Measuring Attendance

While attendance policies can encourage participation, grading students solely for being present does not necessarily reflect learning. Instead, consider how students actively engage with course content, classmates, and learning activities.

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In online learning environments, attendance is often demonstrated through participation in course activities rather than physical presence.

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ExamplesBest Practices

Examples of online attendance include:

• Accessing course content and modules.
• Participating in discussions.
• Submitting assignments and quizzes.
• Attending required synchronous sessions.
• Engaging with course materials and learning activities.

Discussion boards in Canvas provide a flexible way to measure online attendance by documenting meaningful student participation rather than simply logging presence. Initial posts and peer replies demonstrate engagement with course content, encourage collaboration, and create a record of active participation that instructors can review and assess.

• Use attendance records to identify students who may need support.
• Incorporate active learning strategies that encourage engagement.
• Consider participation, preparation, and contributions in addition to attendance.
• Reach out to students who demonstrate patterns of absence.

Canvas tools and features like:

• New Analytics
• Course Access Reports
• Discussion Participation Reports
• Assignment Submission Records
• Gradebook Activity

… can help identify students who may be disengaging from the course and could benefit from outreach or support.

Attendance information is most valuable when used as an early-alert tool rather than a grading mechanism. Consider reaching out to students who:

• Miss multiple class sessions.
• Have not logged into Canvas recently.
• Miss assignments or discussions.
• Show a sudden decrease in engagement.
• Demonstrate patterns that may indicate academic difficulty.

• Academic Success Tip: Encouraging Class Attendance
• The Opposite of Cheating by David A. Rettinger and Tricia Bertram Gallant