Attendance Policy | 2026-27 Academic Catalog

Although students are required to attend all scheduled hours for each course, extenuating life circumstances may require students to be absent upon rare occasion.Meridian University requires that, once registered for a course, a student makes ongoing, timely progress towards completing the course, per the schedule for the course. All students are responsible for maintaining contact with the course faculty, keeping up with required online engagement, and attending all scheduled Transformative Learning Lab blocks.Calculation of Attendance RequirementsThe minimum requirement for course attendance is 80% of the course hours.The determination of total course hours for a given course, for the purpose of attendance, is based on the number of engageable online course activities as well as the number of Transformative Learning Lab course blocks, if applicable to the course.The number of course hours considered to be attended by a student is based on faculty’s assessment of the quantity, quality, and sufficiency of the student’s online engagement as well as the number of Transformative Learning Lab course blocks attended by the student, if any were conducted.Students who do not meet the attendance requirement for a course will receive a “No Credit” grade. Students who show a pattern of excessive absence are contacted by the Student Development Committee.Transformative Learning Lab course blocks and engageable online course activities are assessed separately. A student has failed to meet the attendance requirement for a course if either the Transformative Learning Lab block or online attendance percentage is below 80%.Transformative Learning Lab Absence ProcedureIn the event students are unable to attend class, students in onsite Transformative Learning Lab coursework are responsible for notifying both their course faculty and administrative staff by:

Emailing faculty individually (faculty’s email address is always on the course syllabus); and
Creating a Student Services Request for the Student Services Team

Student illness or family emergency during a Transformative Learning Lab can result in a student missing an entire day or more of the Transformative Learning Lab. Such absences are reserved only for sudden illness or emergency and are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Student Development Committee.Obtaining and completing any required make-up work for missed course blocks is the student’s responsibility.Online Coursework Attendance GuidelinesAttendance in online courses is characterized by regular student postings and regular completion of weekly course assignments. Students should expect to login several times each week to complete the discussion questions and assignments. Students are expected to plan for 100% online class participation, as they will achieve the most learning via their active participation in the online discussions. Students must post responses and assignments at least two different times each week in order to maintain regular contact with faculty and active course engagement.Should the student fall behind for an entire week, the student is responsible for contacting the course faculty to explain their absence and advise the faculty as to their plan for catching up promptly and completely.