 03/11/2021
A student in an Attendance Warning or Attendance Probation status who does not have excessive absences at the end of a term or module will be notified and returned to good standing.
Externship Courses
Effective: 03/11/2021
A student must complete all hours designated as externship within the time allotted to pass the externship course. Externship experiences are scheduled in partnership with the externship site. Students must plan sufficiently in advance to attend every day of the scheduled externship experience. In the event a student will be absent from, or will arrive late to a site, the student must contact the site and the appropriate school official immediately upon becoming aware of the situation. Except in cases of documented emergency, notification of absence or tardiness must occur at least 60 minutes in advance of the scheduled start time. If the site supervisor or school official determines that a student is not reliable for any reason, including absences, the student may be removed from the site and may be withdrawn from the program.
Clinical Classes
Effective: 03/11/2021
Clinical participation is vital to student success, and students are expected to be present, on time, and prepared for every scheduled clinical experience.
- Many programs require full clinical attendance. In these programs, a student must complete 100% of published clinical hours by the last day of the term to pass the class. A student who does not complete all clinical hours in these programs will fail and be required to repeat the clinical class.
- For programs that do not require full clinical attendance, a student may not miss more than 10% of published clinical hours. A student who is absent more than 10% of the scheduled clinical hours on the last day of the term will fail and be required to repeat the clinical class.
- Some programs’ clinical experiences are measured in cases or competencies. For these programs, a student may not miss more than 10% of published clinical hours. A student who is absent more than 10% of the scheduled clinical hours on the last day of the term will fail and be required to repeat the clinical class, even if all clinical cases or competencies are met.
If, for any reason, a student will be late or absent for a clinical shift, the student must notify the instructor or other designated Concorde individual immediately upon becoming aware of the situation. Except in the case of a documented emergency, failure to notify of an absence or tardiness at least 60 minutes before a scheduled start time or arriving more than 30 minutes late to a scheduled clinical shift may result in disciplinary actions up to and including withdrawal from the program. Some clinical facilities may have additional or stricter attendance requirements for students. In this case, students are required to follow the attendance policy in place at the clinical facility.
Students who have any absence or absences that result in not completing the required clinical hours, lab competencies, or required cases shall fail the course. Clinical make-up sessions may be provided; however, the program’s ability to provide make-up hours is dependent upon scheduling and other factors that may prohibit the availability of clinical make-up hours.
Online Courses and Programs
Students taking online courses should refer to the Distance Education/Online section of the catalog for specific attendance requirements.
Leave of Absence
Concorde has no leave of absence policy.