Update on attendance policy – FLIN 103 – Fall 2009

In light of the possible flu situation this fall (both H1N1 and other), we want to anticipate some special circumstances that might develop regarding the attendance policy for FLIN 103.

First, the basic policy remains the same:  you are allowed FIVE (5) absences, for any reason, during the course of the semester.  This is a five credit course, and it truly is detrimental to the objectives of the class if there is a lot of absenteeism.  While it’s true that your tests are an important component of your grade, your daily work in class is crucial to integrating your production and comprehension skills, and if you’re not in class, we won’t be able to assess your daily work very well – turning in the Activity Book work helps, but really those are useful mainly to give you practice for participating in classroom activities.  Also, your class participation is valuable to your classmates, not just to you; language does not exist in a vacuum, and communicating in Bahasa Indonesia is the point of the class, after all.

However, we do not want the communication to include communicable diseases.  If you are sick, stay home.  NIU has issued guidelines:  http://www.niu.edu/flu which you should read and keep track of.  Since it may be the case that health professionals will have their hands full, we will NOT require you to provide notification from a doctor, health service, etc. in the event that you are forced to miss more than five days of class because of illness, assuming that you are sick, but not so sick that you need to go to the doctor.  See the guidelines at the link above, to see when you SHOULD see a doctor.

NONETHELESS: written documentation will still be required, as specified in the syllabus, but this can take the form of a note written by a family member, roommate, or even yourself, telling why it was necessary to miss class.  Also, if you become seriously ill and have to miss a substantial amount of class, you should consider taking a medical withdrawal or an incomplete.  If you have missed so much class that you can’t keep up with the work, for whatever reason, you may be unable to pass the course, or to get as good a grade as you would have otherwise.  We can only grade you on your work in the course, not on your personal situation – but we can waive the penalty for missing class more than five times IF you document your situation honestly.  If it turns out that you or others have lied in the written documentation provided, we will not waive the penalty.  WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION SHOULD BE ON ACTUAL PAPER, given to Bu Mamay (since she’s the one keeping track of attendance), although keeping all of us informed via email (in addition to written-on-paper documentation) is also useful.

It is especially important that we stay in touch, via the internet if not in the classroom, so that we can provide you with what you need to learn the language and benefit from the class.  If classes need to be canceled, we’ll keep you informed, and if you need to miss class, let us know when and why.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you keep yourself and others as healthy as possible, by staying home when you’re sick, getting enough sleep, washing your hands, etc., etc.

Mari kita menjaga kesehatan!  (Let’s guard health!)