Sick passes at Colleges, what the heck?

[rolerbe]

Seems like there are two separate issues going:

1) what's the right behavior to deal with the illness -- seeking competent medical advice seems like the prudent and 'adult' thing to do.

2) Is it appropriate for college to take on the role of enforcing responsibility on college students -- imho, part of the education of college is to learn to run your own life, and that consequences are your own responsibility (if you have been shielded from that 'learning' up to now). Miss classes, risk failing. otoh, if you can master the material in less or at a different time than the classes, that should be your business. The one caveat I think is reasonable is requiring attendance at lab courses. You can't run the lab (i.e. touch the equipment, take the data, deal with the unexpected) without being there, and that's the point of these classes. So, miss the lab, miss the credit for it.

 

[Proton Soup]

it's not an all or nothing thing. there are varying degrees of severity depending on whether you are missing a lecture, an important lab, or a final exam. I've only seen one course where attendance was taken daily, and that was a math course (stats). you got like 2~3 points out of a 1000 or so, with about 3 free days. enforced i guess because repetition and not getting behind are important for not failing in some maths. otherwise, i think professors that enforce too much hand-holding are suffering from some sort of emotional disorder.

 

[Monique]

Seems like there are two separate issues going:

1) what's the right behavior to deal with the illness -- seeking competent medical advice seems like the prudent and 'adult' thing to do.

Really? Do you seek medical advice every time you catch a cold or the flu?

 

[BobG]

Seems like there are two separate issues going:

1) what's the right behavior to deal with the illness -- seeking competent medical advice seems like the prudent and 'adult' thing to do.

Really? Do you seek medical advice every time you catch a cold or the flu?

How one deals with minor illnesses is almost off topic. The only reason it's relevant to this thread is that the school administration is forcing people to react (overreact?) to minor illnesses in a way that doesn't really make sense.

It only sounds like a harmless requirement if one takes the position that obtaining professional medical treatment is always a good idea - an idea that's only valid as long as professional medical treatment is always a free and unlimited resource.

Granted, 'free' use of the university's medical clinic might be something a person pays for as part of their tuition/general fees - i.e. not exactly free, but something they have to pay for whether or not they use it, so why not get your money's worth? The worst that could happen is higher tuition/general fees later on down the road by forcing students to take advantage of their 'free' medical benefits.

 

[Acetone]

How one deals with minor illnesses is almost off topic. The only reason it's relevant to this thread is that the school administration is forcing people to react (overreact?) to minor illnesses in a way that doesn't really make sense.

It only sounds like a harmless requirement if one takes the position that obtaining professional medical treatment is always a good idea - an idea that's only valid as long as professional medical treatment is always a free and unlimited resource.

Granted, 'free' use of the university's medical clinic might be something a person pays for as part of their tuition/general fees - i.e. not exactly free, but something they have to pay for whether or not they use it, so why not get your money's worth? The worst that could happen is higher tuition/general fees later on down the road by forcing students to take advantage of their 'free' medical benefits.

I'm pretty sure the entire point of requiring a medical note is that if you think it's serious enough to miss marks and expect to be exempted or something for that illness then it sure should be serious enough to go to the doctors.

 

[FlexGunship]

I'm pretty sure the entire point of requiring a medical note is that if you think it's serious enough to miss marks and expect to be exempted or something for that illness then it sure should be serious enough to go to the doctors.

Maybe. I don't go to the doctor for a cold, but I certainly wouldn't go to class either. It's a matter of courtesy.