Good thread. . .
I had a career chance late in life and am now a full time tenure track professor at a local college.
We have a similar rule as Stephanie pointed out. Three absences you are out, three tardies equals one absence.
The trick is knowing when to put the hammer down. One single mom student of mine was consistently late, 5 minutes or so, because of child care issues. She was upfront at the start of school that she would have this problem, and would text me if she would be late. However, when she arrived, she came in quietly, sat up front, and was prepared for class. She was the model student, respectful and served as she class president during the entire program. She never received any disciplinary actions.
Another student, lived with mom/dad, constantly late, noisy entrance, Would text and surf the web during class from her phone. When I asked her to put the phone away, she would break out the snacks as if she was watching the Super Bowl. This student did not show any respect to me or her fellow classmates, this one received disciplinary action.
I’ll add one more layer to the equation….
I am a part of a professional education program, Dental Hygiene and Assisting program. We have a mandatory dress code/uniform for our program. This dress code is presented to them at orientation on day one. The students sign a contract to abide by our dress standards that failure to comply could result in dismissal from class or the program. This dress code includes nail length, hair style regulations, earrings (only ONE stud allowed), no visible tattoos, prohibition of face piercings, required style/color scrub uniform, calf length white socks, white (non fabric) shoes, name tags, no jewelry and protective (PPE) eyewear.
Our hygiene students are required to change out of their clinic shoes before leaving the building.
The reason for this strict dress code is to create a professional environment, ensure student safety (just think about long flowing hair near a running lathe), infection control, and what I call “employability.”
Most students comply without issue, but occasionally you get a student who has to be different. The student described above (guess which student) showed up to class one day with pink fuzzy slippers, dirty ones at that. I saw her enter 10 minutes late and immediately noticed her footwear. I pointed to her feet then motioned for her to leave the classroom, a finger pointed to the door.
Her response “What does it matter?”
I asked her to come forward, when she did. I then asked her to hand me her slipper. With a little hesitation she complied. I placed the slipper on the front table I was lecturing from and removed one of my shoes and placed it next to hers. I proceeded to drop dental hygiene scaling and root planing instruments (“tooth scrapers”) on both footwear. They bounced off my leather shoe but stuck in the slipper. I then replaced my shoe and dropped an instrument on my show which bounced off. I returned the slipper to her and held a scaler as if I was going to drop it on her foot.
She said “Ok I get it.”
I pointed to the door again and said “Tomorrow remember your name tag.”
If this sounds harsh remember the safety of students, staff, and faculty is paramount. The No food or drink allowed in clinical settings rule is an industry standard, as is our PPE requirements.
At officer basic training in the Air Force, our classrooms were locked precisely at the start of class. Early is on time, on time is late. I am more understanding with my students but draw rather line when safety is involved and will not stand for rude behavior.
The thing most people don’t realize is the other students resent the late, rude students.
Oh and one more thing. . . guess which student from my 2022 class is still unemployed?