Attendance Policy

This policy sets out the attendance required for course credit, how in-person and online attendance count, and what happens when a student falls short.

Attendance required

Students must attend at least 80% of the scheduled class sessions in a course to receive credit. This applies to every course Haddon Institute offers, including audit enrolment and intensive courses.

Attendance means being present for the live class. A recording does not count as attendance. Recordings are for review only.

What counts as present

A student is present when they arrive within the first 15 minutes and stay until the class ends.

A student is tardy when they arrive more than 15 minutes after the class starts, or leave more than 15 minutes before it ends. Two instances of tardiness equal one absence.

A student is absent when they do not attend, arrive more than 30 minutes late, or leave more than 30 minutes early.

In person and online

Students may attend in person at the Springwood campus, or live online through Microsoft Teams. Both count as attendance on the same terms. An online student should have their camera on when that is possible, and should take part in the class.

Absences

A student who will miss a class tells the lecturer beforehand, or as soon as they can if that was not possible.

The lecturer may treat an absence as excused for illness, a family emergency, a ministry duty approved in advance, military service, or a court appearance. For an illness of more than one session, the lecturer may ask for a doctor's note.

Holiday travel, work that could be moved, and an absence with no notice are not excused.

Below 80%

A student who falls below 80% does not receive credit for the course unless the lecturer approves makeup work.

The student must ask for that work before the final class. It is due within 30 days of the course end. A longer time needs the Academic Dean's approval. The lecturer sets the work, and it must show that the student has covered what they missed.

If the student does not complete approved makeup work by the deadline, the result is a fail.

The same requirement for every student

Haddon Institute does not set a different attendance requirement, or a different assessment, for a mental health condition or a physical disability. Every student meets the same standard. That is what gives the qualification its integrity.

Students who need help meeting that standard can use the support Haddon provides. That includes tutoring, THEO101: Theology for Worldview as preparation for further study, and the study resources in this handbook.

Appeals

A student may appeal an attendance decision to the Academic Dean in writing within 10 days of the decision. The appeal should say what happened and include any documents that support it. The Academic Dean decides the appeal.