Attendance Module

Using the GPA Administrator application, you can both view and add attendance records for students. Begin by clicking on the Attendance icon from the Navigation Bar at the top of your window.

Adding or Editing Attendance Codes

Clicking on the Attendance Codes link in the right-hand panel shows all available attendance codes (e.g. "AB") and their corresponding names (e.g. "Absent"). Click on the Add link at the top of the view to add a new attendance code.

For each code, click on the Details link to view details about the attendance code, including whether the student is excused and if teachers can update the attendance record. To edit such details, click on the Edit link.

Adding a new attendance code and updating an existing one are both very similar.

After clicking on the Add or Edit link, you are required to enter the Code Name (e.g. "Absent") and the abbreviated Short Code (e.g. "AB"). Optional parameters include the attendance code's Type, whether a student is considered Excused or not, and whether Teachers are allowed to change an attendance record with such a code.

Be sure to click on the Add Code or Update Code button at the bottom of your window to add a new attendance code or update an existing one.

Best Practices

To help facilitate the use of the GPA Administrator application, this section describes selected best practices regarding the Attendance module.

Best Practices in Elementary Schools

In most Elementary Schools, period 0 is used to keep track of attendance. By using this approach, you do not need to add an attendance record for each period, which makes sense when students stay in the same classroom for the entire school day. So, when adding an attendance record, it is advised not to select the "All" option from the Period dropdown menu, and instead use period 0.

Best Practices in Middle and High Schools

Unlike Elementary Schools, students in higher grades typically have classes in different classrooms with different teachers. Therefore, when adding an attendance record for a student, it is advised to add such a record to each period or class the student will miss.

In other words, if the student is out for the entire day, add an attendance record for each class he or she will miss. If only one period will be missed (e.g. due to tardiness or a doctor's appointment), add an attendance record only for each of the affected classes.