Education operations
How do you take attendance and track absences in Course?
Course records attendance for a specific class session, calendar date, and student. Present, absent, and late are separate marks. A student with no mark is not automatically counted as absent.
Reliable attendance tracking means selecting the right session and interpreting its saved marks in context. When a student changes classes, the attendance date must also be considered against the period in which the student belonged to that class.
On this page
Understand the four attendance states
Clearing an attendance mark does not mark the student absent. It returns that student and session date to an unmarked state, which also changes the denominator used for the attendance rate.
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Present | A present mark has been saved for the student. |
| Absent | An absent mark has been saved for the student. |
| Late | The student's participation has been saved as late, a separate state. |
| Unmarked | No attendance mark exists for that student on that session date. |
Record or correct attendance
Confirm the session and date.
Open the relevant session from the Education screen or the assigned teacher's My Classes view. Check the class, teacher, and calendar date before marking anyone.
Mark what actually happened.
Select present, absent, or late for each student whose attendance is known. Leave participation unmarked if it has not yet been confirmed.
Check the saved result.
Confirm that the save succeeded. When you reopen the same session and date, check that the marks still show the expected states.
Correct the original record.
Change an incorrect mark for the student on the affected session date. If there should be no mark, clear it. Adding a mark on another date does not correct the original mistake.
How is the attendance rate calculated?
In the statistics summary, the total is the number of saved present, absent, and late marks. The attendance rate divides the present count by that recorded total. Late marks are included in the total but not in the present count. Unmarked student-session entries are excluded from the calculation.
The rate therefore does not show whether attendance has been entered for every scheduled class. Read it alongside the selected date range, institution or class scope, and any missing marks. A displayed rate of zero when there are no records does not mean every student was absent.
How do class membership and teacher access affect attendance?
An attendance mark must fall within a student's membership period for the class. A new mark outside that period, before the joining date or after leaving, can be blocked. Clearing a mistaken historical mark is permitted even when its date falls outside the current membership period.
Staff with broader attendance permissions and a teacher marking their own sessions use different access paths. A teacher needs a user account linked to their teacher record, and the session must belong to that teacher. Merely displaying a teacher's name on a class does not grant access to every attendance record.
Frequently asked questions
Do late students count as present in the attendance rate?
No. The current statistics calculation treats late as a separate state. Late marks contribute to the recorded total, but not to the present count.
Does a student lose their attendance history after leaving a class?
Class membership dates are retained. Historical attendance is interpreted against the session date and the student's membership period for that class.
What happens when I clear an attendance mark?
Course removes the mark and returns that student and session date to an unmarked state. It does not create an absent mark.
Assess how Course fits your institution's workflow
Explore the features described on this page in your account, or discuss your institution's needs with our team.