Most university teachers would say that students benefit from attending their lectures. While studies show a distinct benefit in attending lectures (Stanca, 2006), results from the 2007 Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) showed that less than a quarter of students in Australia and New Zealand spend significant amounts of time on campus.

Clay & Breslow (2006) found that most American students  tried to go to every lecture basing their decision to attend on the quality and clarity of the lecture, conflicting deadlines, use of relevant examples, and the lecturer’s ability to engage and entertain the students. In a trial of podcasting, Shannon (2006) found that although 87.5% of students believed that attending lectures was important, 60% did not attend all lectures. Non-attendance was due largely to family and personal issues (including illness) and university workload.

The simple way to maintain high attendance rates is to force students to attend. Mark attendance or have in-class quizzes that cannot be accessed outside the classroom. Universities in the UK have students sign good behaviour contracts that includes a requirement to attend lectures and seminars (Meikle, 2006).

Rogers (2002) shows that while compelling students to attend makes for high attendance, it does not necessarily correspond to increased performance.  Nor does it respect of adult learning principles that students ought to choose for themselves the best way to learn.

In many cases, students make a simple, pragmatic decision whether it is worth going to a lecture. The most important factor is the expectation that they would learn something by attending class. Make sure that students leave the class knowing what they have learned. Integrate new knowledge with what students already know and explain to the students where the new bits of information fit in the overall structure.

Students are also more likely to go to highly challenging classes. Explain to students what an outstanding contribution to the subject would be so that they have a goal to aim for. It is important when setting high standard that the level of challenge is not so high that students see no chance of achieving the outcomes.

Not surprisingly, students are more likely to attend a class on a topic they are interested in than those they are not. Activities with high levels of credibility within their future profession are going to contribute to your students’ interest in the subject. Take the time to discover your students’ interests through icebreaker activities that review their background knowledge.  Survey your students about what they have heard about the subject area and what motivates their interest in the topic.

References

Clay, T. & Breslow, L. (2006). Why students don’t attend class. MITFaculty Newslettter.

Meikle, J. (2006) Students told: turn up or face expulsion, The Guardian

Rogers, J. (2002). Encouraging tutorial attendance at university did not improve performance.  Australian Economic Papers, 255-266.

Shannon, S. (2006). Why don’t students attend lectures and what can be done about it through using iPod nanos? A paper presented at 23rd Annual ASCILITE Conference Sydney.

Stanca, L. (2006). The effects of attendance on academic performance. Journal of Economic Education 37 (3), 251-266.