Why aren’t they attending class like they are supposed to? A review into students’ perception of the value of class attendance

Enabling courses are designed to assist with the upskilling of non-traditional students in order to make the transition to university more seamless. Enabling educators understand that the cohort who enter via the enabling pathway are unique and require holistic support as the students develop their academic skills and their self-efficacy. Class attendance has long been regarded as a vital component of a quality education, but with the accessibility of online material and the ever-increasing opportunities to study online, the viability and value of face-to-face classes is being challenged. This paper reports the findings of a research project that sought to better understand enabling students’ conceptions of the benefits of attending face-to-face, on-campus classes and the factors that influence their choices to attend. The project investigated the link between attendance, academic achievement and retention and aimed to identify a more effective alignment between the conception of expectations and the provision of a quality learning experience.