Attendance Policies

[gumbyj]

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Which schools do not have mandatory attendance and record/stream their lectures? I know as a student I will benefit from the least amount of required class time possible and going at my own pace so I would prefer a school with this structure. Thanks!

 

[Slane]

Cross LECOM off your list.

 

[Wolverines83]

Cross LECOM off your list.

lol, yup. That's the only reason I opened this thread.

maaaaybe PBL but still, probably cross LECOM off your list.

 

[dntke1518]

KCOM does not require attendance for majority of basic science classes (with the exception of OTM, and Anatomy has quizzes before most of the lectures).

 

[thecgrblue]

Cross LECOM off your list.

DSP is always an option. If you like dark spaces.

 

[munchymanRX]

With the exception of lab courses, NSU-COM does not have an enforced attendance policy.

Officially the university does, but unofficially the admin and most professors recognize that trying to force a bunch of adults to sit through classes if that's not how they learn effectively is a losing battle. We don't bring it up, they don't bring it up. That's the deal.

 

[Dharma]

DSP is always an option. If you like dark spaces.

??? you in DSP right now?

 

[Slane]

DSP is always an option. If you like dark spaces.

DSP even has a lot of meetings, labs, and lectures with mandatory attendance. Plus for anatomy, histology, and embryology you're considered LDP for the first 13-weeks of class and have mandatory attendance there. LECOM is really not the place to be if you have any trouble whatsoever in giving up your freedom to the man and falling in line.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

KYCOM has an attendance policy, but it's pretty loosely enforced. We have pop quizzes several times a block, so that helps keeps butts in the seats. For the most part, though, there's not really a big penalty for not attending lectures.

Personally, I'm not a fan of mandatory attendance policies for class lectures. I think at this point in our educational careers that we should be able to recognize if we need to be sitting in a classroom all day long to still perform well on our COM exams. However, I can see where school administrations (like my own) are coming from when they implement these types of policies. When we get out of the "med school bubble" and actually get out into the real world for rotations, there is a certain level of professionalism that is expected on our behalf (i.e. get out of bed, dress professionally, show up on time). I think the point of these mandatory attendance policies is not only to produce good exam scores in the pre-clinical years, but also to develop some of these professional qualities that will be expected of us in the coming years. I'm sure there are other ways of accomplishing this, but we'll leave that for another discussion.

 

[sandstone]

RVUCOM: Required afternoon labs (1-5 pm) most days, maybe two days a week with only two hours of afternoon labs.
Morning lectures (8 am-noon): 3-4 days/week not required with recorded lectures available sometime after the lecture, 1-2 days/week they're required, it depends on what type of lecture is given.

 

[chiddler]

during my touro-NV interview, they bragged about their lack of any attendance policy

 

[Wolverines83]

When I interviewed at Touro-NY a kid said he never went to class despite it being "required," just studied at home. Do with that what you will, it's second hand information

 

[Flemon]

KCUMB attendance is mandatory. Sign in sheets daily.

 

[Badgers326]

DMU has a few mandatory classes like OMM and Med Ethics. Almost everything is recorded.

 

[thecgrblue]

DSP even has a lot of meetings, labs, and lectures with mandatory attendance. Plus for anatomy, histology, and embryology you're considered LDP for the first 13-weeks of class and have mandatory attendance there. LECOM is really not the place to be if you have any trouble whatsoever in giving up your freedom to the man and falling in line.

Dark spaces was tongue in cheek.

Trying to illustrate that LECOM has more options than just LDP. I personally wouldn't do DSP.

 

[moneytree]

KCUMB attendance is mandatory. Sign in sheets daily.

Can a friend sign in for you?

 

[aliDO]

Can a friend sign in for you?

sure, if you both want to get kicked out. At least at my school they would do that (which is not KCUMB), so maybe they don't care as much. What would be the point of having a policy if they did not care though?

 

[moneytree]

sure, if you both want to get kicked out. At least at my school they would do that (which is not KCUMB), so maybe they don't care as much. What would be the point of having a policy if they did not care though?

Some schools have an official attendance policy, but leave it up to the faculty to enforce it. So if faculty doesn't care, then the sign in sheets are just for show to keep the admin pacified.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dharma]

Can a friend sign in for you?

Nuthin' like starting off a career with a fresh dose of dishonesty...

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

One caveat to what sandstone said, while lectures aren't mandatory, they really aren't "optional" if 50% of the class stops going to lecture on a regular basis, they will stop recording and posting the lectures. There are several mandatory in-class periods each week, and the same is true, while the don't take attendance, they use a 'face sheet' and if they call your name and you don't answer, you will be in trouble... The thing is, they have no dress code, so showing up for anything is pretty easy...

And I agree with Dharma, why would you have a friend sign in for you in med school? You wouldn't have them take a test for you would you??

 

[gumbyj]

Can anyone comment on NYCOM, UNE, TouroNY, UMDMJ? Required/enforced attendance and/or recorded lectures?

 

[CardioPlus]

NYCOM

They record all lectures and labs for streaming. They say that they won't put up the videos on the streaming site if attendance is below 66%. But my 2nd year the attendance was consistently around 15-20% and they always put them up. They never even threatened to not put em up.

 

[nardini46]

TCOM 1st year I would say lecture is optional. Audio recordings of lectures are available but they are usually uploaded a few days after the lecture. I recommend just going.
TCOM 2nd year lecture is mandatory bc they give you points via iclicker participation.👎

 

[Ghost22]

TCOM 1st year I would say lecture is optional. Audio recordings of lectures are available but they are usually uploaded a few days after the lecture. I recommend just going.
TCOM 2nd year lecture is mandatory bc they give you points via iclicker participation.👎

& I recommend never going 1st year. 😎

Clinical Medicine & interviewing are always mandatory, 1st year OMM attendance is worth a decent chunk of points, but not mandatory.

2nd year OMM attendance is worth crap nothing (making us all wonder why we bother going some days).

 

[museic]

PCOM attendance policy is Lab only, with the occasional pt perspective/case study presentation. Going to class is kind of a waste at this stage in the game. It's nice to have it presented but when your being soaked with a fire hose and only have a solo cup to pick it up with, it's better to study on your own time.

We also have live streams from the library, Recorded sessions that can be watched whenever (Audio & Video), and a scribe note service. The Scribe notes are marvelous, although student created so they are not perfect. Honestly if you could memorize the scribe notes you could easily get 90s on every exam, although to be fair that would be like memorizing the bible for every exam lol. PCOM is great and our history & tradition is second to none.

 

[DocVapor]

VCOM:
All lectures are mandatory AND videotaped and uploaded for viewing later. The policy allows for 15% of classes to be missed without excuse, measured in 1/2 days. Attendance is taken via assigned seating (you can choose your seat) and then pictures taken every so often and administrators looking for people who are missing. If you are missing in one picture, they'll check those before and after to make sure you aren't in the bathroom or something.

Labs and OMM sessions are absolutely 100% mandatory.

Seems harsh reading about it like this but it really isn't bad, and I actually like it because it forces me to get up in the morning. It also doesn't tell you that you HAVE to be paying attention. You can't wear headphones, but you can be going over other lectures (or checking SDN).

 

[camierz]

MSUCOM streams their lectures and has them available at 1.5x or 2x speed later in the day typically. It's nice waking up in the morning and watching them live from home. There are a few required labs a few times a week. I typically have to be there three times a week for only a few hours at a time.

 

[Textbookversion]

VCOM:
All lectures are mandatory AND videotaped and uploaded for viewing later. The policy allows for 15% of classes to be missed without excuse, measured in 1/2 days. Attendance is taken via assigned seating (you can choose your seat) and then pictures taken every so often and administrators looking for people who are missing. If you are missing in one picture, they'll check those before and after to make sure you aren't in the bathroom or something.

Labs and OMM sessions are absolutely 100% mandatory.

Seems harsh reading about it like this but it really isn't bad, and I actually like it because it forces me to get up in the morning. It also doesn't tell you that you HAVE to be paying attention. You can't wear headphones, but you can be going over other lectures (or checking SDN).

That sounds awful.

 

[dermpathdoc]

as a former professor tt UMDNJ, I can vouch for that policy, but when schools are going to more case based and team based learning where student participation is required and graded and there is even peer evaluation...it is to your detriment to NOT attend

 

[Bird Lady]

LMU-DCOM records the lectures and they are available to watch on mediasite soon after the class, but all lab sessions (Anatomy, OMM, EPC) and TBLs are mandatory. The labs are generally in the afternoon, and what time you go in changes each week. Additionally, we also have some random mandatory classes throughout the year. However, keep in mind that technology doesn't always work and sometimes lectures don't get recorded 🙂

 

[GraceEuphoria]

LMU-DCOM records the lectures and they are available to watch on mediasite soon after the class, but all lab sessions (Anatomy, OMM, EPC) and TBLs are mandatory. The labs are generally in the afternoon, and what time you go in changes each week. Additionally, we also have some random mandatory classes throughout the year. However, keep in mind that technology doesn't always work and sometimes lectures don't get recorded 🙂

Also keep in mind that things can ALWAYS change. My class (DCOM 2014) had different policies from year one to year two. Any school that doesn't require attendance can always up and change their mind. If nobody's attending, administration might decide to start requiring attendance...just something to think about before you choose a program based on that.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Heh I never go to class.

 

[jhu6569]

From a senior faculty member at a DO school - having a "friend" sign in for you on an attendance roster is clear evidence of non-professional behavior by both parties and would correctly subject you both to disciplinary actions including, at least, probation, and possibly dismissal.

 

[FutureDoctorrrr]

Which schools do not have mandatory attendance and record/stream their lectures? I know as a student I will benefit from the least amount of required class time possible and going at my own pace so I would prefer a school with this structure. Thanks!

UMDNJ 1st yr here...

For 1st yr, attendance is ONLY required for two weekly classes;
a 1-1.5 hr professionalism course (during first yr)
a 1 hr OMM (OMT) lab
The physiology group meetings happen once every month; they also have required attendance....but I skipped the last one 😉

Anatomy lab attendance is not required. If your group (the 6 people who you share a cadaver with) are ok with you not showing up during the scheduled lab, then you can just show up at your convenience to look at the dissected structures in your assigned body or in the sample dissection. I usually go with a tutor (2nd yr or 3rd yr) at my convenience. [Yes, you can do so and still rock the anatomy practical].

ALL lectures are recorded and available for us to watch at our convenience and our pace (all my friends and I watch em at 1.5 - 2 times the speed depending on the lecturer's pace)
If you like to study at home or at the school library and don't like to attend classes, I can tell you that I've been doing just that so far.

2nd yrs do have a bit more required classes (6-8 hrs of required class every week)

As long as you do well in your exams, our deans are super-chill and will let anything slide (aside from things like cheating on exams, using foul language, etc).

Good luck with ur decision! 🙂

 

[FutureDoctorrrr]

So far, I feel that the UMDNJ deans are WAY more focused on our results than they are on our study methods...
Our deans strive for providing us an environment in which we can reach our peak potential...if that means chilling at home and watching the lectures at a faster speed then they shall provide you with just that...

 

[FutureDoctorrrr]

as a former professor tt UMDNJ, I can vouch for that policy, but when schools are going to more case based and team based learning where student participation is required and graded and there is even peer evaluation...it is to your detriment to NOT attend

Dear Professor,
I would like to take the time to inform you that I have never gone to a single biochem lecture so far...I have consistently been scoring in the 90s.
Please note that Biochem is the most dreaded 1st yr class on campus.

My scoring and attendance pattern is very similar for all my other classes.

I took the time to inform you about this because you (as well as the rest of the medical school professors) need to understand that not every student has the same study methods.

I learn a lot better if I watch every lecture 2 times (at twice the speed); reading/comparing BRS and the lecture slides in between the run-throughs. I do so because class is too slow-paced for me...and I daydream or fall asleep.
That is how undergrad was, and that is how med school has been.

Please realize that different people have different learning methods. Please take a lesser interest in making students comply with what you feel is best for them, and a greater interest in providing them the environment they need to reach their peak potential.

 

[notbobtrustme]

pretty sure I would kill myself if I had mandatory lectures. Med school is already a big pain in the ******* and forcing us to sit through ****ty lectures would seal the deal.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

How about making this into a list?

 

[shaggybill]

VCOM-CC here. Pretty much exactly what the other VCOMer from VA said. We pick our seats for the year, and every day they take pictures to make sure we attend, and we can skip 15% of our half days. VCOM is generally a good school, the curriculum is fantastic, but the school has a serious problem with being overly paternalistic. I assume they are of the mind that if we show up to class then we will be more likely to do well on exams, when in fact the complete opposite is true. When I go to class, I pay attention for 5 minutes and then I zone out due to the pace, and I end up wasting 6-8 hours of precious time out of the day. This is time that I could be using so much more efficiently to be catching up on the previous days lectures at 2x speed, covering the material more often and without the distractions that going to class creates. Now, as to why the concept of different learning styles for different students is so difficult for VCOM to grasp (and other schools with similar policies) is beyond my comprehension, but until someone in the administration realizes that we are indeed all adults, we have all demonstrated good study habits by making it into med school, and that we don't need them dictating to us how to use our time, I guess they will continue with the non-sense that is the attendance policy. Their school, their rules, but that doesn't mean I can't warn ya.

Ok, end rant. 🙂

 

[DocEspana]

Can anyone comment on NYCOM, UNE, TouroNY, UMDMJ? Required/enforced attendance and/or recorded lectures?

Sure. TouroNY.

When I interviewed at Touro-NY a kid said he never went to class despite it being "required," just studied at home. Do with that what you will, it's second hand information

This is correct. Classes will occasionally get angry emails when attendance really drops off. Similarly there are certain guest speakers you miss and there will be grumpy docs.... but in 95% of cases you attend what you feel benefits you. And streaming is out by the end of the day.

Labs are 100% totally mandatory though, though anatomy gets somewhat elective mid semester.