Academic Catalog

12.4 PhD Class Participation, Attendance and Absenteeism

Attendance and participation in all classes and computer lab sessions are mandatory. This is essential to the process of education at UD since the students' involvement with their instructors and fellow peers are vital components of their academic preparation. Absences hinder academic progress, and affects the student’s learning ability and grades. UD regulations for attendance and absenteeism warnings imposed on all courses are stipulated in this section as follows:

  1. All courses are offered in two consecutive sessions of two hour and twenty minutes each. A 20-minute break is given after the first session.
  2. A faculty member must take attendance in each session.
  3. If a student misses more than four sessions out of the 18 sessions in a course for non-acceptable reasons as deemed by the Instructor, he/she will receive a grade of “FA” for the course, which counts like a failed course (See Table 1). The student must then repeat the course in the following term. However, the student shall have the right to attend the remaining classes of the course. Repeating a course entails a financial charge.
  4. A student must work independently to catch up on missed lectures’ material.

Absenteeism Percentages

Duration of Session
Weeks/Class Sessions
Percentage and Number of Session Absences
10% 20% 25% (Deprived or Withdrawn)
2 hour 20 minutes 8 (18 sessions) 2 Absences 4 Absences 5 Absences