Attendance Policy

The rule

Attendance at class meetings is required. The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law follows the ABA’s regular and substantial attendance standard. More than four unexcused absences in a semester may trigger a grade reduction, a recommendation to withdraw, or both, at the professor’s discretion and in consultation with the Office of the Dean of Students.

What counts as an excused absence

• Documented illness or medical care (a note is not required for a single absence; for patterns of absence the Dean of Students office handles documentation)
• Religious observance for which prior notice has been given to the professor by the end of the second week of the semester
• Funeral, family emergency, or comparable circumstance
• Bar-prep activity formally sanctioned by the Law School (e.g., character-and-fitness interviews that cannot be rescheduled)
• Approved CUA Law-sponsored event for which the professor has received notice from the sponsoring office

What counts as an unexcused absence

Anything not listed above. The professor is not the right person to negotiate after-the-fact absences related to documented circumstances; that conversation belongs in the Dean of Students office. The professor is the right person to negotiate proactive accommodation of foreseeable conflicts.

Cold-call procedure on absent days

A student called when absent forfeits the cold call. The student is not graded on a forfeited cold call as if it were a poor performance; the call simply does not happen and is not replaced. The four-per-semester cold-call count therefore tightens for students with multiple absences. See the Syllabus for cold-call mechanics.

Late arrival

A student who arrives more than fifteen minutes after the start of class will be marked as absent for that day for attendance-tracking purposes. The professor will not interrupt class to log late arrivals; a sign-in sheet is available at the front desk during the first fifteen minutes of class.

Make-up policy

There are no make-up assignments for class participation. The four-per-semester cold-call allocation cannot be made larger by additional preparation. The grade-distribution philosophy (Syllabus § Grade composition) is built so that no single missed cold call materially affects a student’s standing.

In-class exercises

The course schedule flags certain class meetings as candidates for an in-class skills exercise (drafting, negotiation, redline, damages calculation). Whether any given exercise runs is at the professor’s discretion across the semester. Any work submitted folds into the Class Participation bucket; there is no separate exercise grade. An absence on a day with an assigned exercise counts as a participation absence under the policy above. Documented circumstances are handled through the Dean of Students office.