2008 Woodie Awards
'Weather' or not to go to class
Students face Oxford's elements and Miami University's attendance policy
Cassidy Pazyniak
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Features
When Miami University students are tempted by Frisbee games on the quad or the warm covers on their beds, they aren't always tempted to attend classes that occur rain or shine.
Despite Oxford's often unpredictable weather, the university's attendance policy is unwavering, as it is clearly stated in the Miami's Student Handbook each student is handed at the beginning of their first year.
"Every student is expected to attend every class session for which the student is duly registered," reads Section 01.701.
The handbook continues to address how individual faculty members set their own attendance policies and must make it known to their students.
This leaves no wiggle room for students to create their own regulations.
According to the administration, attendance should rarely ever be affected by the weather, mainly because of the conditions that would need to occur for a university-wide class cancellation.
"For class to be canceled it would have to be very extreme weather conditions, very extreme," said Steve Snyder, the executive assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. "I've been here, including time as a student, since 1969 ... I can think of three occasions (the university has canceled classes)."
Senior Director of Human Resources Carol Hauser explained that Miami closes due to bad weather if students' safety is in question. Since Miami is a residential campus, the consultants who meet to decide whether or not to close campus must see extreme circumstances.
The committee that makes these decisions is comprised of President David Hodge, and other administrators including Miami Chief of Police John McCandless and Senior Vice President of Business and Finance Richard Norman. Their job is to check the surrounding counties to see, for example, if the snow has blocked access to buildings, if the roads and sidewalks are in bad condition, and if the university still has heat and electricity.
Despite Oxford's often unpredictable weather, the university's attendance policy is unwavering, as it is clearly stated in the Miami's Student Handbook each student is handed at the beginning of their first year.
"Every student is expected to attend every class session for which the student is duly registered," reads Section 01.701.
The handbook continues to address how individual faculty members set their own attendance policies and must make it known to their students.
This leaves no wiggle room for students to create their own regulations.
According to the administration, attendance should rarely ever be affected by the weather, mainly because of the conditions that would need to occur for a university-wide class cancellation.
"For class to be canceled it would have to be very extreme weather conditions, very extreme," said Steve Snyder, the executive assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. "I've been here, including time as a student, since 1969 ... I can think of three occasions (the university has canceled classes)."
Senior Director of Human Resources Carol Hauser explained that Miami closes due to bad weather if students' safety is in question. Since Miami is a residential campus, the consultants who meet to decide whether or not to close campus must see extreme circumstances.
The committee that makes these decisions is comprised of President David Hodge, and other administrators including Miami Chief of Police John McCandless and Senior Vice President of Business and Finance Richard Norman. Their job is to check the surrounding counties to see, for example, if the snow has blocked access to buildings, if the roads and sidewalks are in bad condition, and if the university still has heat and electricity.
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