Attendance in an Online Learning Course

Weekly ongoing participation in an online course is just as important as attendance is in a seated course.  You must be reading, interacting, and completing work in your online course from the start of the semester to be successful.  All of our online courses have an introductory discussion that must be completed within the first week of the course to demonstrate "attendance".  Any students who do not complete that activity and show that they are actively engaged and participating in the course will be dropped from the course by the instructor.  This is a policy within the Virginia Community College System.  See the policy below.  

VCCS Policy 5.6.0 Grading System for Credit Classes (SB)

In order to receive any letter grade, a student must have attended a minimum of one class meeting or the equivalent in the case of a distance learning course.  In a distance learning course, initial student attendance is determined by course participation as measured by accessing and using course materials, completion of a class assignment, participation in a course discussion, or other evidence of participation.  Students who enroll in a course but do not attend a minimum of one class meeting or the distance learning equivalent by the census date or earlier date as defined and published by the institution must be administratively deleted from the course by the college. Existing college policies regarding tuition refund shall remain in effect.