Eighty Percent of Success is Just Showing Up: How Instructor Communication Impacts Business Students’ Class Attendance

Abstract

Class absenteeism and class grades were examined across four different experimental conditions of college students in a managerial communication class. Students received one of four class attendance policies. Students who received either a class attendance policy featuring social proof or a compulsory attendance policy missed fewer classes than students in the other two conditions. Students in the compulsory attendance condition earned significantly better grades than students in all other conditions. Students who perceived their instructor as verbally aggressive missed fewer classes and performed better than students who did not see their instructor as verbally aggressive. The results are discussed.