Beginning in spring 2020, there will be a new grading requirement for all instructors to provide the last date of attendance for any student with a grade of “F” or “U” in a course. This new policy is required to comply with federal student financial aid reporting requirements as a student cannot receive financial aid for a course he or she did not attend.
Step-by-step instructions for entering dates directly into Banner or Canvas are provided on the Office of the Registrar website. Additional drop-in information sessions about entering the last date of attendance will be offered at these times:
- Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the College of Health and Human Services Building, Room 122
- Tuesday, Jan 14, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Cato College of Education Building, Room 102
- Tuesday, Jan. 28, from 2 to 5 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City, Room 906
For students who received an F or U, the last date of attendance is used to determine if they attended the class for the entire semester and "earned" those grades, or if they attended all or part of the semester, to determine how much financial aid the student may have to pay back.
Since the course instructor is the only person who can document whether a student attended class or participated in an academic activity, the instructor must provide this documentation.
Instructors who do not take attendance in their classes should provide the date of the student’s last known academic participation or activity (such as a quiz, assignment, paper, online discussion, etc.). Not every activity will count as evidence of attendance, so instructors should become familiar with the participation activity scenarios and FAQs.
New updates to Canvas Gradebook provide features to help instructors more easily comply with this new requirement.
“This new requirement provides an opportunity for instructors to assign activities throughout the semester to provide students with regular academic feedback, which may improve students’ success in the course,” said Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs.