Mandatory Attendance Policy and Motivation Among Hospitality Management Students

Abstract

The issue of mandating student attendance through policies and sanctions has always been a contentious issue in higher education. Whereas proponents say that, since attendance leads to better grades, mandatory attendance policies are justified, opponents of forced attendance feel that the decision to attend class should be left up to the student. This article reports on a study done to look at the effect of mandatory attendance policies on attendance among hospitality management students and to investigate students' perceptions about those policies. Respondents felt that attendance policies helped them in attending class, and they realized that coming to class would help them get better grades. Despite that, however, they expressed a dislike of attendance policies.