Just like professors may require you to show up for class when you take a traditional college course, students who take online courses must also meet a slightly different form of attendance requirements. While students won’t have to show up physically, they will have to make an appearance digitally by logging onto the course management system.
How often will you have to log on?
What attendance means for students will vary. Some students will be required to log on a few times a week, others may even have to take a look at course material every day. This isn’t a way to make like difficult for students. It is actually meant to help. When students are required to check in, they’re more likely to keep up with work, see deadlines and know what’s going on in the class. For those who have trouble self-motivating it can be a big help to have some sort of forced accountability. For those whom working independently comes more easily, checking in online is a worst a minor inconvenience.
How is attendance taken online?
So how is attendance actually taken and monitored in class? Students using course management software like Blackboard, Web CT and Moodle will be given a log on name an password. Every time they use this combination their actions will be recorded and professors can check how many times a week students are logging on and if they’re meeting attendance requirements for the course.