Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are registered and are responsible for all content and assignments covered in each class. Consistent attendance at class, whether asynchronous online or synchronous online/in-person, is vital. Missing class will negatively impact your ability to execute on the teaching method taught, may negatively impact your academic standing, and could negatively impact your PK–12 students’ learning experience. Students must register for courses that allow them to attend Relay classes while meeting other scheduled responsibilities, such as those related to employment (e.g., school day and/or mandatory school training). Students should make their best efforts to attend and actively engage in all classes. In the event that a student misses a class, it is advised that the student contact their professor as soon as possible.

 

Attendance makes up 10% of a student’s course grade in most hybrid courses. On each class day, students will receive one of four possible attendance statuses:

 

Table 23

 

Excused Absences

Relay excuses absences only when they are related to extreme circumstances outside of students’ control (e.g., religious holiday, death in the family, self or dependent under the supervision of a doctor for illness or injury that prohibits access to online engagement, power outage due to severe weather, parental leave, military responsibilities, jury duty, and mandatory one-time, school-specific activities). 

 

In such cases, students are responsible for contacting their faculty members directly. Faculty members will then communicate to the student whether the absence will be excused or not. Although specific excused absences will not be visible within a student’s Canvas dashboard, students can confirm that their attendance grade has not been negatively impacted by an excused absence by checking their attendance grade on the grades page in a Canvas course. Students with questions about their attendance grades should reach out to the course instructor directly.

 

The following mandatory one-time, school-specific conflicts are acceptable reasons for excused absences: parent-teacher conferences, back-to-school night, and state-led student educational plan meetings (e.g., IEP meeting). Relay does not grant excused absences for voluntary school-specific conflicts. These types of conflicts are the most challenging because professional teachers always want to attend both school events and Relay events, even when they conflict. Examples of voluntary school-specific conflicts that would not be excused include chaperoning a student event, coaching a sports team, or attending a school performance. Relay also does not grant excused absences in instances where a student registers for a class that they know in advance is in conflict with recurring mandatory school responsibilities.

 

In some cases, should students have an unavoidable conflict, the student may request, if available for their program, to attend a different section of the same course by emailing their assigned faculty member to inquire if another course section is available that week. Confirmation of this is considered on a case-by-case basis and is at the discretion of the faculty member(s) of the class. 

 

Persistent Absence

Students who demonstrate persistent absence—failure to attend synchronous online/in-person class sessions and/or to complete asynchronous online coursework for 30 consecutive days—are subject to an administrative withdrawal. See the Persistent Absence policy for additional details.