Attendance Policy

1. All students, including students attending classes at satellite downlinks are considered to be assigned to AFIT during the time they are scheduled to attend class. Students attending resident or on-site offerings are considered to be assigned to AFIT full-time for the duration of the course.
2. Only the course director, the instructor(s) responsible for the block(s) of instruction that will be missed, or a person officially designated by the course director may excuse a student from attending class.
3. Excused absences may be granted for accidents, illness or other emergencies. To the maximum extent possible the student should make every effort to obtain approval prior to the occurrence of the absence. The individual granting the absence should obtain the following information: (1) the nature of the emergency, (2) the destination of the individual, particularly if the individual is leaving the local area, and (3) a phone number and point of contact where the individual can be reached during the emergency.
4. Excused absences may be granted for other reasons at the sole discretion of the course director. Excused absences because of social occasions or work related requirements will not be granted unless activity is critical to mission accomplishment and the student's participation is absolutely essential.
5. If the course director or instructor in charge cannot be contacted, the class leader has the authority to grant an excused absence only in the case of an emergency. The class leader may delegate this authority, with the approval of the course director, to an assistant class leader. The course director or classroom instructor should be notified as soon as possible by the class leader or assistant class leader whenever they grant an excused absence.
6. Any absence from class not excused in advance that occurs for reasons other than an accident, illness or other valid emergency shall be considered an unexcused absence. The student's supervisor will be notified as soon as possible once it has been determined that a student is absent from class without excuse.
7. Any unexcused absence constitutes grounds for dismissal from the course. Any absences, excused or unexcused, that result in missing more than 5% of the course also constitutes grounds for dismissal from the course.
8. Any behavior on the part of the student that is disruptive to the class, hinders the learning experience of the other students, or violates official policy shall also constitute grounds for dismissal from the class. Habitually coming late to class or returning late from class breaks, reading newspapers during classroom instruction, and excessively rude comments directed at the instructor or other students are examples of behavior that could lead to a dismissal. In addition, incidents of sexual harassment or prejudice will not be tolerated and are grounds for immediate dismissal.
9. Failure to achieve the learning objectives of the course as evidence by performance on student evaluation instruments constitutes ground for dismissal from the course. Generally, a student who is failing a course will be allowed to continue in the course as long as he/she would benefit from the additional instruction, the additional cost to continue his/her enrollment is reasonable, and his/her presence would not be detrimental to the learning of the other students. The decision to dismiss, however, is at the sole discretion of the School