Colleges Balk at Federal Plan to Require Attendance Taking in Online Courses
Lauren Coffey
August 7, 2024
The department says taking attendance will help ensure Title IV funds are used properly. Online-facing faculty said it will create a financial and time burden.
Administrators who oversee online education say a federal plan to require colleges to take attendance in virtual courses would impose significant time demands on faculty members and increase cost burdens on institutions.
The U.S. Education Department proposed the change as part of a larger package of federal policies designed to protect students and hold institutions accountable for the financial aid dollars they receive. The rules emerged in July, from a negotiated rule-making session the agency held last year.
Taking attendance would not be as simple as students logging into the learning management system or stating “here” at the beginning of each class session. Every 14 days, students would be expected to turn in an assignment or interact with a professor or fellow students during lectures and course discussions, although the department has yet to define exactly what mechanism or standard it would require colleges to use to align with the new policy.
