Title

Policy 4.16

Subtitle

Last Date of Attendance

Body

Part 1. Purpose

The purpose of the Last Date of Attendance (LDA) policy and its supporting procedure (College Procedure 4.16.01) is to appropriately assess financial and academic liability for students, ensure good stewardship of financial aid funds, and limit financial and academic liability for the College and its students.

Part 2. Responsibility

Subpart A. Students

Students are expected to regularly attend classes in which they are enrolled and abide by Minneapolis College Policy 4.05.01, Procedures for Changing Enrollment. Students who do not plan to attend or stop attending a course should immediately drop the course prior to the drop deadline. If they wish to withdraw from their course after the drop deadline, they should do so before the withdrawal deadline for the course. 

Students who never attend a course or stop attending a course before the course’s drop deadline, but do not withdraw from the course themselves, will be administratively withdrawn from the course based on the student’s last date of attendance. Students who are administratively withdrawn remain academically and financially responsible for their course(s) along with other related expenses. Additionally, the administrative withdrawal could affect students’ completion rates, potentially leading to academic and financial aid suspension.

See Minneapolis College Policy 4.13, Satisfactory Academic Progress - Academic and Financial Aid,  Procedure 4.16.01 Last Date of Attendance Procedure, and Minneapolis College Procedure 5.08.02 Refund of Tuition and Fees for more information.

Subpart B. Faculty/Instructors

As outlined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.10, Faculty Expectations, faculty/instructors are required to report the last date of attendance for each student who stops attending or who never attends a course. This enables the College to comply with federal financial aid regulations requiring the College to determine the percentage of aid earned by a student based on the amount of time spent in attendance.

Faculty/instructors may have additional attendance requirements, which they identify in the course syllabus.  

Subpart C. College

An administrative withdrawal will activate an evaluation of a student's financial aid and may result in repayment as stated in the Minneapolis College Policy 4.08, Financial Aid.

Part 3. Definition of Attendance

All students must demonstrate a satisfactory amount of academic engagement to have attended the course.

As defined in U.S. Code of Federal Regulations: 34 CFR 600.2, student academic engagement includes but is not limited to:

  1. Attending a synchronous class, lecture, recitation, or field or laboratory activity, physically or online, where there is an opportunity for interaction between the instructor and students;
  2. Submitting an academic assignment;
  3. Taking an assessment or an exam;
  4. Participating in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction;
  5. Participating in a study group, group project, or an online discussion that is assigned by the institution; or
  6. Interacting with an instructor about academic matters.

The following two activities do not constitute academic engagement:

  • Communicating with an instructor about the logistics of a course, as opposed to the content of the course;
  • Logging into an online site for a course.

A student who is still demonstrating academic engagement as of the withdrawal deadline for the course will have met the criteria for term completion under this policy.

Under exceptional circumstances, a student subject to administrative withdrawal may be allowed to reach an agreement with the instructor to continue in the course. The student must show good cause for the gap in attendance and demonstrate a strong intention to participate in the class, such as through completion of an agreed-upon course assignment. All assignments must be completed by the end of the term. This agreement should, wherever possible, be reached prior to the absence.

Part 4. Academic Attendance Policies

Faculty are encouraged to establish academic attendance standards for their courses and to include them in their course syllabi and/or program handbook. These standards must comply with the minimum LDA requirements of this policy and college procedure 4.16.01 Last Date of Attendance.

Faculty attendance standards for their course may include assessing an academic consequence when a student fails to participate in a class as required in the course syllabus and/or program handbook.

These academic consequences may not include a requirement that the student withdraw themselves from a course.

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Student Affairs

Date of Adoption: 8/24/2005

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): Revisions approved
7/9/2025 are effective at the start of Fall semester 2026. Revisions approved on
11/21/2019 were effective 1/13/2020.

Date Last Reviewed: 7/9/2025 (Comprehensive Review)

Date and Subject of Revisions: 7/9/2025 (Comprehensive Review. Revised Part 3. Definition of Attendance to match federal definition of academic engagement, added language indicating that students who are still attending as of the withdrawal deadline for a course have met the criteria for term completion, added language specifying that faculty may not require students to withdraw from a course. These changes go into effect in Fall 2025.) 8/23/2024 (Focused Review. Information regarding reporting requirements updated due to revisions in Procedure 4.16.01), 2/29/2023 (Limited Review), 11/21/2019 (Added section on definitions, including student, faculty and college responsibility. Clarified definition of attendance. Changed period of non-attendance that triggers LDA from “14 calendar days” to “two weeks.” Added section on drop for non-attendance (previously this had only been outlined in Minneapolis College Policy 4.05.01, Procedures for Changing Enrollment. Created an LDA procedure to accompany this LDA policy.), 8/24/2005 (Adopted)

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law):  U.S. Code of Federal Regulations: 34 CFR 600.2; Code of Federal Regulations: 34 CFR 668.22 – Treatment of Title IV Funds

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