After many years of teaching thousands of students, we know that one of the most important parts of our classes is the structure we provide. When working online from home, this structure is just as important as in-person, maybe even more so! That's why while you are a remote student at Epicodus, you are expected to pair remotely, spend your day coding, take part in all standups, and participate in communication on the Discord server for your class as needed.
Remote Attendance Policy
In this lesson, we'll go into detail about how the attendance system and policy works at Epicodus. The content in this lesson can be found in an abbreviated form in the student handbook's Attendance section.
Your attendance is based on the following:
- Did you log into your Epicenter account and use the attendance feature to sign in for the class session?
- Did you go back to your Epicenter account to sign-out for the class session?
- Did you pair remotely? Were you present all class and did you participate in coding with your pair?
- Were you available in standup and did you communicate with other students throughout class as needed?
Here's how Epicodus staff will evaluate attendance for full-time students:
- Students need to log in to their Epicenter account and complete the attendance sign in procedure for every class.
- Students need to log in to their Epicenter account and complete the attendance sign out with pair feedback for the class.
- Epicodus instructors will check in with students, read pair feedback, and do spot checks on Discord to ensure that all students are pairing. If you are not pair programming on Discord, you may be marked absent even if you correctly signed in and out at the right times for Epicenter attendance. If for some reason you are not able to pair on Discord, please check in with your instructor.
- Students will occasionally be expected to take part in student-led standups - or respond to questions or announcements on Discord. Not taking part may result in your attendance being adjusted.
As long you sign in and out on time, pair program, and participate in class, attendance will not be an issue. Your teacher may adjust your attendance at their discretion. Based on sign in and sign out time, your pair feedback at the end of the day, and other expectations, you may be marked one or multiple of the following:
- On Time
- Absent
- Tardy
- Left Early.
A quick reminder: an absence counts as a full missed day while a tardy or left early counts as half of a day. For part-time students, Sundays count as two days of attendance. Your goal is to be On Time every day. That said, Epicodus provides a generous amount of allowed absences for you to use for any reason.
Sign-In and Sign-Out Windows
There are specific time windows that we expect students to sign in and sign out by to be marked present for the day.
Signing In
Monday through Thursday, full-time students need to sign in between 7:30 am - 8:15 am. If you are not signed in by 8:15 am, you will be marked tardy for the class.
Monday through Wednesday, part-time students need to sign in between 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm. If you are not signed in by 6:15 pm, you will be marked tardy for the class.
On Sundays, part-time students need to sign in between 8:30 am - 9:15 am. If you are not signed in by 9:15 am, you will be marked tardy for the class. Since class time is longer and there's more content covered on Sundays, Sundays count as two attendance days.
Signing Out
Monday through Thursday, full-time students need to sign out between 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm. If you are not signed out by 5:30 pm, you will be marked as having left early for the class.
Monday through Wednesday, part-time students need to sign out between 8:45 pm - 9:30 pm. If you are not signed out by 9:30 pm, you will be marked as having left early for the class.
On Sundays, part-time students need to sign out between 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm. If you are not signed out by 5:30 pm, you will be marked as having left early for the class. Since class time is longer and there's more content covered on Sundays, Sundays count as two attendance days.
Pair Feedback
At the end of every class session, you will fill out a pair feedback form for the other student(s) you paired with that day. Information on how to leave pair feedback and the attendance procedure is in the next section.
Only Epicodus staff will see your feedback. Epicodus staff will never directly share this feedback with other students.
If (and only if) a student's pairs consistently share challenges working with that person, we will share the aggregate, common themes of the feedback with the student. There will never be any specific individual feedback or anything that could be tied to the person giving the feedback.
Epicenter Attendance Process
The primary way your attendance is evaluated is through the Epicenter attendance system. At the start of every class session before standup you will need to login to your epicenter account and follow these sign-in steps:
- Locate the Attendance today section and click Sign in.
This will lead you to the screen to select your partner for the day. You are encouraged to reach out to members of your dev team to find your pair(s) before standup. If you haven't found a partner yet or if you have emailed your teacher about working alone for the day, you can select solo.
If you sign in as Solo: Once you have found your pair for the day, go to Epicenter and update your attendance immediately to add your pair. Instructions on updating your pair are listed below.
Seeing the above screen means your attendance sign in is complete. You may log out of Epicenter but do not sign out of your attendance until the end of class.
If you need to add your pair later in the class session or update them for any reason, simply click the change pair link as shown in the image above.
From here, you can update your pair information. The pair feedback form that you are prompted to fill out when you sign out is based on your selected pair so make sure this is accurate.
At the end of the class session, use the Sign out button in your attendance section to begin the end of class pair feedback.
- At sign out, you will be presented with a pair feedback form for anyone you paired with for the day. If you paired with two students, you will see two forms to fill out. Please give accurate and honest feedback. Since we are all working remotely, this is an important way for staff to make sure everyone is communicating.
- Once you submit your pair feedback, you should see a banner message that says goodbye along with your sign in and sign out times which means you have successfully completed the attendance procedure for the class.
Attendance for Independent Projects
For independent projects, you will not use the Epicenter attendance feature. Instead, your attendance will be based on your project's commit history, which you will learn more about in the first course section. General information on independent projects can be found in this lesson: Independent Projects and Code Reviews.
Attending Standup
It is also required to attend all standups. Crucial information is often shared during standup and we don't want you to miss any of it! However, we are aware that some students may have issues with their technology that make it more difficult to take part in video standup. In order to take part in video standup each class session, we recommend the following:
- Best option: Your computer has a working camera and access to consistent internet. If your internet is inconsistent, try using a wired ethernet connection or move your computer closer to the router.
- Backup option #1: If you are having issues with connectivity or don't have a camera, you can use your phone instead. Download the Google Meet application on your phone and connect to video standups via the application.
- Backup option #2: You can also call into Google Meet video conferences. Check in with your instructor for the phone number to call in to standup.
- If neither of the above work: Please contact your instructor as soon as possible.
Attendance Corrections
Students are responsible for making sure they are marked on time for the day. However, we are aware that extenuating circumstances can come up. Each student can request teachers to fix a late sign in or a late/early sign-out.
- Full-time students can request an attendance fix twice in the entire 20-week program.
- Part-time students can request an attendance fix four times in the entire 40-week program.
If you fail to see the sign in and sign out confirmations for attendance, let your teacher know immediately. You are responsible for your attendance. Letting a teacher know there was an error an hour after the fact will still require you to use one of your two free attendance corrections.
We care about your well being and do not want you to worry about attendance if you are at risk. If there is a fire, natural disaster, or any reason you need to leave your location to protect yourself, please do so immediately. Your attendance will not be affected! Once you are in a safe place, contact your teachers to let them know about your situation. All staff can be emailed using their first name followed by @epicodus.com.
Absences & Communication
Epicodus has a very generous attendance policy. Students are generally allowed ten absences throughout the program. If you are on a deferred payment program, you will have a different agreement with the school. If you are unsure of which payment program or agreement you have with Epicodus, please reach out to your teacher and advisor.
If you need to miss class for a planned or unplanned reason, please reach out to your teachers as soon as possible. You can find information here on the ways to contact your teachers remotely. Once again, all staff can be emailed using their first name followed by @epicodus.com.
Lesson 12 of 15
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