Attendance Policy Ideas

[FleurGirl]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I think having the 80% rule with rigid requirements for excuses is a good idea. Check you bylaws, but in AOII, members NOT in good standing don't get a voice or vote in membership selection. This is a huge reason to get your butt to meeting!

This! ^
And it's also very important to clearly define what's excuseable and what's not. In my opinion, it's obviously not fair to penalize girls who miss events for school, family deaths, school-required events, etc.; but I think it IS fair to count absences that were not submitted in advance or are for casual reasons (going home for a weekend, other personal reasons). If you're going to excuse absences maybe bump the percentage up to 90% or 95%. I know personally I felt very strongly that girls who had to miss events for class shouldn't have that held against them.
What about organizing a conversation night or discussing attendance at chapter? Maybe talking to the girls as a group would lead to more ideas of what would work for your chapter. Maybe you could come up with some incentives too, like prizes for perfect attendance for the semester or something!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by FleurGirl

This! ^
And it's also very important to clearly define what's excuseable and what's not. In my opinion, it's obviously not fair to penalize girls who miss events for school, family deaths, school-required events, etc.; but I think it IS fair to count absences that were not submitted in advance or are for casual reasons (going home for a weekend, other personal reasons).

Well, "school related" can get stretched out to a ridiculous degree. "My prof rescheduled the midterm to Thursday night" is one thing. "I need to study for the midterm I've known about all semester" is another.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Well, "school related" can get stretched out to a ridiculous degree. "My prof rescheduled the midterm to Thursday night" is one thing. "I need to study for the midterm I've known about all semester" is another.

"I need to study" is not an excused absence at my chapter, and I recommend that it not be for any chapter. We were eventually given one "study pass" a semester, which could be used only for chapter, and couldn't be carried over until the next semester. I found that reasonable, but except for extenuating circumstances (like the rescheduled midterm example) IMO studying shouldn't be an excuse to miss something that has been planned weeks or months in advance. It is important to learn how to manage time correctly, and this is one way to learn it. Especially since chapter meetings don't generally last for more than an hour.

[FleurGirl]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Well, "school related" can get stretched out to a ridiculous degree. "My prof rescheduled the midterm to Thursday night" is one thing. "I need to study for the midterm I've known about all semester" is another.

The way we do it is only for actually being IN class during the event. We had some fraternity philanthropy events scheduled for weeknights when girls were in class, and it would be wrong for them to skip class for it. "I need to study" is never excused, since you have the calendar of events in advance and need to manage your time around it. Girls could still skip events for things like that but it was unexcused and counted against them. Sorry if that wasn't clear