Faculty Outreach Reminder: If a student has not participated in your course within the last five days, please reach out to the student and encourage re-engagement. Early outreach can help identify potential barriers, reinforce support resources, and improve student retention and success.
Timely and accurate attendance reporting plays an important role in supporting student success and retention. Regular attendance tracking helps identify students who may be disengaged, struggling academically, or at risk of withdrawing from a course. Early identification allows faculty and student support teams to intervene before challenges become barriers to success. By consistently monitoring attendance and engagement, faculty contribute to a proactive support system that helps students stay connected, persist in their courses, and achieve their educational goals.
Face-to-Face Attendance Expectations
Faculty teaching face-to-face courses are expected to take attendance during every scheduled class meeting using the Attendance tool in Canvas.
Attendance should be recorded to support student success, identify students who may need assistance, and ensure compliance with institutional requirements.
The first time you use the Roll Call Attendance tool in Canvas, it automatically creates an assignment called Roll Call Attendance and adds it to your gradebook as a graded assignment worth 100 points. If you are using Roll Call only to track attendance and do not want attendance to impact student grades, you should edit the assignment and change it to a non-graded assignment. To do this, go to Assignments, locate Roll Call Attendance, select Edit, and update the assignment settings to Display Grade as: Not Graded. You can also adjust the point value and assignment group as needed to align with your course policies. For step-by-step instructions on using the attendance tool in Canvas, visit How do I use the Roll Call Attendance tool in a course?
Online Faculty Attendance Expectations
Faculty teaching online courses are expected to verify participation through Course Analytics within Canvas. Participation should be checked twice each week, typically on Monday and Friday, following the due dates established in the course.
When determining participation, instructors should review student activity from the previous five (5) days using Canvas Course Analytics. Meaningful participation may include:
- Submitting assignments
- Participating in discussions
- Completing quizzes or assessments
- Engaging in other academically related activities within the course
For instructions on accessing Course Analytics, see How do I view Course Analytics in a course as an instructor?
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Need Additional Student Support?
If you have concerns about a student’s attendance, engagement, academic performance, or overall well-being, please complete one of the below forms. The Student Support teams will review the concern and coordinate outreach to connect the student with appropriate resources. Early referrals help ensure students receive timely assistance and increase the likelihood of academic success and retention.
Academic Support Form - Academic Issues
Use for concerns related to a student’s academic performance or engagement, including:
- Missing/incomplete assignments or poor performance
- Lack of participation or attendance
- Difficulty understanding course content or expectations
- Noticeable decline in academic engagement
CARE Form - Non Academic Issue
Use when personal or well-being concerns may be affecting a student’s success, including:
- Personal or family concerns
- Emotional well-being
- Behavioral concerns
- Other non-academic circumstances requiring additional support
Important: If a student appears to be an immediate danger to themselves or others, contact University Safety at 352-588-8432 immediately rather than waiting to submit a referral form. University Safety is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.