Scholarships.com Blog

search

Automated Attendance Monitoring Proposed at UK University

Automated Attendance Monitoring Proposed at UK University
5/26/2011
|
Alexis Mattera

On days like today, it’s hard to get out of bed, let alone head out to an early morning class. True, your professor may not notice you’re missing from their 8 a.m. 300-person lecture now but it could get more difficult to skip class in the near future.

Case in point: De Montfort University in Leicester, England is considering monitoring student attendance via electronic chips in their ID cards. Unlike attendance-monitoring programs introduced at other institutions, De Montfort’s would be completely automated and, according to the minutes from a recent meeting of the school’s executive board, combining Wi-Fi and RFID technologies would make for "the most foolproof way of monitoring attendance."

The National Union of Students warned that members would "balk at the prospect of being treated like inmates under surveillance" and I have to agree. Students don’t need to be monitored and penalized for lack of attendance; it’s their decision whether or not to go to class and their participation and overall grades will reflect that choice. Do you think this attendance monitoring system (or attendance monitoring in college in general) is a good idea or a bad idea and why?

Related
We make it simple and match you to college scholarships you qualify for.