When I think of myself or my peers’ attendance, one time of day in particular stands out for the most no-shows. The 9am lecture.
Whether it’s just too early to drag yourself out of bed, or you’ve had a couple too many the night before or as is so often my case, you simply sleep through your alarm and miss the whole thing entirely, the general census on campus makes it seem that almost no one is going to their 9am lectures.
In fact, in a group of twenty-one Newcastle University students, nineteen of them said that missing 9am lectures only “sometimes” affects progress, and twenty said that they think it’s “normal” to miss more than one 9am a week. But, why?
Many students reported that financial pressures were impacting their attendance ...
Many students reported that financial pressures were impacting their attendance, with Times Higher Education reporting the biggest attendance gap in students in term-time employment.
While absences may have doubled since 2006, tuition fees have more than tripled with most universities charging just three thousand pounds per year in 2006.
Personally, I don’t see having a job as too much of a roadblock for my attendance. I have a job to support myself financially at university, however I schedule my shifts around my timetable. With contact hours at less than ten hours a week in my third year, I find it quite easy to both work and attend classes.
The Guardian and Times Higher Education also reported that students had a perception that attending classes in person was unlikely to improve grades or was unnecessary due to online classes.
Personally, when I miss classes, I use recap to catch up so I don’t feel like I’ve actually missed any content. However, my lecturers always push for us to attend classes in person and to only use recap as a tool for revision or when we absolutely must miss a class.
And it’s not just Newcastle lecturers that feel this way. The Guardian reported some lecturers having to fail more students than ever before due to a decline in the quality of work as a result of a ‘nosedive’ in attendance.
So overall, it would appear that attending your classes does make you a better student, regardless of the time of day... or does it?
... worse cognitive function at earlier hours of the day or when sleep deprived ...
Some studies have reported worse cognitive function at earlier hours of the day or when sleep deprived which could mean that even if you do attend your 9am lectures, academic performance may not improve.
It’s no secret that Newcastle students love a night out and with events happening almost every day of the week (I mean seriously who’s going to miss two-pound Tuesdays or sports night?) we can probably safely assume that most of us aren’t getting a full eight hours every night.
A study featured in npj measured the quality of sleep across 100 college students, finding that students that got more sleep on average over a semester got better scores academically. So, while lecturers may suggest it better to always attend in person, skipping your 9am may actually make you a better student, at least if you’re using it to catch up on your sleep.
Personally, I don’t think missing a lecture here or there is going to affect my grades too much, especially when I can catch up using recap.
And if sleep means that I can function better to do that catching up, well then, I think I’ll be choosing a lie-in over a 9am lecture.