The answer to the question of the title, for me, is YES, I am motivated to attend class when their is an attendance policy in place! When I know a teacher is taking attedance I will not skip class, unless I absolutely have to because of personal reasons such as really sick, doctors appointment, or the weather and can't make it to class.
In chapter 6 there was a figure that had Intrnsic Motivation and under engagement Class Attendance. It caught my eye so I wanted to do a little more reasearch to see how other's felt about that. I found an article that said a major predictor for college success is in fact classroom attendance. Within this article Mississippi State University reaches out to their students who have skipped class more than two times, to see if they need help with anything and try to undertand why the student is not coming to class. That could be a good thing for students, they see the professor actually cares about them and their learning, and will motivate the student to come to class.
It's a feeling of autonomy support from the teacher, and will then have the student be motivated knowing that there is an attedance in affect. Normally students who attend college don't want to do bad in any of their classes, so knowing that they HAVE to go to class and its not some free ride, will definitely up their GPA and graduate.
As a student, are you motivated to attend class if there is an attendance policy in place, or do you believe you are not in high school anymore and should be able to come and go as you please and be treated like an adult?
The link to the article above is: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0129/p15s01-lehl.html
I feel as if having an attendance policy in place is a huge factor whether students will casually miss class or not. I know for myself, if there will be negative reinforcer. Without an attendance policy (like today for example) I would readily miss class to do other important things. If and when I miss a class that has an attendance policy I feel a huge amount of guilt and the desire to 'catch up' with the rest of the class. Another thing to realize is that 'feeling like an adult' and being able to come and go as you please feeling is something that is really only experienced if you are jobless or in college. In most jobs, you have a set time to be there and leave. I feel for the most part, this 'feeling like an adult' isn't a reality. In some jobs this may ring true, but for the most part, you will be expected to be somewhere at a certain time for the rest of your life. ugh!
Personally, I am more likely to attend the classes that do not have an attendance policy or have a more lenient attendance policy. It seems to me that the teachers with the strictest policies are the most difficult to listen to and/or do not actually teach effectively, making it difficult to go to class. Furthermore, it might be nice for a professor to inquire about a student’s absences but it might not be something the student is interested in. I know that if some of my professors approached me this semester about absences it would be difficult to talk to them. I would either have to lie or tell the truth which they might find offensive because I can’t stand some of my professors. While I understand that attendance is directly correlated with grades, I do not think I should be docked points if I decide to miss three classes and the professor only allows two. Additionally, I should not have to justify all of my absences to professors so that they may decide what is excusable and what is not. School may be my job right now but sometimes it seems as if professors are more concerned about whether my ass is in the seat than whether or not they are engaging my mind.
I don't think that attendence policies are neccessarily the best route to go when trying to get students to attend class. Policies like this get me motivated to come to the classes, but it's only because I feel like I have to in order to not get knocked points. This being said, those classes that I go to because of the attendance policy are usually classes that I dread. The lecture is boring and I dislike the professor. I don't fully pay attention and my interest isn't there because I feel like I'm just being forced to go. Do colleges really want to have students just sitting in a classroom just because they feel like they have to and then they don't even really learn anything? A better solution may be to find ways to catch the students' attention in and outside of the classroom and make students want to come to class. If they want to come to the class and are motivated to learn and interact with the other students and the professor, their grades should be better and they will have greater attendance, without having to practically force students to show up and get points just for sitting there.
At the same time, college students are adults, whether they act like it or not, and they should be able to make the decision on their own on whether or not to attend classes. It's their money that they are spending to be taking these classes, and it's their grade that they get for the class in the end.
Overall, although attendance policies do make me less likely to skip classes, I do think there are better ways about getting students to attend their college classes without making a policy for attendance.
Having an attendance policy in a class does influence my attendance in a class, but if there isn't an attendance policy for a class it depends on the level of difficulty. Some of my most difficult class have not had attendance policies however I hate missing them because it is so difficult to catch back up in a class such as Physics. On the other hand some of the more, what you would call less difficult classes, do have attendance policies and if I am going to get credit for just showing up, why not? However in these classes I am more apt to not pay attention, so just because you got me to come and sit in the seat doesn't mean that you are getting my attention.
The classes that I attend that are less difficult without an attendance policy are the ones that interest me the most, and I wish all my classes were that way. With this point I am agreeing with panther30 in that attendance policies do make students more likely to attend class on a regular basis but there are better ways to get students in the seats. Making the class more interesting, and if you can't increase the excitement on the material itself, you can make the classroom atmosphere more exciting.
But to answer the main question at hand yes, an attendance policy make me more apt to attend class, but I think it's not the best way for students to learn through my past experiences.
I agree with Jaclyn, attendance policies in class act as a negative reinforcer for myself. While I rarely miss class because I dislike the feeling of uncertainty of missing classes, I am more likely to attend classes with an attendance policy or classes that interest me. Attendance policies are also extrinsic motivations because it is an easy way to help your grade in a particular class.
I dislike attendance policies in a class because it takes away some of my autonomy to attend class, by requiring class attendance and giving points. Our autonomy is replaced by an external perceived locus of causality. We do not have control over attendence in class and some of our decision-making is taken away.
Like the other comments previously stated, I feel attendance policies are put into place by boring professors who have no idea how to keep people coming to class. Instead of changing their teaching style, these professors take away autonomous behavior of attending class. Bribing students to attend your class with attendance points will not guarantee students will enjoy your class more. It will only guarantee students coming to class instead of actively learning and taking control over his or her own education.