College Classroom Attendance: What is Happening from a Student's Perspective
There is a speculation about classroom attendance in decline, and students give their opinions on classroom attendance.
For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, college campuses – including Marist – have resumed primarily on-ground classes to restore a semblance of the normal college experience. Yet, despite a seemingly enthusiastic push for on-ground classes, some Marist students have noticed a decrease in their class attendance. Speculation about the decline in class attendance varies, so I spoke to a few students to report their thoughts about reasons for the level of attendance in the classroom, and what Marist can do going forward to ensure higher attendance.
Lidija Slokenbergs ‘23 is a junior studying Media Studies and Production who has seen a decline in classroom attendance. She said that she believes that there is a connection between classroom attendance and the fact that despite the decline of COVID-19 cases on campus as compared to last semester, its effects remain ingrained in our culture.
“[Students are] comfortable in our own rooms since that is where we have all been for our classes the last year and a half, and people may feel that it is better to stick to what they’re used to,” Slokenbergs said.
Slokenbergs also said that a good solution for encouraging students to return to class can include having the opportunity to talk about the impact that COVID-19 has had on students, possibly even through a new club related to processing COVID-19 through peer discussion. Ultimately Slokenbergs believes that coming back together will start to motivate students to attend classes and even participate more in club activities.
Maggie Kruse ‘22 said there are a multitude of reasons as to why there might be a decline in classroom attendance. She believes that since all of us are used to being at home, this “drastic change is startling.” This can be furthered by the fact that without masking as frequently, people are developing more illnesses that haven’t been an issue in a while, so they are staying home to get healthy again. As for a solution, Kruse suggested that people should just stay home, recover and not spread illness to keep others from missing out on attendance.
Both Slokenbergs and Kruse are seniors, so I wanted to make sure I heard the perspective from a freshman student to see how they experience current class attendance.
Andrew Gearing ‘25 said that, in comparison to the upperclassmen, attendance in his classes seems very consistent. Gearing stated that his morning classes will be more hit-or-miss, as is typical, but his afternoon classes remain at approximately pre-pandemic levels.
On a personal note, I’ve noticed a decline in my classes’ attendance – probably the most drastic I’ve seen during my time at Marist thus far. As a student in the Class of 2024, this semester is the first time that my grade has had consistent in-person classes. I believe that we are facing a level of collective burnout that we did not feel as heavily while online. As for a solution, I believe it's getting over this mid-semester slump, and getting used to this new, but normal structure of college.
From speaking with students and from my own perspective, I believe that there is an overall decline in class attendance, with plausible explanations ranging from post-pandemic readjustment to illness and fatigue. As students, the best thing we can do to increase attendance is to keep ourselves healthy and take it easy on ourselves as we go forward throughout the rest of the semester.