Why you should keep your own attendance record
Your college already records your attendance. So why keep your own? Because the college's record is usually something you only see occasionally, often late, and by the time you see a problem it's hard to fix.
1. No surprises
The worst way to find out you're short is from a shortage list near the end of the semester. If you know your numbers every week, you see a problem coming months early, while it's still a small fix.
2. You catch mistakes while they can still be fixed
Registers have mistakes. A teacher can easily correct a wrong absence from last week. Two months later, nobody remembers. Without your own record you can't even tell that a mistake happened. How to get a mistake fixed.
3. You know which subject is the problem
"I think I'm around 80%" is a guess about your overall attendance. But many colleges check each subject separately, and it's normal for one subject to be well below the others. A per-subject record shows you exactly which one. See subject-wise vs overall.
4. You can plan leave with real numbers
Want to take two days off for a family event? With your own record you can see exactly how many classes that is per subject and whether you can afford it. Without it you're guessing. How to plan your leave.
5. It's useful evidence
If you ever need to apply for condonation or explain an absence, a day-by-day record with notes ("ill, certificate submitted on the 12th") makes it much easier to give exact dates and counts.
What a good record looks like
- Per period, not per day. Attendance is usually counted per period.
- Written the same day. Records rebuilt from memory weeks later are full of guesses.
- Holidays and cancelled classes included, so they're excluded from your count the way the college excludes them. See what counts.
- Quick to update. If it takes more than a few seconds, you'll stop doing it by week three.
Ways to do it
A notebook with a tally per subject works. So does a spreadsheet. Or use an app built for it: Attendance Tracker is free, made by a student, and takes about five seconds a day. It shows your % per subject and how many classes you can still miss in each. Here's how to set it up.