Agreed, our situations differ - and yours seems to be located in a particular context (privileged clientele at a pricey private college), whereas I teach in a blue collar university town and a university in a large city with mostly immigrants. The attendance issues I have the most are in relation to balancing work and school but almost of my students attend every class (lecture & seminar). Must be the technology I'm using ;) t --- My point, however, is that my situation is not the same as yours. So you may be as offended as you like by my syllabus language. If I taught on your campus, wherever it may be, I'd likely do things differently. But when teaching a privileged clientele at a pricey private college, I find this works for me. -- Mark D. Johns, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Communication Studies Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA http://academic.luther.edu/~johnsmar/