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What do you think about universities that treat students like babies and make class attendance mandatory? I'm not talking about labs or group projects. I'm talking about mandatory attendance of lectures where the professor drones out examples or stories that are already in the textbook. Also, before anyone makes any boneheaded workplace analogies, I don't pay to work, they pay me. Don't even go there.

I had a few classes like that in undergrad.  They were, without fail, the least useful classes in real life.

I think by making it mandatory they could be eliminating some of the brightest from their university. IF I was a genius, I wouldn't waste my time sitting in a class being bored when I could go to another school, not show up, and pass all the tests!

That sounds really crazy.
I'm studying math and if I had mandatory class attendance I would probably not be very inspired to study at all.
I really like the freedom studying at a university gives to, I can do pretty much what I want with my time as long as pass my tests and exams.
But in the courses I'm currently taking there isn’t really any need for mandatory class attendance at least > 80% of the students registered on a course are attending the lectures just becuase it's probably the easiest way for most people to grasp and be introduced to advanced things.

But I have some friends who are studying humanities or/and economics and they say that the rate of attendance on the lectures at their departments are much lower.  But this is perhaps only something that is common in my university.

Sometimes, mandatory attendance policies are done so the college can maintain accreditation and/or eligibility to receive federal monies. Also, sometimes it is the professor's requirements, not the school's, but that depends on how much authority that particular college gives their faculty. Some professors honestly believe that their students wouldn't learn without hearing them read the textbook out loud during class.

I bet if you stop paying they'll stop making you go.

But really it's pretty silly on both sides. What do you think about a barber that insists you get a haircut if you pay him?

Mandatory classes are a way to get lazy, unmotivated students out.

This is really how most mediocre educational institutions do it and it shows.

However there are some examples of mandatory classes.

For example in stanford, students must have completed java 101(or something like that) before they can do the SICP class.

I guess thats a prerequisit and not mandatory then.

I love your new alpaca pic :)

I had a physics class once that gave out quizzes at the beginning of class on nearly each class session.  I would take the quiz that lasted 10 min and leave each class.  Then I found out the teacher then gave quizzes at the end of class just to screw with the people that!  Physics is pretty textbook and should not be mandatory.  Everything is in the book.