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Missing a week of college as a freshman?

hawaiikat

By hawaiikat,
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tbjl24

tbjl24

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It's college, not high school. A note from Mommy isn't going to cut it. Professors do not speak to parents about their kids either....your daughter is an adult, and needs to make the decision for herself. Keep in mind that most classes only allow for 3 absences....after that, they fail, or at minimum get their final grade lowered by one letter. Plus, she is going to miss a LOT of work!

 

She will most likely have group projects going on in more than one class (they are a constant reality for college students) and that will not go over well with her group partners if she is going to be absent...because then they're going to have to pick up her slack.

 

I cannot imagine missing an entire week of college for any reason, especially going on vacation. She's off for a few weeks at the end of December into January....take her after the new year.

 

I'm not sure what school you went to but my experience at major universities in Florida was much difference. A professor probably wouldn't even notice if a student was absent for a month, let alone a week. Most freshman level courses are held in auditorium type settings with hundreds of students. And roll call is not a part of the class. LOL.

 

I could see this being a much bigger issue at the graduate level where most courses are structured with a group dynamic.

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tbjl24

tbjl24

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I agree with the others who say that this is highly context dependent - which school, which classes, which professor, labs vs. lectures, what sort of student your DD is, etc.

 

That said ... I teach at a university and advise first year students. The first month and a half of college seems super easy to new students. In contrast to high school, when students spend 30+ hours per week in classrooms, college students are usually only in the classroom for 15 hours per week. In high school there are usually daily homework assignments, whereas many college classrooms do NOT have assigned homework. First year students haven't yet figured out that they are supposed to be doing reading and studying on their own, even when there are no homework assignments. The first round of exams is when "stuff" hits the fan for many of these 1st year, 1st semester students. Our university provides 1st year students with mid-semester progress reports (from instructors in each class), and right around one-half of all students receive at least one "unsatisfactory" report, indicating that they are NOT passing at least one class (many of those students receive multiple 'U' reports ... my experience has been that around 1/3 of first year students whom I advise receive 3+ unsatisfactory reports). This is a wake-up call, and (some) students finally realize that they need to buckle down if they want to turn things around. In my opinion, taking a student out of college for a full week at this time isn't a very good idea.

 

(Editing to add that many students who receive unsatisfactory progress reports are genuinely surprised to learn that they were not passing. As I said, everything seemed easy to them up until the point that they actually took exams. Ignorance is bliss....)

 

Bingo....you can certainly miss a week of classes, but you really need to have a grip on what it takes to stay on track.

 

Context is absolutely key, my first semester included courses like calculus, literature and a few prereq courses for my major's college. There were all in settings where it would take an hour to conduct roll call.

 

Its the student's money, and ultimately his/her call.

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Saint Greg "Live from...." Rare

Saint Greg

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I'm not sure what school you went to but my experience at major universities in Florida was much difference. A professor probably wouldn't even notice if a student was absent for a month, let alone a week. Most freshman level courses are held in auditorium type settings with hundreds of students. And roll call is not a part of the class. LOL.

 

I could see this being a much bigger issue at the graduate level where most courses are structured with a group dynamic.

 

It probably depends on the size of the school. I've been in classes where they wouldn't notice...other than the fact that you don't have all the information you're supposed to have..I've been in classes that only had 20-30 students....Then I've been in larger classes where they made you sign in every hour to make sure you didn't leave class early.

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Maggiebobo

Maggiebobo

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My daughter is currently a freshman at a university. She lives at home and commutes to school, so I see the amount of homework she has. My first concern would be the lectures she would miss during classes. She doesn't do a lot of class work, so she might not miss a lot of daily turn in work. She does however have a professor that does a lot of quizzes and tests and I think missed quizzes cannot be made up.

 

I know my daughter wouldn't want to miss a week at school, it would cause her a lot of stress. We stopped taking her out of school for vacations in her high school years. She didn't like missing school, said it was too much to make up. She took 5 AP courses her senior year, she likes to challenge herself academically.

 

You know your daughter and know if it would cause her stress or not. Unfortunately, you don't know yet how the professors would be.

 

My other thought is the age consideration. We took our kids (14 son, 19 daughter) on our first cruise this year. Our daughter turned 19 the week before our cruise. She loved learning to gamble, she played a little roulette and black jack. Our kids hung out with us the whole cruise, son had no desire to go to the teen club, daughter couldn't. In defense of your daughters past enjoyment of the the teens club, I can see why you might worry she'll miss something she has grown to love. But as others have pointed out, with a semester of college under her belt, she might not enjoy the teen club as much. She might just love hanging with her mom, reading on the serenity deck, going to the casino, the comedians, going to the spa, etc.

 

One more thought, I agree with others that I wouldn't surprise her. About 6 years ago, I asked my kids if they thought a surprise trip would be fun, they both didn't think so. Too much to prepare for missing school, and they both said they love the anticipation and planning of our trips. Being a freshman in college, she might like to know ahead of time to plan accordingly.

 

Definitely a tough spot, have fun which ever you choose!:)

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Maggiebobo

Maggiebobo

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Don't know if any of the posters noticed - but this thread is from 2011!!! The student has probably long ago graduated, and is into their career! LOL!

 

 

Oh my:'):'):') I just finished typing up a long reply, then read this! You are so right!!!!

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beachbum6264

beachbum6264

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Don't know if any of the posters noticed - but this thread is from 2011!!! The student has probably long ago graduated, and is into their career! LOL!

 

Someone posted a new question on the previous page about taking a student out for a cruise during the first week of college classes. Not sure why they didn't just start a new thread...

 

But to answer that question... NO - that's a really bad idea. You would probably come back and find that that you're dropped from all your classes because you didn't show up for the first week. Or you're completely lost because you missed some important information given out during that week. Bad idea. Set better priorities.

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soccermommie

soccermommie

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My advice as a former university instructor and mom to one college grad and two current college students: don't do it. The reasons are many. College is a huge adjustment for most students - even academically gifted ones. It simply doesn't make sense to add any unnecessary obstacles to what may be an already challenging first semester. Also, college courses move at a much quicker pace and involve much more work than high school courses. Your daughter will miss a great deal of information being out an entire week, and it may prove very difficult to recover from not getting that information firsthand. Even if instructors allow your daughter to turn in work early or late to accommodate the vacation, I dare say they will not have the time nor the inclination to privately teach your daughter the information that he or she taught the other students in the 3 hours of class time (or more, depending on the course) that your daughter will miss. If your daughter takes a typical load of 4 or 5 classes, that's an enormous amount of information to obtain independently, and she would likely have to do some reading or coursework on the cruise in order to keep up. Finally, it very well may not matter whether the instructor is a "hard @ss" or the most lenient person in the world; oftentimes, departmental policy dictates the consequences of absences, and they may be fairly stiff for missing an entire week. Another thing to consider: what if your daughter gets sick and needs to miss due to that? College attendance policies don't necessarily differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. Also, bear in mind that in her first semester of college, your daughter will likely take classes in 4 or 5 different campus departments, meaning she may have that many different attendance policies to which she must adhere.

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soccermommie

soccermommie

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Question....Would the same apply to 1st week? My niece will be entering her 2nd year of college in September 2018 and wife and I want to take her on a cruise that falls the first week of classes.

 

Speaking as a former university instructor, missing the first week would be inadvisable. First, your niece may be administratively dropped for not showing up the first week of class. Also, your niece may not be able to recover from missing the groundwork that will be laid the first week of class. College courses proceed at a much faster pace than high school classes do, and she'll miss an enormous amount of information by being out an entire week. Also, attendance policies can dictate some harsh consequences for multiple absences, and they may not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. What happens if your niece gets sick later in the semester and needs to miss for that?

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Southern_mom73

Southern_mom73

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I am the mother of a current college freshman. My daughter is at a four year university. We try to apply the law of perspective: in 5 years, will this matter. Will it matter that she attended THAT PARTICULAR WEEK of her freshman year? No. Will it matter that she went on a cruise with mom? YES! Life is short - take the cruise. :ship:

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sanger727

sanger727

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Agree that of any week to miss, after exams it would be the first week. Most students who don't show up the first week of classes are dropping out and, depending on the school's policies, she could return to find out she was removed from the class. Also, that's when you meet the teacher, get the syllabus, get the required readings - it just sets the student up for the entire term. While a break would be preferable, even the second week would be better than the first week.

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G&TQ

G&TQ

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While I agree with you sentiment Southern_mom, being dropped a grade or class due to an avoidable absence could affect graduating in time, scholarships, waisted tuition and much more. So yes that on week can have ramifications 5 years down the road. How about spending time together during breaks.

 

Sent from my Z981 using Forums mobile app

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DirtyDawg

DirtyDawg

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Question....Would the same apply to 1st week? My niece will be entering her 2nd year of college in September 2018 and wife and I want to take her on a cruise that falls the first week of classes.

 

Hi,

I am a University Professor so I have a little bit of knowledge on the subject. And my answer is - it depends.

What program is your niece in? Is she starting a program like business? Some of these programs start in the second or third year after one or two years of general study and you cannot miss the start-up of most of these. Does her program have a lot of tutorials, if so, these usually are quite strict about attendance. Other programs are not as strict about missing a week of lectures. So without knowing more details that is the best I can offer.

As a Prof. I would love it if I could book off a week during the semester and go on a cruise! I could give my lectures over the internet and run my office hours via email or skype. Sadly, the administration hasn't warmed up to my idea........yet!:D

 

I won't give advice to the original OP because the young lady in question has likely graduated college by now as this thread was started in2011.

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Doggielover68

Doggielover68

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Never skip a week of college classes. At my college, if I were to miss 3 sessions of certain courses, I would have had to repeat the course at my expense. Plan a trip for during her break. It will still be a surprise and a reward for getting through the first semester.

 

 

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ICF

ICF

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Missing a week of college classes would be a dumb thing to do for a vacation. Take the vacation at another time of the year. Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break or the 3 1/2 months they are usually off from early May thru Mid- August.

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GradUT

GradUT

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I have gone on two cruises while in college. I made up the work while gone and I talked to teachers up front and explained... I graduated with a 3.89 and I took school very serious

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You graduated with 3.89 GPA and don't know the proper use of adverbs? It's "I took school very seriously.", not "I took school very serious."

 

I guess they taught adverbs while you were on those cruises.

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jerjer810

jerjer810

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You graduated with 3.89 GPA and don't know the proper use of adverbs? It's "I took school very seriously.", not "I took school very serious."

 

I guess they taught adverbs while you were on those cruises.

 

 

Thank you for the refresher and thanks for the comment. Grammar is important. However, being a total d bag is something you are very educated on.

 

 

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