No Loyola Class should have Mandatory Attendance

A college student is a paying customer. Loyola is a business selling a year of education for the whopping sticker price of $52,230. The motivation level to attend class is already astronomically high given the price of tuition — there’s no reason it should also be demanded in a syllabus. 

It’s up to professors to create classes with this value in mind. The students are the ones paying the price, so let them decide what to do with the opportunities at their disposal. It’s foolish to assume forcing a student to go to class equates to a high level of education. 

A student with a desire to learn will not need an attendance policy to drag them to class. Their own curiosity will guide them, not a check on an attendance sheet. 

When I was in first grade, my teacher told the class she never forced her kids to go to Church. As a seven-year-old, this revelation that kids could be given the freedom to choose such things was earth-shattering news. Her reason was simple, yet lost on our young minds.

Nothing good is ever forced. 

Relationships. Faith. Jobs. If life feels like trying to shove a square peg through a round hole, something is likely wrong. Life isn’t simple, but when someone is doing what they’re meant to, there’s a certain ease and fluidity to everyday life that comes along with it. Although daily tasks may be hard and there may be some occasional resistance or a desire to quit, there should always be a larger force inspiring greater efforts and pushing for greater outcomes. 

If an attendance policy is the only force keeping a student returning to their seat, then there’s a major problem. A student should feel like they leave each class session with some knowledge or growth they wouldn’t have gained had they stayed home. 

Certain professors’ requirements for regular and punctual attendance makes sense at face value — they’re part of a University whose goal is to get their students out working in fields where they’ll have to show up to jobs day in and day out. 

But the relationship between a company and a worker is not akin to a university and a student. The fundamental difference between the two is money. When a person shows up for their job and does what is asked of them, they are paid. If a student shows up to class, the return on their investment is knowledge. When a student doesn’t show up, they’re getting the short end of the stick in a deal they’re paying for. 

If Loyola’s professors are truly guiding their students towards becoming head-strong thinkers, then they should trust in the discretion of their students to decide whether or not they should go to class. In the end, it’s the student who will pay both the literal and figurative price for their actions.