Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL, is planning a beta
test on a new iPad application that notifies students when they miss a class.
The app, Class120, will send students a reminder when they are not in the
classroom.
The app could also be used to notify the student’s
academic coach and parents, although Lynn is not planning to reach out to Mom
and Dad.
“We’re not interested where you are on Friday night,”
Christian Boniforti, chief information officer at Lynn, said in an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education. “We’re just interested in whether you’re
in the classroom when you’re supposed to be.”
Downloading the app is optional, although the
university wants all of its students to use it. Lynn already has a strict attendance policy that includes weekly reporting from instructors.
The app is considered an intervention tool because weekly
attendance figures show students who miss 25% or more of their classes have a
68% chance of getting a grade-point average below a C. A Harvard study also
showed that class size falls throughout the term unless attendance is measured
and graded.