Different universities and individual faculty members frequently differ in terms of attendance policy. The frequent lack of an explicit university-wide policy allows faculty to implement a wide range of attendance requirements and subsequent sanctions for absence. Even professors with lax attendance policies encourage regular class attendance, viewing it as an essential element of student success. The classroom traditionally plays a central role in educational institutions. Relentless innovation in the field of information technology has significantly reduced the importance of the physical classroom in the modern educational environment. Most teachers have embraced the new technology available, but remain steadfast in their loyalty to the classroom. Mainstream traditionalists view the classroom as an irreplaceable facilitator of higher education. In its role as a meeting place of minds, the classroom allows for the delivery of lectures and presentations aimed at supplementing required readings and delving into topics beyond the frame of reference of textbooks. Attending such classes exposes the student to a much richer educational experience, regardless of the course in question. Whether despite an instructor's most valiant efforts to present interesting material or in place of a professor robotically reciting from a textbook, the student is personally responsible for determining their level of participation in their education. Simply attending is one of the most rudimentary aspects of active participation, but it is also a fundamental one. Despite its importance and the relatively easy nature of the task, class attendance has always posed a problem for educators (Moore et al. 325). Absenteeism is not widespread...... middle of article...... Park, Kang H. and Peter M. Kerr. “Determinants of academic performance: a multinomial logit approach.” » Journal of Economic Education 21.2 (1990): 101-111. EconLit with full text. EBSCO. Internet. May 1, 2011. Romer, David. “Are the students going to class? Should they? » Journal of Economic Perspectives 7.3 (1993): 167-174. EconLit with full text. EBSCO. Internet. May 1, 2011. Schmidt, Robert M. "Who Maximizes What? A Study of Student Time Allocation." American Economic Review 73.2 (1983): 23. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Internet. May 1, 2011. Wyatt, Gary. “Skipping class: an analysis of absenteeism among first-year students” Sociology of Teaching 20.3 (1992): 201-207. Academic research completed. EBSCO. Internet. May 1, 2011. Young, Jeffrey R. "Homework? What homework?" Chronicle of Higher Education 49.15 (2002): A35. Academic research completed. EBSCO. Internet. May 1 2011.