Yesterday, Michael Griffin shared on LinkedIn some of his favourite posts from his blog / website, ELT Rants, Reviews, and Reflections, and one particular post caught my attention which was about his attendance policy as explained to his students. Despite this post being written and published in 2014, it still struck a chord with me now in 2026 as I am now teaching at an International Business School here in South Korea and one of the struggles that I encounter each semester is attendance.

For those that are unaware, the calculation of grades includes a number of variables each semester, such as the Participation, Midterm Exam, and the Final Exam. Each weighted 20%, 20%, and 40% respectively but this leaves 20% of the calculation of the grade being assigned for attendance. This was perhaps one of the initial struggles that I encountered culturally when attendance was included within the calculation of grades. To give you some perspective, in the UK, attendance is not included in the calculation of grades and students. However, for international students in the UK are expected to attend 80% of their lessons. If their attendance drops below this, then the Home Office have the right to withdraw their visa.

Anyhow, one of the biggest differences between the UK and South Korea also include inclusion of relative grading for the latter country, whereas for us Brits we are accustomed to absolute grading, regardless if it is an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Therefore, not only did I have to learn how to grade students based upon the different weighted variables, as mentioned previously, but I also have to grade depending on a curve. Currently, 40% of students or less are eligible for an A+/A0, 40% or less a B+/B0, and 20% or more a C+ or lower. This makes the whole course and atmosphere amongst incredibly competitive as well as rather stressful.

So, as Michael Griffin mentioned in his post about attendance, I set out clear rules regarding student absence. I explain that the easiest 20% of the course can be had from attending the course and that on average those students who have perfect attendance are likely to get an A+ whereas those that miss a day here or there are likely to get a B+ or lower.

I share some common excuses that I have had over the years from students ranging from appropriate to the more interesting, along with my replies:

  • “I have a medical appointment” – Get a doctor’s note or certificate and submit for authorised absence
  • “I must go to a funeral” – My condolences and apply for authorised absence
  • “My toilet is blocked and I had to wait for someone to fix it” – Okay, I hope it is fixed soon but seek authorisation from Academic Affairs
  • “I couldn’t sleep and woke up late” – Sorry to hear that, but I don’t think you would be able to get Authorised Absence
  • “I missed the bus and was late for class” – Totally understand, yet try to get to class on time

I explain that my role is to mark anyone who is in class and mark anyone who is absent. My 90 minute lessons are split into 30 minute segments for attendance policy, with three points to mark attendance. I highlight that if students are more than 15 minutes late, then the first 30-minute of the lesson is marked as absent and the remaining two are marked as attended. I have had students come to me a week later asking why their first lesson was marked as absent, thankfully I have learnt to keep a record of students absent or the time they arrive so I can explain the reason. Again, it makes the whole process of marking attendance a little more stresstful.

I do recall when I first started teaching at my current University, that students would use their phones and the Bluetooth signal to sign-in for their attendance and then would quietly disappear from the classroom – particularly when I had larger classes of 40 students or more. One day, I did a quick head count and realised that 5 students were missing, so I check attendance once again into the lesson and marked those that eloped from the classroom as absent. Predictably, they came to see me the next class to provide a variety of excuses for them leaving the class half-way through but I stuck to my guns.

One final thing that I do is explain to students that my role is to mark attendance and anyone who is absent, and wishes to seek authorised absence, that I am unable to authorise this so should go to Academic Affairs and submit the necessary paperwork. It is still surprising how many students still feel the urge to try to seek leniency personally or provide reasons, but I still remind them of the policy of the university and what they should do.

However, when I have students absent from class for three lessons, I usually send out an email to check all is well and include Academic Affairs to the email so they are aware of the absence. If I don’t receive a reply, I ask Academic Affairs to see if they can get in touch with the student to check all is well and keep me in the loop. On the other hand, I do expect students to let me know if they are going to be absent as it is common courtesy.

This is my approach to attendance, but let me know what you consider is important, particularly for those based in Korea or if you are required to calculate a grade which includes attendance.