The new procedures will help the university with its overall goal of providing the best education possible for students.
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi has created new procedures for instructors to verify classroom attendance in an effort to make sure students who don’t go to class also don’t wrongfully receive financial aid.
Starting this semester, instructors will be required to take attendance using the “Attendance Verification Interface” within myOleMiss‘s class rolls and grades section, or use attendance scanners, and to confirm students’ attendance at least once within the first two weeks of class. Starting this semester, if a student’s attendance has not been verified in a class by an instructor, and if the student has not voluntarily dropped the course, the university will administratively drop unconfirmed students from classes.
“Attending classes and interacting with faculty are essential elements of our mission,” said Noel Wilkin, acting provost. “We have a responsibility to document whether students attend classes. This information is critical in our predictions of student success and ensures compliance with federal requirements.”
The new procedures will help the university with its overall goal of providing the best education possible for students, Associate Provost Maurice Eftink said.
“This new attendance verification process extends our efforts over the last several years to incentivize and track attendance,” Eftink said. “We educators have a strong sense that learning happens best when students are in the seats in front of us.”
The administration is appreciative of the efforts of faculty to track attendance and comply with the new procedures, said Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor for student affairs.
“We appreciate the time and willingness of faculty and staff to help us track the attendance of all students,” Hephner LaBanc said. “The true beneficiary of this new process is the student – we will be able to use this data to help us reach out to students, support and retain them. This is just another way Ole Miss personalizes the university experience.”
The new system will help identify no-shows very early in the semester and also identify students whose financial aid must be modified because they dropped courses or never attended. Attendance is mandatory for establishing eligibility for aid purposes. The new requirement also helps the university more accurately determine enrollment and credit hour production data, which is submitted to external groups, including the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.
The data that results will also help the university develop ways to maximize its retention rates.
Another benefit of the new measures is making seats available more quickly to other students who may wish to take a specific class.
Instructors have an important role in upholding the new procedures because the rules have many financial aid repercussions for students, said Laura Diven-Brown, UM financial aid director. Failing to attend has consequences for Title IV financial aid, including Pell Grants and student and parent loans.
The university also will be locking enrollment for federal aid purposes, which is also a new policy. For fall semester, this will happen Sept. 14 at the end of day.
“If the locked enrollment doesn’t match the awards students received, we will have to make adjustments, which could include paybacks,” Diven-Brown said. “So it is very important to confirm students’ attendance during the first two weeks of class, since there may be required financial aid adjustments.”