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College attendance improves performance. Attendance is taught to us at a young age that it is important and vital for success as a responsible adults in the future. When we are in high school and earlier we are faced with charges of truancy and even expulsion if we don’t attend classes as we should. Why is it that so many college students seem to forget that and begin dismissing classes? Is there too much freedom for college students? Do they need to be held to higher standards? If they continually miss class without true reasons should they be forced to pay a fine? If a college has a policy in place for attendance it has been known to have a bigger impact on the student to attend classes than if a school does not have one in place. The positive effects include improving the understanding of course material which leads to better grades on quizzes and tests. The reduction of stress on classmates has also been shown to be a positive as then it does not take away from the learning capabilities of the rest of the students. Some of the negative impacts can be that the professors/Instructors are thought to be attendance guardians and have to consistently watch for students who don’t show up.
Students may also feel if they are forced to attend classes that they are not being treated like adults and that there are too many requirements which could lead to students withdrawing from the course or college altog

ether. One way to alleviate some of the pressure and arguments about attendance could be by stating that if you miss more than three classes without a valid doctor’s note or reason you will not only lose a letter grade but you will also be required to pay a fine of up to $50.00 per class that you miss. These penalties could set the standard and expectation of performance for the term. This would not only help show the students that they are going to be held accountable as an adult but the money can be put back into the college for updating computer labs, beautification of the campus, or other needs the campus. On the other hand, some students and faculty would believe that enforcing a mandatory attendance policy would reduce enrollment, decrease morale, and stifle the ability to freely express a student’s desire to change their schedule or implement alternate plans than to attend class. A study conducted by Daniel R. Marburger his research concluded that ‘Students who were absent during a class period were 9 to 4 percent more likely to respond incorrectly to a question pertaining to material covered in their absences than were students who were present. In the absence of a mandatory attendance policy, absenteeism rose continually throughout the semester. By the final third of the semester, the daily percentage of students who were absent in the no-policy class more than doubled.’ (Marburger, 2006).