08832323.2014.933155
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance
Policy on Absenteeism and Performance?
Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge, A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova &
Marianne J. D’Onofrio
To cite this article: Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge, A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova
& Marianne J. D’Onofrio (2014) What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance Policy
on Absenteeism and Performance?, Journal of Education for Business, 89:8, 433-440, DOI:
10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
Published online: 04 Nov 2014.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 258
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:49
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 433–440, 2014
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance
Policy on Absenteeism and Performance?
Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge,
A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova, and Marianne J. D’Onofrio
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut, USA
The authors utilized a quasiexperimental design across sections of managerial
communication and management information systems classes (N D 212) to test the impact of
compulsory attendance policies on student absenteeism and performance. Students in the
compulsory attendance policy condition received an attendance policy that punished
excessive absenteeism. Students in the other condition received a policy that told students
they were expected to attend but offered neither reward nor punishment. Results suggest that
the compulsory policy reduced absenteeism. The policy’s effect on performance depended
on the student’s level of prior academic achievement. The authors discuss the findings.
Keywords: absenteeism, attendance policy, compulsory attendance, grades, performance
Instructors and researchers have spent much effort on
enhancing student class attendance. They have been driven
by the common belief that class attendance leads to better
academic performance. Researchers have conducted a number of studies, looking at the relationship between class
attendance and performance, and the results suggest that
students who attend class are likely to perform better than
their peers who miss class frequently.
For example, Schmidt (1983) measured the impact of
different time commitments by students to various course
activities on the students’ performance in economics classes. The study found that class attendance was the most
important factor for student success. Another study of economics students done by Park and Kerr (1990) demonstrated that the role of class attendance is statistically
significant in explaining student grades. A randomized
experiment in economics classes, designed by Chen and
Lin (2008), aimed to estimate the average attendance effect
on student exam performance. They concluded that class
attendance had a positive and significant impact on college
students’ exam performance. Devadoss and Foltz (1996)
found that agricultural economics students who attended all
classes performed better than their peers who missed
Correspondence should be addressed to Jason L. Snyder, Central
Connecticut State University, Department of Management Information
Systems, 1615 Stanley Street, RVAC 210, New Britain, CT 06050, USA.
E-mail: snyderjal@ccsu.edu
classes. The difference in grade represented three increments in grade such as CC to BC (Devadoss, 1996).
Although many of the studies linking class attendance to
performance have been conducted in economics classes,
the results appear to hold for students in other academic disciplines. For instance, Longhurst (1999) affirmed that education students’ absenteeism results in inadequate learning,
disruption in class and compromised performance. Thomas
and Higbee (2000) found a strong correlation between class
attendance and improved grades in introductory mathematics courses. Silvestri (2003) found grades and attendance to
be positively related for a sample of teacher-education students. Thatcher, Fridjhon, and Cookcroft (2007) reported
that “always attending class” was the best predictor of performance for cognitive psychology students. Clark, Gill,
Walker, and Whittle (2011) reported a moderately positive
correlation between attendance and performance for students from across different geography courses and levels. A
study by Snyder, Forbus, and Cistulli (2012) revealed a positive relationship between class attendance and grade for a
sample of managerial communication students, with the
average A student missing fewer than one class and the
average F student missing seven classes during the semester. Lyubartseva and Mallik (2012) presented a study that
utilized a sample across educational institutions and different introductory science courses. They confirmed the strong
correlation between attendance and student performance.
Indeed, according to the results of a recent meta-analysis,
434
J. L. SNYDER ET AL.
TABLE 1
Attendance Policies Used in the Present Study
Condition
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
Simple statement
Compulsory
Policy
Just as in business, you are expected to be present and on time every day.
Research clearly demonstrates that class attendance is important to your success as a student. You may miss up to three classes without
penalty. If you miss more than three classes, each absence will result in a penalty of one-third of a letter grade (e.g., A to A–). The
maximum penalty you can earn is two letter grades (e.g., A to C).
class attendance is the single best predictor of academic
performance for college students (Crede, 2010).
Although the preponderance of the evidence confirms
the positive relationship between attendance and performance, there are some researchers who have called the
nature of that relationship into question. Chan, Shum, and
Wright (1997) examined the perceived link between attendance and student performance using two empirical models
and found that while one of the models demonstrated a positive relationship between attendance and student performance, the second model showed only a weak relationship.
Hunter and Tetley (1999) argued that attendance does not
affect exam performance and noted that pass rates at the
universities have increased over the years as attendance
rates have fallen. A study conducted by Rodgers (2002) in
an introductory statistics course revealed no relationship
between attendance and academic performance, even when
implementing an incentive scheme.
In the present study we aimed to add to this literature on
class absenteeism and class performance. Of particular
interest to us is the influence of a compulsory class attendance policy on absenteeism and performance. The relationship between absenteeism and performance appears to
be robust across a variety of settings, and so it begs the
question: Does requiring class attendance influence absenteeism and performance? In other words, what is the influence of a compulsory class attendance policy on class
absenteeism and class performance?
To answer this question, we designed a quasiexperiment
utilizing two class attendance policies (see Table 1). The
first policy included a simple statement telling the student
that attendance was expected. The second policy—the compulsory policy—told students that there would be graderelated punishments if the student missed more than three
classes during the semester. Students in sophomore-level
management information systems (MIS) and managerial
communication (MC) classes were provided with one of
these two versions of the policy.
SHOULD INSTRUCTORS USE A COMPULSORY
ATTENDANCE POLICY?
Given the nature of the relationship between class attendance and student performance, should instructors require
students to attend class? St. Clair (1999) conducted a
thorough review of the literature and concluded that class
attendance policies requiring students to attend should
be avoided because their influence on the relationship
between attendance and performance was not conclusive.
She argued that requiring class attendance may even have a
boomerang effect, causing some students to choose to not
only be absent from class but to drop out of college. She
believed that students may respond strongly to this restriction on their ability to make their own choices, a response
similar to the phenomenon of psychological reactance.
Moreover, Chan et al. (1997), while agreeing that attendance improves performance, noted that implementing a
grading scheme that mandates student attendance doesn’t
significantly improve performance.
In support of the argument that compulsory attendance
policies may be harmful, Moore (2005) conducted a study
in which he provided developmental education students
with a policy containing either (a) penalties for excessive
absenteeism or (b) an emphasis on the academic benefits of
class attendance in a large introductory biology course. He
found that a penalty for excessive absences did not affect
attendance or grades, while students in sections of the
course in which the importance of attendance was stressed
throughout the semester came to class more often and had
higher grades.
By contrast, some researchers have argued that compulsory attendance policies actually lead to fewer absences
and better performance. For example, Marburger (2006)
concluded that a compulsory attendance policy reduced
absenteeism and improved exam performance. In another
study, Moore and Jensen (2008) found that a compulsory
policy, with a penalty of 7% for missing a biology lab, had
a positive effect on the lab grade and on the course grade.
In a large economics class, Dobkin, Gil, and Marion (2007)
found that a compulsory attendance policy yielded a large,
marginally significant discontinuity in student final exam
performance.
So what do we know? The literature suggests that the
relationship between class attendance and performance is
relatively robust. The research exploring the relationship
between attendance and performance when attendance is
compulsory, however, is not conclusive. However, there
exist few studies in the extant literature that look specifically at the relationship between class attendance and performance when attendance is compulsory. Therefore, more
research into this relationship is warranted.
COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE POLICY
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
ARE THE EFFECTS OF COMPULSORY
ATTENDANCE POLICIES UNIFORM?
Students are not all the same. Some students are higher
achievers in the classroom while other students do less well.
Although this study is concerned with the relationships
among class attendance policy, absenteeism, and class performance, we also want to know if these relationships hold
for students with different levels of academic achievement.
Wyatt (1992) found that grade point average (GPA) was
one of the best predictors of absenteeism among first-year college students, and the effect was greatest when the student disliked the class. He argued that students with higher GPA are
motivated to attend class because they understand the relationship between attendance and performance and how much they
are likely to lose if they miss class. Dollinger, Matyja, and
Huber (2008) found that attendance enhanced exam performance of high-ability and high-GPA students, relative to their
low-ability and low-GPA peers. However, a similar study,
conducted in an undergraduate operations management
course, yielded totally different results. According to Billington (2008), there was a significant correlation between the
number of absences and course grade for students with low
GPA, and no correlation between attendance and course
grades for students with GPA higher than 2.67.
As can be surmised, few studies have examined the
relationships among attendance policy, absenteeism, and
class performance for students with different levels of prior
academic achievement. The results of the few studies in
this area have yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, the
relationships are worthy of further study.
Based on the preceding discussion, we forward the
following hypotheses and research questions:
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Students who have fewer class absences
would have higher grades.
H2: Students who are exposed to the compulsory attendance
policy would have fewer absences than students who
are exposed to the simple statement attendance policy.
H3: Students who are exposed to the compulsory attendance
policy would have higher grades than students who are
exposed to the simple statement attendance policy.
Research Question 1 (RQ1): Is the relationship between
attendance policy and class absenteeism different for
higher and lower academic achievers?
RQ2: Is the relationship between attendance policy and
class performance different for higher and lower academic achievers?
METHOD
Participants/Procedure
Participants were 212 students enrolled in either an MC or
introduction to management information systems class at a
435
mid-sized public university in the Northeastern United
States with about 12,000 students. The study included five
sections of MC and four sections of MIS. The average class
had about 24 students. The classes were taught by one of
five professors, two MC professors and three MIS professors. At the end of the semester, participants were asked to
complete a questionnaire. Among the 141 participants who
completed the questionnaire, 83 identified themselves as
men and 58 as women. The participants, who reported an
average GPA of 2.94 (SD D 0.58) on a 4.00 scale, included
29 freshmen, 27 sophomores, 62 juniors, and 23 seniors.
The average participant was 20.57 years old (SD D
4.55 years). The participants represented a diverse group of
ethnicities, but most were Caucasian (n D 107, 75.89%).
On the first day of class, students received a copy of the
syllabus, which the instructor discussed. The syllabus served
as the manipulation to create two conditions: simple statement and compulsory (see Table 1). The professor went
over the syllabus, including the class attendance policy. All
of the students in any given section of a class received the
same attendance policy. To be more precise, MC instructor
1 taught one class that received the simple statement policy
and two classes that received the compulsory policy. MC
instructor 2 taught one class that received the simple statement policy and one class that received the compulsory policy. MIS instructor 1 taught one class that received the
compulsory policy. MIS instructor 2 taught one class that
received the simple statement policy. MIS instructor 3
taught two classes that received the compulsory policy.
In order to control for as many confounding variables as
possible, the MC instructors agreed to use the same textbook, the same syllabus (except for attendance policy), the
same assignments and the same quizzes. Further, the MIS
instructors all taught the same MIS course (introduction to
MIS) and standardized key aspects of the course. In particular, all of the instructors used the same text book, the content was broken down into 70% on MIS concepts and 30%
on practical, and all of the instructors used the same assessment methods, which include quizzes, cases, exams, practical assignments and tests, current topics, and participation.
The fact that different instructors participated in the
study is itself a potential confounding variable. Only one
instructor (MC instructor 1) had classes in both conditions,
but the unequal cell sizes and small sample make any comparisons impossible. Snyder, Cistulli, and Forbus (2012)
conducted a similar study using only one instructor and the
relationship between absenteeism and performance was
robust across experimental conditions. Moreover, in a separate study, Snyder et al. (2012) found that although levels
of absenteeism may vary across instructors, the relationship
between absenteeism and performance was robust. What
the literature has made clear is that the link between attendance and performance is strong. Nonetheless, this potential confound presents a limitation to the interpretation of
this study’s results.
436
J. L. SNYDER ET AL.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
During the second week of the semester, students completed a brief quiz that included information on the syllabus. One of the questions asked the students to identify the
class attendance policy. The quiz served two purposes.
First, it exposed students absent from the first day of class
to the attendance policy. Second, it reinforced the manipulation. Each professor began collecting attendance data
after the second week of class when the add–drop period
ended for students. Students were absent if they did not
receive permission from their professor to miss class. Permission to miss class was granted only if the student could
demonstrate appropriate cause, such as an official university function, documented illness or court date.
TABLE 2
Influence of Attendance Policy on Student Absences and Grades
Simple statement
Absences
Grade
Compulsory policy
M
SD
M
SD
p
2.71
83.75
3.00
11.80
0.86
84.91
1.23
11.15
< .001**
.47
**p < .01.
was significantly higher than the average number of absences for students with the compulsory attendance policy
(m D 0.86 [see Table 2]). Therefore, the data supported
H2.
H3 posited that those students who were exposed to
the compulsory attendance policy would have higher
grades than those students who were exposed to the simple statement policy. According to the results in Table 2,
the data did not yield support for H3. We observed no
differences in the average grade across conditions. This
finding is discussed further below.
RQ1 and RQ2 asked about the relationship between
attendance policy and both absenteeism and class grade
for high versus low academic achievers. To provide
answers to these questions, we had to create categories
of students based on academic performance. To do so,
we had to identify high, average and low performers.
Many of the university’s prospective employers send out
invitations to students for various internships or competitions. In these invitations, employers invariably ask for
students with a GPA of 3.2 or better. Therefore, we
used this GPA standard as an indicator for students who
are considered high performers. In our business school,
students have to maintain a GPA of 2.5 or better to
remain in the program—students who fail to meet this
standard will first receive a warning, then an academic
probation and finally a dismissal. We used the 2.5 GPA
as a cutoff for low performers. Thus, we divided our
students into three groups: high performers (GPA of 3.2
or higher), average performers (GPA between 2.5 and
3.2), and low performers (GPA less than 2.5).
For each level of student performance, we compared
the impact of the attendance policy on number of absences and class grade. As per the overall group, a t-test
Measurement and Instrumentation
Student grades, based on all the learning components of the
course (MC or MIS), were calculated on a scale ranging
from 0 to 100. In particular, students received a grade in the
A range if they earned a score of 90 or greater, a grade in
the B range if they earned between 80 and 89, a grade
in the C range if they earned between 70 and 79, a grade in
the D range if they earned between 60 and 69, and a grade
of F if they earned fewer than 60. The average student
earned a grade of 84.45 (SD D 11.40).
RESULTS
The first hypothesis, H1, which predicted that those students who missed fewer classes would have higher grades,
was supported by the data. In this study, the correlation
between absences and grades was statistically significant
(r D –.43, p < .001). The results obtained from our study
are in agreement with the results obtained from previous
studies relating absences and grades.
H2 predicted that those students who were exposed to
the compulsory class attendance policy would have fewer
absences than those students who were exposed to the simple statement policy. We used a t-test to investigate this
effect. In our study, we had 84 students in the simple
statement condition and 127 students in the compulsory
attendance policy condition. The t-test comparison for
attendance showed that the average number of absences
for students with the simple statement policy (m D 2.71)
TABLE 3
Impact of Attendance Policy on Attendance by Past Academic Performance
Simple statement
Absences
High performers: GPA 3.2
Average performers: GPA 2.5–3.2
Low performers: GPA < 2.5
*p .05, **p < .01.
Compulsory policy
n
M
SD
n
M
SD Absences
p
26
47
11
2.42
2.34
5.00
2.44
3.16
2.72
45
56
37
0.40
.75
2.86
0.72
0.87
3.17
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance
Policy on Absenteeism and Performance?
Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge, A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova &
Marianne J. D’Onofrio
To cite this article: Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge, A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova
& Marianne J. D’Onofrio (2014) What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance Policy
on Absenteeism and Performance?, Journal of Education for Business, 89:8, 433-440, DOI:
10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
Published online: 04 Nov 2014.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 258
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:49
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 433–440, 2014
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.933155
What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance
Policy on Absenteeism and Performance?
Jason L. Snyder, Joo Eng Lee-Partridge,
A. Tomasz Jarmoszko, Olga Petkova, and Marianne J. D’Onofrio
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut, USA
The authors utilized a quasiexperimental design across sections of managerial
communication and management information systems classes (N D 212) to test the impact of
compulsory attendance policies on student absenteeism and performance. Students in the
compulsory attendance policy condition received an attendance policy that punished
excessive absenteeism. Students in the other condition received a policy that told students
they were expected to attend but offered neither reward nor punishment. Results suggest that
the compulsory policy reduced absenteeism. The policy’s effect on performance depended
on the student’s level of prior academic achievement. The authors discuss the findings.
Keywords: absenteeism, attendance policy, compulsory attendance, grades, performance
Instructors and researchers have spent much effort on
enhancing student class attendance. They have been driven
by the common belief that class attendance leads to better
academic performance. Researchers have conducted a number of studies, looking at the relationship between class
attendance and performance, and the results suggest that
students who attend class are likely to perform better than
their peers who miss class frequently.
For example, Schmidt (1983) measured the impact of
different time commitments by students to various course
activities on the students’ performance in economics classes. The study found that class attendance was the most
important factor for student success. Another study of economics students done by Park and Kerr (1990) demonstrated that the role of class attendance is statistically
significant in explaining student grades. A randomized
experiment in economics classes, designed by Chen and
Lin (2008), aimed to estimate the average attendance effect
on student exam performance. They concluded that class
attendance had a positive and significant impact on college
students’ exam performance. Devadoss and Foltz (1996)
found that agricultural economics students who attended all
classes performed better than their peers who missed
Correspondence should be addressed to Jason L. Snyder, Central
Connecticut State University, Department of Management Information
Systems, 1615 Stanley Street, RVAC 210, New Britain, CT 06050, USA.
E-mail: snyderjal@ccsu.edu
classes. The difference in grade represented three increments in grade such as CC to BC (Devadoss, 1996).
Although many of the studies linking class attendance to
performance have been conducted in economics classes,
the results appear to hold for students in other academic disciplines. For instance, Longhurst (1999) affirmed that education students’ absenteeism results in inadequate learning,
disruption in class and compromised performance. Thomas
and Higbee (2000) found a strong correlation between class
attendance and improved grades in introductory mathematics courses. Silvestri (2003) found grades and attendance to
be positively related for a sample of teacher-education students. Thatcher, Fridjhon, and Cookcroft (2007) reported
that “always attending class” was the best predictor of performance for cognitive psychology students. Clark, Gill,
Walker, and Whittle (2011) reported a moderately positive
correlation between attendance and performance for students from across different geography courses and levels. A
study by Snyder, Forbus, and Cistulli (2012) revealed a positive relationship between class attendance and grade for a
sample of managerial communication students, with the
average A student missing fewer than one class and the
average F student missing seven classes during the semester. Lyubartseva and Mallik (2012) presented a study that
utilized a sample across educational institutions and different introductory science courses. They confirmed the strong
correlation between attendance and student performance.
Indeed, according to the results of a recent meta-analysis,
434
J. L. SNYDER ET AL.
TABLE 1
Attendance Policies Used in the Present Study
Condition
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
Simple statement
Compulsory
Policy
Just as in business, you are expected to be present and on time every day.
Research clearly demonstrates that class attendance is important to your success as a student. You may miss up to three classes without
penalty. If you miss more than three classes, each absence will result in a penalty of one-third of a letter grade (e.g., A to A–). The
maximum penalty you can earn is two letter grades (e.g., A to C).
class attendance is the single best predictor of academic
performance for college students (Crede, 2010).
Although the preponderance of the evidence confirms
the positive relationship between attendance and performance, there are some researchers who have called the
nature of that relationship into question. Chan, Shum, and
Wright (1997) examined the perceived link between attendance and student performance using two empirical models
and found that while one of the models demonstrated a positive relationship between attendance and student performance, the second model showed only a weak relationship.
Hunter and Tetley (1999) argued that attendance does not
affect exam performance and noted that pass rates at the
universities have increased over the years as attendance
rates have fallen. A study conducted by Rodgers (2002) in
an introductory statistics course revealed no relationship
between attendance and academic performance, even when
implementing an incentive scheme.
In the present study we aimed to add to this literature on
class absenteeism and class performance. Of particular
interest to us is the influence of a compulsory class attendance policy on absenteeism and performance. The relationship between absenteeism and performance appears to
be robust across a variety of settings, and so it begs the
question: Does requiring class attendance influence absenteeism and performance? In other words, what is the influence of a compulsory class attendance policy on class
absenteeism and class performance?
To answer this question, we designed a quasiexperiment
utilizing two class attendance policies (see Table 1). The
first policy included a simple statement telling the student
that attendance was expected. The second policy—the compulsory policy—told students that there would be graderelated punishments if the student missed more than three
classes during the semester. Students in sophomore-level
management information systems (MIS) and managerial
communication (MC) classes were provided with one of
these two versions of the policy.
SHOULD INSTRUCTORS USE A COMPULSORY
ATTENDANCE POLICY?
Given the nature of the relationship between class attendance and student performance, should instructors require
students to attend class? St. Clair (1999) conducted a
thorough review of the literature and concluded that class
attendance policies requiring students to attend should
be avoided because their influence on the relationship
between attendance and performance was not conclusive.
She argued that requiring class attendance may even have a
boomerang effect, causing some students to choose to not
only be absent from class but to drop out of college. She
believed that students may respond strongly to this restriction on their ability to make their own choices, a response
similar to the phenomenon of psychological reactance.
Moreover, Chan et al. (1997), while agreeing that attendance improves performance, noted that implementing a
grading scheme that mandates student attendance doesn’t
significantly improve performance.
In support of the argument that compulsory attendance
policies may be harmful, Moore (2005) conducted a study
in which he provided developmental education students
with a policy containing either (a) penalties for excessive
absenteeism or (b) an emphasis on the academic benefits of
class attendance in a large introductory biology course. He
found that a penalty for excessive absences did not affect
attendance or grades, while students in sections of the
course in which the importance of attendance was stressed
throughout the semester came to class more often and had
higher grades.
By contrast, some researchers have argued that compulsory attendance policies actually lead to fewer absences
and better performance. For example, Marburger (2006)
concluded that a compulsory attendance policy reduced
absenteeism and improved exam performance. In another
study, Moore and Jensen (2008) found that a compulsory
policy, with a penalty of 7% for missing a biology lab, had
a positive effect on the lab grade and on the course grade.
In a large economics class, Dobkin, Gil, and Marion (2007)
found that a compulsory attendance policy yielded a large,
marginally significant discontinuity in student final exam
performance.
So what do we know? The literature suggests that the
relationship between class attendance and performance is
relatively robust. The research exploring the relationship
between attendance and performance when attendance is
compulsory, however, is not conclusive. However, there
exist few studies in the extant literature that look specifically at the relationship between class attendance and performance when attendance is compulsory. Therefore, more
research into this relationship is warranted.
COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE POLICY
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
ARE THE EFFECTS OF COMPULSORY
ATTENDANCE POLICIES UNIFORM?
Students are not all the same. Some students are higher
achievers in the classroom while other students do less well.
Although this study is concerned with the relationships
among class attendance policy, absenteeism, and class performance, we also want to know if these relationships hold
for students with different levels of academic achievement.
Wyatt (1992) found that grade point average (GPA) was
one of the best predictors of absenteeism among first-year college students, and the effect was greatest when the student disliked the class. He argued that students with higher GPA are
motivated to attend class because they understand the relationship between attendance and performance and how much they
are likely to lose if they miss class. Dollinger, Matyja, and
Huber (2008) found that attendance enhanced exam performance of high-ability and high-GPA students, relative to their
low-ability and low-GPA peers. However, a similar study,
conducted in an undergraduate operations management
course, yielded totally different results. According to Billington (2008), there was a significant correlation between the
number of absences and course grade for students with low
GPA, and no correlation between attendance and course
grades for students with GPA higher than 2.67.
As can be surmised, few studies have examined the
relationships among attendance policy, absenteeism, and
class performance for students with different levels of prior
academic achievement. The results of the few studies in
this area have yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, the
relationships are worthy of further study.
Based on the preceding discussion, we forward the
following hypotheses and research questions:
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Students who have fewer class absences
would have higher grades.
H2: Students who are exposed to the compulsory attendance
policy would have fewer absences than students who
are exposed to the simple statement attendance policy.
H3: Students who are exposed to the compulsory attendance
policy would have higher grades than students who are
exposed to the simple statement attendance policy.
Research Question 1 (RQ1): Is the relationship between
attendance policy and class absenteeism different for
higher and lower academic achievers?
RQ2: Is the relationship between attendance policy and
class performance different for higher and lower academic achievers?
METHOD
Participants/Procedure
Participants were 212 students enrolled in either an MC or
introduction to management information systems class at a
435
mid-sized public university in the Northeastern United
States with about 12,000 students. The study included five
sections of MC and four sections of MIS. The average class
had about 24 students. The classes were taught by one of
five professors, two MC professors and three MIS professors. At the end of the semester, participants were asked to
complete a questionnaire. Among the 141 participants who
completed the questionnaire, 83 identified themselves as
men and 58 as women. The participants, who reported an
average GPA of 2.94 (SD D 0.58) on a 4.00 scale, included
29 freshmen, 27 sophomores, 62 juniors, and 23 seniors.
The average participant was 20.57 years old (SD D
4.55 years). The participants represented a diverse group of
ethnicities, but most were Caucasian (n D 107, 75.89%).
On the first day of class, students received a copy of the
syllabus, which the instructor discussed. The syllabus served
as the manipulation to create two conditions: simple statement and compulsory (see Table 1). The professor went
over the syllabus, including the class attendance policy. All
of the students in any given section of a class received the
same attendance policy. To be more precise, MC instructor
1 taught one class that received the simple statement policy
and two classes that received the compulsory policy. MC
instructor 2 taught one class that received the simple statement policy and one class that received the compulsory policy. MIS instructor 1 taught one class that received the
compulsory policy. MIS instructor 2 taught one class that
received the simple statement policy. MIS instructor 3
taught two classes that received the compulsory policy.
In order to control for as many confounding variables as
possible, the MC instructors agreed to use the same textbook, the same syllabus (except for attendance policy), the
same assignments and the same quizzes. Further, the MIS
instructors all taught the same MIS course (introduction to
MIS) and standardized key aspects of the course. In particular, all of the instructors used the same text book, the content was broken down into 70% on MIS concepts and 30%
on practical, and all of the instructors used the same assessment methods, which include quizzes, cases, exams, practical assignments and tests, current topics, and participation.
The fact that different instructors participated in the
study is itself a potential confounding variable. Only one
instructor (MC instructor 1) had classes in both conditions,
but the unequal cell sizes and small sample make any comparisons impossible. Snyder, Cistulli, and Forbus (2012)
conducted a similar study using only one instructor and the
relationship between absenteeism and performance was
robust across experimental conditions. Moreover, in a separate study, Snyder et al. (2012) found that although levels
of absenteeism may vary across instructors, the relationship
between absenteeism and performance was robust. What
the literature has made clear is that the link between attendance and performance is strong. Nonetheless, this potential confound presents a limitation to the interpretation of
this study’s results.
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J. L. SNYDER ET AL.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:49 11 January 2016
During the second week of the semester, students completed a brief quiz that included information on the syllabus. One of the questions asked the students to identify the
class attendance policy. The quiz served two purposes.
First, it exposed students absent from the first day of class
to the attendance policy. Second, it reinforced the manipulation. Each professor began collecting attendance data
after the second week of class when the add–drop period
ended for students. Students were absent if they did not
receive permission from their professor to miss class. Permission to miss class was granted only if the student could
demonstrate appropriate cause, such as an official university function, documented illness or court date.
TABLE 2
Influence of Attendance Policy on Student Absences and Grades
Simple statement
Absences
Grade
Compulsory policy
M
SD
M
SD
p
2.71
83.75
3.00
11.80
0.86
84.91
1.23
11.15
< .001**
.47
**p < .01.
was significantly higher than the average number of absences for students with the compulsory attendance policy
(m D 0.86 [see Table 2]). Therefore, the data supported
H2.
H3 posited that those students who were exposed to
the compulsory attendance policy would have higher
grades than those students who were exposed to the simple statement policy. According to the results in Table 2,
the data did not yield support for H3. We observed no
differences in the average grade across conditions. This
finding is discussed further below.
RQ1 and RQ2 asked about the relationship between
attendance policy and both absenteeism and class grade
for high versus low academic achievers. To provide
answers to these questions, we had to create categories
of students based on academic performance. To do so,
we had to identify high, average and low performers.
Many of the university’s prospective employers send out
invitations to students for various internships or competitions. In these invitations, employers invariably ask for
students with a GPA of 3.2 or better. Therefore, we
used this GPA standard as an indicator for students who
are considered high performers. In our business school,
students have to maintain a GPA of 2.5 or better to
remain in the program—students who fail to meet this
standard will first receive a warning, then an academic
probation and finally a dismissal. We used the 2.5 GPA
as a cutoff for low performers. Thus, we divided our
students into three groups: high performers (GPA of 3.2
or higher), average performers (GPA between 2.5 and
3.2), and low performers (GPA less than 2.5).
For each level of student performance, we compared
the impact of the attendance policy on number of absences and class grade. As per the overall group, a t-test
Measurement and Instrumentation
Student grades, based on all the learning components of the
course (MC or MIS), were calculated on a scale ranging
from 0 to 100. In particular, students received a grade in the
A range if they earned a score of 90 or greater, a grade in
the B range if they earned between 80 and 89, a grade
in the C range if they earned between 70 and 79, a grade in
the D range if they earned between 60 and 69, and a grade
of F if they earned fewer than 60. The average student
earned a grade of 84.45 (SD D 11.40).
RESULTS
The first hypothesis, H1, which predicted that those students who missed fewer classes would have higher grades,
was supported by the data. In this study, the correlation
between absences and grades was statistically significant
(r D –.43, p < .001). The results obtained from our study
are in agreement with the results obtained from previous
studies relating absences and grades.
H2 predicted that those students who were exposed to
the compulsory class attendance policy would have fewer
absences than those students who were exposed to the simple statement policy. We used a t-test to investigate this
effect. In our study, we had 84 students in the simple
statement condition and 127 students in the compulsory
attendance policy condition. The t-test comparison for
attendance showed that the average number of absences
for students with the simple statement policy (m D 2.71)
TABLE 3
Impact of Attendance Policy on Attendance by Past Academic Performance
Simple statement
Absences
High performers: GPA 3.2
Average performers: GPA 2.5–3.2
Low performers: GPA < 2.5
*p .05, **p < .01.
Compulsory policy
n
M
SD
n
M
SD Absences
p
26
47
11
2.42
2.34
5.00
2.44
3.16
2.72
45
56
37
0.40
.75
2.86
0.72
0.87
3.17