Should Class Attendance Be Optional to University Students?
Summary: The mandatory attendance policy imposed by colleges and universities is useless and burdensome. The policy does not enhance students' school performance as expected; it discourages independent thinking; it impedes on the ability of students who must pursue "distant learning" outside the college campus; it impinges on students' abilities as purchasers of education to study when they want; and it does not allow students to make the most out of their time. An optional attendance policy would enable students to get the most out of their time and their education.
Nowadays, universities are open place for all people. More and more educational chances have been created for those who want to acquire knowledge from colleges and universities. While registering for a college course seems to be no longer complicated, there still remains an obstacle that has been triggered so much controversy in academic environment: mandatory attendance policy. This policy, which is imposed by some schools or some professors, requires that college student must attend class regularly enough or their exam papers will be extracted some attendance points (that usually count for about 15 or 20 percent of the total grade evaluation). In my opinion, this policy is useless and burdensome to many people involved. University students should be free in choosing which classes to attend.
1. Mandatory attendance policy does not really enhance students' school performance as it's usually expected. Some teachers and schools believe students would study better if they come to class regularly. They argue that all lessons in text books should be explained, discussions should be held with full class. If students do not come to class, they would study nothing or make no progress. Some even think of students as lazy creatures who play truant to do everything they like but homework or assigned reading, so they take roll-call to...