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[educator1]

I'm wondering if profs who have fairly liberal policies for themselves in terms of leaving early and the occasional missed class are also less likely to be sticklers on student attendance.

If this correlation is real, consider me an outlier!
I have absorbed the culture of my school that it is the professional responsibility of the professor to make sure that his/her class is covered by a qualified colleague and not only adhere to it but believe in it.
However, on the student attendance side, I am with westcoastgirl and do not pretend to be a grade school teacher. Attendance is optional (it hovers around 90%) and I won't get into the argument whether the death of the family parakeet is sufficient justification for an excused absence. I expect my students to produce professional work and I treat them as adult professionals. I do, however, record the results of their decisions if absences result in a lack of adequate learning.

[janewales]

I don't have an attendance policy either. It is possible at my university to bar from a final exam a student who has not attended some percentage of class meetings, but this seems to be a rule that was written a very long time ago and is little known: I have certainly never used it.

[westcoastgirl]

 I may have a sick day now and then and I have gone to conferences. I usually give a makeup day and make myself available for a large time frame. Tomorrow, on my day off, I will go to school and have open sessions over the course of three hours. Students don't care at all and most are even confused as to why I'm doing this. I think one mentioned he would come by.

Presently, I'm in a bit of a bind because my spouse is dropping my kid off in my city on his travels across the country. His plane arrives at 3 and his next plane flies out at 4. We are taking a really big risk here, I know. But I have to be there to pick up the child. I'm going to see if a colleague can cover the class. I'll be giving a quiz. If not, I'll offer a graduate student some cash. I am stressed out about this. Not good planning on our part.

[spinnaker]

Students always ask me if we are having classes the day before Thanksgiving and I always say "I follow the academic calendar, so we do have class." Some of them are surprised.

[oldfullprof]

That said, leaving a class without faculty coverage is a big no-no on my campus. In my twenty years as a full-time non-TT teacher (adjunct?), I have never heard of a class being uncovered by a faculty member

This is just more "presenteeism" in my book.  Being asked to cover others' classes is a big PIA, although I've done it. 

[chaosbydesign]

Students always ask me if we are having classes the day before Thanksgiving and I always say "I follow the academic calendar, so we do have class." Some of them are surprised.

I never really understand students' logic when they don't understand why there is class before x holiday. If holidays started a day earlier because class was canceled, wouldn't they be wondering if there was class before that 'last day' too, and end up in a sort of infinite regression until there were no more classes to cancel?

[totoro]

There weren't classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at either US school I taught at from what I remember. But the second one had hardly any Wednesday classes anyway.

[spinnaker]

Students always ask me if we are having classes the day before Thanksgiving and I always say "I follow the academic calendar, so we do have class." Some of them are surprised.

I never really understand students' logic when they don't understand why there is class before x holiday. If holidays started a day earlier because class was canceled, wouldn't they be wondering if there was class before that 'last day' too, and end up in a sort of infinite regression until there were no more classes to cancel?

The situation is compounded by instructors blowing off classes the day before a break.

[oldfullprof]

You bettah Hong Kong believe it!