FAQ: Compulsory Attendance
Compulsory attendance can take different forms. It can mean that you have to attend all
sessions of a seminar or only certain sessions. Compulsory attendance can also mean that you may be absent without excuse up to two times. Your examination regulations specify the conditions under which attendance is compulsory. In most cases, the lecturers will tell you at the beginning of the course exactly what attendance requirements apply in their courses.
At the beginning of the course, your lecturers will tell you how often you are allowed to
be absent without an excuse, i.e. without a certificate or sick note (see below). This is
usually twice. If you are absent more often, you will unfortunately have to attend the
course again in the next semester.
It's best to talk to your lecturers. You may be able to attend some sessions online or
provide substitute work. However, you will need a medical certificate in any case: a
medical certificate or a certificate of incapacity for work from your doctor. Sometimes,
however, you may be allowed to be absent a maximum of two times or not at all despite
a doctor's certificate. In this case, you will unfortunately have to attend the course again
in the next semester.
You can ask your student council. Compulsory attendance for a course must be applied
for in the examination board and there are always student members on the examination
board - in most cases from the student council. Therefore, the council also knows in
which courses compulsory attendance has been approved. Sometimes it is also stated
in the module handbook that attendance is compulsory for a course. If you are still
unsure, you can also contact the Department of University Policy and Teaching by e-mail.
The NRW Higher Education Act states that compulsory attendance is possible: “the
ordering of compulsory student participation in courses as a prerequisite for attendance” (Section 64 (1) HG NRW) has been permitted again since 2019.
Students who are less flexible in terms of time because they have to work, have
children, care for relatives or have a disability may be disadvantaged by compulsory
attendance. If you are affected by one of the last three points, you can try to get a place
on a course directly via the hardship regulation. You can obtain information about this from your faculty(ies). Another argument against compulsory attendance is that the aim of every lecturer must be to teach so well that students participate voluntarily. If
students are forced to attend courses because attendance is compulsory, some
lecturers will see no incentive to improve their teaching. Unfortunately, the quality of
teaching essentially depends on how interested lecturers are in teaching.
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