Attendance Policy

AVTEC’s mission is to train students for employment.

Attendance is a job training competency that is assessed daily. The best path to success for every student is to be on time and prepared to train during all available training time. This is the expectation for every student. It is understood that throughout the training term there may be occasional absences from training.

Types of absences are defined as follows:

• Excused Absence: Absences reported to the instructor before the class start time are excused. Excused absences of longer than three days will require verification or other documented explanation of the absence.
• Unexcused Absence: Failure to notify the instructor before the class start time are unexcused. Outside of injury or illness, removal from class for any reason will be considered unexcused absences. Time spent in police custody will always be considered unexcused.
• Tardy: Arriving at training, without prior notice to the instructor, after the scheduled start time and/or from a break is a tardy and considered an unexcused absence. The instructor will have the discretion to excuse a tardy on a case-by-case basis.
• Absences, whether excused or unexcused will be recorded in 15 minute increments.

Total absences, unexcused and excused combined, cannot exceed 10% of the available training to date. The following outlines AVTEC’s Attendance policy and procedures:

A student will be issued a warning when:

• The student is tardy three times within an eight-week period.
• The student has three hours of unexcused absences or missed 6% of the available training to date.
• Additional information on warnings can be found under the Corrective Actions section of this policy.

A student will be placed on probation when:

• Student fails to complete or follow through with terms and conditions outlined within an issued written warning; or
• Unexcused absence hours equal to one full day of training, or
• Student is tardy four times within an eight-week period; or
• Student falls below the rate of progress/attendance of 90% attendance during available training to date.
• Additional information on probations can be found under the Correction Actions section of this policy.

Students must contact or coordinate absences with their instructor before the start of class time. Contact information will be provided during the instructor orientation with the class. Student participation in class is mandatory and required for successful completion of your training.

Students absent (unexcused) all day for three consecutive training days will be dismissed from training the morning of the fourth day. Students currently appealing a dismissal from training for attendance violations are expected to be in training during the appeal process.

Leave of Absence

The purpose of this policy is to confirm that AVTEC is in compliance with federal regulations, 34 CFR 668.22 (d), regarding the process for students requesting a leave of absence.

A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a period of time, formally agreed upon by the school and the student, in which the student is not in attendance due to extenuating circumstances. A LOA is an interruption in training; it is not a period of excused absences.

Students will not have the opportunity to make up clock hours missed when on an approved LOA, but may have the opportunity to make up missed assignments.

Valid reasons for a LOA may include, but are not limited to the following examples:

• Extended illness or injury of the student or their immediate family (parent, siblings, spouse, dependents).
• Medical reasons including maternity/paternity leave or in support of a maternity/paternity issue.
• Bereavement leave due to a death in the family.
• Military service.
• Discretionary leave (as deemed appropriate and recommended by the instructor for approval by the Department Head).

Documentation will be required to be submitted when requesting a LOA, such as doctor’s note or Military orders, etc.

A LOA must be 7 or more school days and cannot exceed 180 calendar days in any 12-month period to qualify. Training time missed during a LOA does not count against the student’s attendance record. The training clock stops during an LOA. A student is only allowed one LOA per training program.

The student must request the LOA in writing and then have a consultation with both the student’s counselor and the student’s instructor. The LOA documentation will be prepared by the counselor. The instructor will provide the initial approval or denial of the LOA. The Department Head is the final approving authority for an LOA request up to 60 calendar days. An AVTEC Administrator is the final approving authority for a LOA request longer than 60 calendar days and up to 180 calendar days in a 12-month period.

A Leave of Absence Request and Approval form must be completed and signed by the student, the instructor, and the Department Head (and an administrator if required). The original form will be maintained in the student’s permanent file. If the student is unavailable to sign the form at the beginning of the leave, the student must sign it the day the student returns from the LOA.

Corrective Actions (Attendance):

Students are provided due process in corrective actions. However, depending on the severity of the violation, a student may be dismissed by the AVTEC Director or their designee.

Warning
Written warnings are generally the first step in the corrective action process. They can be issued by any instructor or staff member in authority at AVTEC. Written warnings will include the reason for the warning, and the terms and conditions to be met to avoid further corrective actions. Students are required to meet with their program counselor and financial aid within two business days of being given a warning. Students who do not follow the terms or meet the conditions of the warning may be subject to further. corrective action steps including probation, restrictions from campus facilities, and/or dismissal from training.

Warnings will be issued when:

• Tardy three times within an eight-week period.
• The student has three hours of unexcused absences or missed 6% of the available training to date.

Probation
Students may be placed on probation as the next step in the corrective action process if the written warning terms and conditions were not met or lack of Satisfactory Academic Progress (which includes the rate of attendance. See the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy for more detail), violations of AVTEC policies, rules and regulations.

Any instructor or staff member in authority at AVTEC can place a student on probation. Instructors placing a student on probation will consult with their department head before doing so.

Probation documents include the reason for the probation and the terms and conditions which must be met to regain good standing. Students are required to meet with their program counselor and financial aid within two business days of being placed on probation.

The duration of the probation period is initially 30 days but can be extended once for an additional 30 days. Students may come off probation early, if they meet the conditions of the probation before the scheduled completion date.

A student cannot be on more than two types (i.e. Attendance and SAP; or SAP and violation of Student Code of Conduct) of probation at the same time. Should a third probation be warranted, regardless of current probation status, it is grounds for immediate dismissal.

Dismissals
Students may be dismissed for failure to satisfy the conditions of an attendance probation, violation of the terms and conditions of the probation while on probation, for a third probation, or for violation of other codes of conduct.

Student will be notified of dismissal in writing, by a Department Head or the AVTEC Operations Manager.