Regular and punctual attendance of classes and laboratories is required of all students. When a student has been ill or absent from class for approved extracurricular activities, he or she should be allowed, as far as possible, to make up the work missed. When an instructor feels that a student has been absent to such a degree as to invalidate the learning experience, the instructor may recommend to the Vice President of Instruction that the student be withdrawn from the course. Instructors may seek to withdraw students for non-attendance after they have accumulated the following number of absences. Attendance in online courses is determined by submission of an assignment or participation in an activity. Logging in to the class is not sufficient evidence of participation.
Fall or Spring semesters:
- 5 absences, MWF classes
- 3 absences, TR classes
- 2 absences, one-day-per-week class
Summer Sessions:
- 2 absences, four-days-a-week classes
- 2 absences, two-evenings-a-week classes
The student is responsible for seeing that he or she has been officially withdrawn from a class. A student who stops attendance in a class without officially withdrawing from that class will be given the grade he or she has earned; consequently, the student must follow official withdrawal procedures in the Admissions/Records Office.
Religious Holy Days. In accordance with Section 51.911, Texas Education Code, Panola College shall allow a student who is absent from class for observance of a religious holy day to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within one week after the absence if, not later than the 15th day after the first day of the semester, the student notifies the instructor of each class the student had scheduled on that date that the student would be absent for a religious holy day. Notifications of planned absences must be in writing and must be delivered by the student either personally to the instructor of each class, with receipt of the notification acknowledged and dated by the instructor or by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the instructor of each class. Panola College may exclude from these policies and procedures any student absence for religious holy days which may interfere with patient care.