Lack of uni attendance?

Hi there,

So I've just stated my second year of uni about a month ago. Last year my attendance was really poor. I still managed to get an overall 2:1 for the first year. This year my attendance has still been pretty bad, but I do all the seminar reading that I am given even if I do miss the actual seminar. I have a few essays due in about a month so I'm probably going to start them soon.

Do you think that my lack of attendance to lectures/seminars is an issue, or something that I should worry about? Do you guys miss a lot but still perform well in essays/exams? I really don't like going in to uni to be honest, the lectures are pretty boring and the seminars don't seem particularly productive. I do politics by the way. :smile:

Sorry for the rant, but what do you guys thinks?

Cheers.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

999tigger

Unless your uni has any form of attendance policy, then you are fine not going and studying independently. Its a riskier strategy amd you are paying a lot of money for your degree, but you are an adult.

Reply 2

Klix88

Bear in mind that at some point, you're going to be asking a member of uni staff for a job reference. If they don't know who you are or they never see you in their seminars etc., it's going to be difficult to comment on things like time-keeping and reliability.

Reply 3

lozzielizzie

My uni always said attendance was linked to how well you do in your degree. Your paying money for your degree, yet you do not show up. I can never understand how people can not show up for lecturers and seminars it's lazy, you would not do it in the working world so why do it at university. If you have a job you have to show up and do the work even if it is boring.

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Reply 4

doodle_333

Eh during uni I always felt like I was paying enough money for lectures that I should really go and actually attend them. I think it makes a better impression with your lecturers too in case you ever need some help. I do think that you will get better grades if you attend, there are always things you miss which might be minor but a few minor things might push you from a 2.1 to a 1st.

Reply 5

JustGeorgeJ

Original post by jamesgar11

Sorry for the rant, but what do you guys thinks?

Cheers.

Hello,

It really does depend and everybody that has posted has offered a different view on it. At the end of the day, if you're handing in the work and doing well then the university can't really complain - however, your university may have a rule on attendance. For example at my university if you miss three days with no explanation you are then sent a letter and if you don't alter after the letter, you will found the board of attendance and can then get kicked out - however, if you got through First Year fine then it sounds okay.

The biggest problem will be the reference. You will get an EXTREMELY poor reference. The references from university lectures are fairly important and they offer a lot about you as a person, how you work, how you interact with others and such and it's fairly important to some employers, especially if they know you've attended university and if you're lecturer has barely seen or heard of you - they reference of you will be poor and won't reflect well on you - especially in terms of attendance which is vital knowledge for an employer.

However, if you have done it and continue to do it, there isn't much anybody will say against it!

Good luck! :smile:

Reply 6

#ChaosKass

What an awful attitude you have - you need to attend classes. If you end up getting poor grades or are unable to find a job then I have no sympathy for you.

Reply 7

sunnydespair

I think you should attend classes. I just think that routine is really important in life. Without routine, its difficult to function. Wake up in the morning, study during the day, exercise and socialise during the late afternoon and evenings.

Reply 8

ellai17

I do think you should try to go to at least some lectures, like others have said, you might also need help in the future with something and you tutor may not agree to help you or be less willing to do so.

At the end of the day though it's your decision and your money. Perhaps find out what you uni expects of you. For mine, if I don't turn up for 80% of the lectures then I don't receive student finance.

Reply 9

Claire461

Just gone into 2nd year and my uni lecturers have started taking registers for lectures/seminars, so not sure what the angle is there.
When I had a heart attack last year, I had to take time off, but as the hospital was across from uni, the younger students took notes for me.
There's always a gap in something when you miss lectures. Why pay all that money and not go in?

Reply 10

Klix88

Original post by Seamus123

Just gone into 2nd year and my uni lecturers have started taking registers for lectures/seminars, so not sure what the angle is there.

Some unis have a high proportion of International students and they have to prove that these students are attending campus, and not just using a study visa to blag their way into the UK then disappear. The Home Office expects unis to produce attendance data on demand. Might be part of it. At my current uni, attendance monitoring goes in and out of fashion as a central policy. At the moment, lecturers are left to decide whether they want to take registers or not. I reckon about half of them do.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 11

Yaboi

I found going to lectures and more so seminars was generally a waste of time, I could go through the content far quicker on my own and understand it better.

However there were certain lectures where the lecturer decided to leave blanks or not upload them on purpose so we would have to go lectures which is annoying.