Effective Strategies to Improve Student Attendance
In higher education institutions, attendance is quite critical to student and institute success. It is the key factor to provide students with access to resources, contextual information, and relationships that will affect their knowledge significantly. In case of constant absenteeism, colleges just have two options: either put in efforts to improve attendance or students will choose to drop out of the college.
We need not mention that students with poor attendance often score poor grades. Therefore, faculty members always prioritize regular classes and attendance to help them learn better and achieve impressive results. But, the big question is how to improve student attendance.
Well, thanks to a cloud-based attendance management system, HEIs and colleges can now work to bring positive change in student attendance. Using this mobile-responsive and smart solution, educators can implement innovative strategies to make sure that the maximum number of students attend classes and avoid frequent absenteeism.
We have listed the most effective and helpful techniques to promote engagement and awareness among students. Take a look to know more:
- Track Attendance in Real-time
Needless to say that daily attendance indicates students’ academic success and involvement. So, what’s a better way to track it than in real-time? The digital software solution comes with RFID and Biometric-based features so that students know that their attendance is a part of their grading system. Also, real-time attendance analytics helps institutions have a bird’s eye view of attendance trends so they can offer support to students who lack behind. There is also an option to compare attendance across departments, enabling educators to implement the best practices to improve regularity. - Schedule Realistic Timetables
Colleges that are constantly struggling with one important question- how to improve attendance must focus on enhancing student experience during their academic years. Allow them to choose different combinations of courses or programs based on their interests to keep them engaged. Leverage an automated timetable scheduling system to create realistic schedules. Also, this will let scholars plan their programs and track their attendance for different classes, hence, keeping them motivated. - Conduct Online Tests & Quizzes
Regular online tests, quizzes, and surveys encourage college students to focus on their studies and improve their skills for better scores. They feel competitive and put in their best efforts to be attentive in classes. They are more engaged, avoid absenteeism, and never miss assessments. - Interact via Chat & Forum
At times, students who are irregular suffer from physical, mental, or emotional issues. Colleges can use online chat forums and interactive tools to connect with such scholars. This will help them understand the core reasons for their absenteeism and they can strategize better to resolve the issues. Also, discussion, messaging, and chat tools allow students and teachers to work together. - Encourage Parent Involvement
Colleges don’t give enough credit to parent involvement in improving students’ attendance. You must understand that keeping parents informed about their kids’ activities, grades, discipline, absence, etc., would be of great help to avoid absenteeism. - Link Attendance with the Grades
Educational institutions and colleges should start linking attendance percentages with students’ academic grades. This will keep them alert because low attendance would mean low scores. So, they will prioritize their classes and be regular. - Add More Co-Curricular Activities
It’s time that colleges take the initiative to add more curricular activities to prompt the active participation of students. From debates and internships to volunteer work and cultural clubs, they must introduce interesting activities. This will increase class interaction and engagement which is good for decreasing absenteeism. - Reward Regular Scholars
Rewards are one of the most effective motivations and institutes can make the best of it to increase attendance rates. Announce rewards for students who have been regular in classes and appreciate them in front of other students. This will make others realize the importance of a high attendance percentage.
Conclusion
With so many HEIs struggling with low attendance, it’s time that you start taking measures without any delay and implement effective strategies. The above-mentioned points will help you engage students and boost their attendance rates. You need to understand that colleges are known for their alumni and if you want your institute to do well, focus on improving discipline.
CollPoll offers a mobile-first attendance management system that helps you monitor student attendance, generate monthly reports, and get actionable insights. For more information, request a free demo or connect with our team now.
