College visits as excused absences are just

Bari Cohn
Staff Writer

Mira Costa High School implemented a new policy stating that college visits are now excused absences. More excused absences will greatly benefit the students because they will have more opportunities to visit colleges and attend necessary sport recruitment events.

According to the Costa Attendance Policy for the 2015-16 school year, Juniors and Seniors must request an excused absence one to two weeks beforehand, if they plan to visit colleges during school. They must email the attendance office the dates and reason for their absence prior and wait for its approval before it is considered excused.

Additionally, students who have been recruited for college sports may be excused from school as well, but must follow the absence policy and inform the attendance office 1-2 weeks prior. Students often times must miss many days of school as a part of the recruitment process, so when they know of an absence in advance they must let the school know as well.

According to Costa sophomore Keeley Parker, college visits being an excused absence can have a negative effect on students, however it may depend on ones’ work ethic as well as their teacher’s late work policy. Teachers are required to give each student a certain extension period to catch up on missed work, and it is up to the student to manage their time when they are absent.

The policies for individual assignments from each class during an absence depends on the teacher, however teachers give an extension or offer times during office hours to make up work. According to Principal Ben Dale, students have more control than teachers do in these situations, and generally conflict mainly arises when the students do not give enough notice about their absences.

By excusing absences for college visits, students are no longer limited to visiting these schools during holiday breaks from school throughout the year. The positive side of college visits outweighs the negatives of missing classes, and it is often times necessary for a student to tour colleges as a part of the admissions process.

Certain teachers require students to meet with them before as well as make up any exams or projects before the time of their planned absence. According to the Attendance Policy, each student has the opportunity to make up any tests or quizzes unless the absence has not been excused.

According to math teacher Denise Weber, student absences due to college visits does not seem to be a prevalent issue in her classes and most students take advantage of breaks from school to do these trips. However, if they are absent from school they tend to be responsible in terms of staying on top of missed work.

According to Senior Hanna Watkins, who recently signed to play soccer at the collegiate level, the recruitment process required a lot of travel and time, including tournaments out of state on school days. But as a student athlete, she has learned that it is the player’s responsibility to find a healthy balance between their academics and athletics.

With hopes that students continue to work diligently during their time missing school, these extended excused absences allow students to receive the benefits of seeing their college of choice. College visits, an important part of the application process because it allows students to experience the school first hand, is now made easier by being excused by the school. However, now it is up to the students to choose how diligent and proactive they are during a situation in which they have prior knowledge that they will not be in class.
While school vacations such as Ski Week, Spring Break, and Summer Vacation offer optimal times for Costa students to go on college visits, by categorizing college visits as an excused absence the student body as a whole is able to benefit from the expanded amount of time allotted to them to explore universities that may interest them. Students generally use these times to visit their families for the holidays or go on school trips, and during summer no students are on campus so it does not give them a good feel of the campus.