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Class Attendance

Regular and punctual class attendance is a prerequisite for receiving credit in a course. Pursuant to the pertinent accreditation requirements imposed by the American Bar Association, the faculty has established guidelines for course absences. The faculty has voted that a student who has more than the number of absences prescribed below shall not be allowed to take the exam or receive credit, regardless of the reasons for the absences. The Executive Committee, in exceptional circumstances, can grant an exception to the attendance rule.

Law Center Class Attendance Policy

Students in face-to-face courses must attend class meetings in person.

Students in fully synchronous online courses must attend class meetings online and in real time.

COVID-Related Absences

  1. Students who test positive for COVID-19, or who are a primary caregiver for a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, should fill out the COVID reporting form on the LSU Law Center website and notify the Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs immediately.
  2. In addition to reporting, students who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should a. refrain from coming to class, b. test for COVID-19 instead of coming to campus, c. notify the Associate Dean of Student & Academic Affairs immediately, and d. provide the Associate Dean a copy of proof of testing when available.
  3. Notice to teaching faculty. The Associate Dean of Student & Academic Affairs will provide an e-mail notice of the student’s need to miss class to each faculty member teaching them (with a copy to their assistant).  Upon receipt of the notice, the faculty member will record the classes until informed that the student is no longer experiencing symptoms (or the student returns to class).

Students who have complied with the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2, above must certify to the Associate Dean that they have viewed class recordings in their entirety promptly and within 21 days of the missed session(s). In exceptional and rare cases when recordings are not available, the Associate Dean may approve other means of compliance which reasonably assures the functional equivalent of class attendance (e.g. review of another student’s comprehensive notes).  (Alternatives to certifying attendance by viewing recordings should be arranged with the professor and approved by the Associate Dean for clinical courses in light of client confidentiality.)

Students who have complied with the protocols above are deemed to have cured the relevant absence or absences from class.

Fall and Spring Semesters

  • 3-hour courses that meet 3 times/week – 9 class absences
  • 3-hour courses that meet 2 times/week – 7 class absences
  • 3-hour courses that meet 1 time/week – 3 class absences
  • 2-hour courses that meet 2 times/week – 7 class absences
  • 2-hour courses that meet 1 time/week – 3 class absences
  • 4-hour courses that meet 4 times/week – 14 class absences
  • 4-hour courses that meet 3 times/week – 10 class absences
  • Legal Research and Writing (LAW 5021 and LAW 5022) – 5 class absences
  • Appellate Practice and Procedure (LAW 5609) – 5 class absences

Courses Taught by Visiting Scholars

  • 1-hour course that meets 3 weeks (6 classes) – 1 class absence.
  • 2-hour courses that meet 6 weeks (12 classes) – 2 class absences.

Summer Courses

  • 3-hour courses that meet 5 times/week—8 class absences.
  • 2-hour courses that meet 5 times/week—6 class absences.

Summer in France Program

  • 1-hour course – 1 absence
  • 3-hour course – 3 absences

Fully Asynchronous and Partially Asynchronous Online Courses

In a fully asynchronous online course, the attendance requirement is based upon completing coursework. Students in fully asynchronous online courses must complete, at a minimum, 75% of the coursework for the course. The course instructor shall determine the coursework that students must complete to satisfy this requirement and shall be responsible for determining whether a student has satisfied it.

In a partially asynchronous online course, students must (a) attend 75% of face-to-face or synchronous online class meetings and (b) complete, at a minimum, 75% of the coursework for the course. The course instructor shall determine the coursework that students must complete to satisfy this requirement and shall be responsible for determining whether a student has satisfied it. For purposes of this policy, a partially asynchronous online course is one that combines regularly scheduled face-to-face or online synchronous class meetings with asynchronous online components that replace more than 25% of the regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction.

Seminars, Clinics, and Experiential Courses

In seminars, experiential courses, Moot Court (Law 5855), and other similar courses, the attendance requirement may be higher, as established by the instructor for the course.

Excessive Absences

A first-year student who fails to comply with attendance requirements in any course shall receive a grade of 1.3 in the course and shall be required to repeat the course. A second- or third-year student who fails to comply with attendance requirements in any course will be administratively dropped from the course and a notation to that effect will be printed on the student’s official transcript. If the course is a seminar, an experiential course, Moot Court (Law 5885), or a similar course, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the instructor for the course, may determine that the student should remain enrolled in the course and the instructor for the course may impose additional penalties for failure to comply with attendance requirements.

Absences Due to Religious Activities

Any student who wishes to be absent from a face-to-face or fully synchronous online class meeting or desires an extension for the completion of activities and/or assessments in a fully asynchronous or partially asynchronous online course in order to engage in activities that are either fundamental to the student’s religion or that express adherence to the student’s religious faith should notify the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs via email outlining briefly the necessity for the absence or extension and requesting approval.

Tracking Attendance

Attendance in face-to-face courses is tracked using physical roll sheets, or the Moodle Attendance Activity, or both. In fully synchronous online courses, attendance is tracked using the Moodle Attendance Activity. A faculty member may elect to use electronic attendance-tracking software other than the Moodle Attendance Activity; however institutional support may not be available for that software. In circumstances such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, attendance is tracked electronically.

It is each student’s responsibility to make sure to record their attendance in each class meeting in which the student is present. It is a violation of the Code of Student Professional Responsibility to falsify attendance information in any manner. Such falsification includes, but is not limited to, the following: “backsigning” for the dates on which the student was not present; recording attendance for another student who is not present; procuring another student to record attendance for a student who was not present; recording attendance when the student was not actually present or has missed a substantial portion of the class; or sharing credentials for recording attendance through Moodle or other attendance-tracking software with a student who was not actually present in class or has missed a substantial portion of the class.

In fully asynchronous and partially asynchronous courses, faculty members will set and track attendance benchmarks as contemplated above.