As an instructor, you know better than anyone that good class attendance is essential for students’ success. Convincing students to attend class, however, is not always easy. Here are a few strategies for improving student attendance:

Giving Unannounced Quizzes

Administer a few (3 – 5) unannounced quizzes throughout the semester and make them worth a potion of your students’ overall grade. This will prevent students from missing class — they won’t want to miss out on the quiz grade. Make it clear that these quizzes cannot be made up if a student is absent.

Contact Students Who are Absent

If you have students who are missing class more than once in a while, send them an email. Express concern about their poor attendance, and encourage them to attend more often in order to improve their performance. Knowing that you’re aware of their absence is often enough to drive them back to class.

Don’t Post Handouts Online

Pass out handouts that explain helpful concepts, but don’t post them online. This way, students must attend class in order to obtain this vital information.

Keep Class Interesting and Morale High

If students like attending class, they’ll keep coming. Almost any topic can be made more interesting by including discussions in classes and making an effort to relate the concepts to daily life and real world situations.

Contact us at Labyrinth Learning to learn about our teaching software that’s useful for improving student attendance while making the learning process easier.