Classroom Policies

Faculty Office Hours

Information about the office hours of individual members of the faculty is available from the Dean's Office.

Attendance

It is the responsibility of students at Washington College to attend promptly each class meeting scheduled in every course in which they enroll. Students on probation must attend all classes without exception unless excused by Health Services or the Dean of the College.

Each faculty member is requested to have a clear policy regarding class attendance and to adhere to it. The instructor's policy may include failure for excessive absences. The instructor should explain the attendance policy to each class at the beginning of the semester. If instructors fail to explain it, students may ask them to do so.

Each faculty member must provide in writing to each student a statement of his or her attendance policy. A copy of that statement will be forwarded to the Dean.

Members of the faculty are under no obligation to accept any student who misses the first day of class. Students are expected to inform their instructors promptly, as a matter of courtesy, of the reasons for any absence.

Students may occasionally be excused from other College obligations if they are involved in a field trip regarded as an integral part of the work of a particular course. The Dean's Office or faculty member involved will send out to the faculty an advance listing of those students who will participate in such a field trip. Field trips should be arranged as far ahead of time as practicable.

As soon as arrangements have been completed, and in any event no less than one week before the trip, the Dean of the College should be informed of the date and inclusive hours of the trip and of the names of those students participating. If actual attendance differs from what was anticipated, a revised list of names should be sent to the Dean's Office immediately upon conclusion of the trip.

A student who is repeatedly absent, or whose attendance continues to be unsatisfactory following a warning from the instructor, will be reported by his or her instructor to either the Dean of Students or the Associate Provost for Academic Services to investigate cases of prolonged absence in which the reasons are unknown to the instructor.

When an instructor is more than ten minutes late to a class, the students may leave without penalty.

Smoking

Washington College is committed to providing a smoke-free environment for all members of the College community. Therefore, smoking will not be permitted anywhere in Washington College buildings.