Absence and Lateness Policies

Missing and Being Late for Class, and How to Make Up Work

One of the most skills that an Engineer needs is the ability to work in teams. Therefore, EG1004 gives you an opportunity to build this skill by having you work with one or more partners on the labs and projects.

When somebody misses a lab or recitation, it puts an unfair burden on their partners, where whoever remains now has to support the entire effort themselves. Therefore, we strongly discourage having students miss sessions unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

Missing a Lab

If you miss a lab, you will have to make up the lab on your own during the Open Lab in Room JAB573 (Model Shop). The Open Lab hours can be found on the EG Web site, and are also usually posted at the Model Shop entrance as well.

In order to make up the lab in the Open Lab, you will need to get permission to do so from the faculty member in charge of your section. To do this, download and print an EG1004 Open Lab Authorization form, or get one from a TA. You can click on the link below to get a copy of the form:

• EG1004 Open Lab Authorization Form

Fill in your name, student number, and lab, and get your faculty member to fill out the rest of the form. When you go to the Open Lab, the TA in charge will collect this form from you and let you make up the lab.

If you do not have a form, the Open Lab TA will not permit you to make up the lab!

Note that you’ll probably be working alone in the Open Lab, making the lab more difficult. Also, many of the labs are competitions, and have bonus points awarded based on how your team places. If you’re making up a lab in the Open Lab, you are not eligible for these bonus points.

Your lab presentation will be done at the same recitation as the regular lab presentations. Since you’ll be making up the lab usually several days after the scheduled lab session, this leaves you less time to prepare the presentation, making another good reason why you should not miss labs.

Finally, when you miss a lab, you will probably also miss a quiz related to the lab as well. There is no way to make up this quiz, so missing the lab is equivalent to getting a zero on a quiz. If you only miss one lab, there will probably be negligible impact on your overall grade, but a large number of absences will probably hurt you.

Note that your faculty member is not required to give you an authorization for the Open Lab. The faculty member will probably also want to discuss with you what’s wrong since you are missing a significant portion of the course experience.

Missing a Recitation

If you miss a recitation, your partners will have to give the presentation without you. This puts a heavy burden on them, so you should only miss a recitation when there is a compelling reason to do so. In addition, you should notify your teammates of your absence ahead of time if at all possible. You should also notify your faculty member and Recitation TA of your absence ahead of time if at all possible.

If you are excused from the recitation by your faculty member, you will receive the same presentation grade as your teammates, although typically the grade is not as good as it could have been because of the extra burden they had to handle. If you are not excused, you will receive a zero for any coursework performed that day, including such things as lab presentations and milestone presentations.

Missing a Lecture

Since we do not collect coursework from you at the lectures, there is no immediate penalty if you miss a lecture. However, the EG1004 staff does take attendance at many lectures, so your absence will be noted. In addition, much of the EG1004 final exam involves material covered at the lectures, including material that’s not in the handouts, so if you miss a lecture you will be at a disadvantage.

Lateness for Class

If you’re late for a lab, you will probably miss the quiz, and there is no way to make up the quiz. If you are more than 15 minutes late for the lab, the Lab TA is not allowed you to be admitted to the lab. If you have a good excuse, the Lab TA can authorize you to make up the lab at the Open Lab, as described above. Otherwise, you will receive a zero for the lab.

If you’re late for a recitation, it is at the faculty member’s discretion whether or not to allow you be admitted to the recitation. If you missed your team’s presentation, it will be equivalent to not having been at the recitation, as described above. If you are more than 10 minutes late for the recitation, the faculty member is not allowed you to be admitted, and it will be equivalent to having missed the recitation, as described above.

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