I do not require attendance in my lectures. Mostly because when you have 48 students and a significant fraction of them come in late taking attendance takes too much time. I take attendance in smaller classes just to learn students' names.
Attendance in class and success usually go together. Study after study show that students who come to class so significantly better than students who skip lectures. Want an A or a B? - come to class. Want to skate by with a C or D? - then maybe you can skip some classes. Your absence affects YOU much more than it affects me.
Just remember, even though I don't take attendance during lecture, when the semester ends and you come to me and ask me if you can take the exam late, because your grandmother is dying, if I don't recognize you from class because you were absent a lot the answer will be a gentle but definitive NO. If, instead, you were there, and I remember seeing your face half way back on the left side every class, I might consider your request.
Just don't miss more than two labs. In THOSE attendance counts!
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