--- title: Attendance description: "The [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity allows teachers to maintain a record of [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/), replacing or supplementing a paper-based [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) register. It is primarily used in blended-learning environments where students are required to attend classes, lectures and tutorials and allows the teacher to…" url: "https://www.scholarlms.com/docs/attendance/" updated: "2024-04-18" category: Course Content --- # Attendance The [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity allows teachers to maintain a record of [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/), replacing or supplementing a paper-based [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) register. It is primarily used in blended-learning environments where students are required to attend classes, lectures and tutorials and allows the teacher to track students' [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/). To take [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/), the instructor clicks on the "Update [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/)" button and is presented with a list of all the students in that course, along with configurable options and comments. The default options provided are: Present, Absent, Late & Excused. #### **What can be done with [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/):** - Students’ [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) can be graded. - The instructor can create single or multiple [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) sessions. - Sessions can also be configured to allow students to record their own [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/). - [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity comes with a default status set "Present", "Absent", "Late", or "Excused" alternatively instructor may modify the statuses to suit their organization's needs. - Reports are available for the entire class or individual students. - Instructors can download the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) for their course in Excel format or text format. --- ## Adding [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity. To add an [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/), navigate to the desired course. If not already enabled, activate edit mode. Then, within the preferred section, click the ‘Add an Element’ button. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) from the right sidebar. ![Add an Element](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123703/docs-add-an-element.gif) ## [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) settings This section explores the settings for [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) once you have added it to the course. ![Attendance settings](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123702/doc-attendance-settings.jpg) ### General - **Name** - This is a mandatory field. Put in the name as you desire for the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) instance. - **Description** - Any details about the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) could be put in here. If the box below this section is checked, it will enable the description to be displayed on the course page below the link to activity. ![Activity Settings General Tab](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124046/activity-settings-general-600x362.jpg) ### Grades Allows you to set up grades for the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/). - **Grade** - Select the type of grading to be used for this activity. If ‘scale’ is chosen, you can then choose the scale from the dropdown menu. If using ‘point’ grading, you can then enter the maximum grade available for this activity. - **Grading category** - This setting controls the category in which this activity’s grades are placed in the gradebook. - **Grade to pass** - This setting determines the minimum grades required to pass. The value is used in activity and course completion, and in the gradebook, where pass grades are highlighted in green and fail grades in red. ![Attendence Activity Grades](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124045/attendence-settings-grades-600x302.jpg) ### Common module settings (optional) - **Availability** - If the availability is set to 'Show on course page', the activity or resource is available to students (subject to any access restrictions which may be set). If the availability is set to 'Hide from students', the activity or resource is only available to users with permission to view hidden activities (by default, users with the role of teacher or non-editing teacher). - **ID number** - Setting an ID number provides a way of identifying the activity or resource for purposes such as grade calculation or custom reporting. Otherwise the field may be left blank. For gradable activities, the ID number can also be set in the gradebook, though it can only be edited on the activity settings page. - **Group mode** - The group mode defined at course level is the default mode for all activities within the course. Each activity that supports groups can also define its own group mode, though if the group mode is forced at course level, the group mode setting for each activity is ignored. This setting has 3 options: - No groups - Separate groups - Each group member can only see their own group, other members are invisible - Visible groups - Each group member works in their own group, but can also see other groups ![Activity Common module settings](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124052/activity-common-module-settings.jpg) ### Restrict access The restrict access feature enables teachers to restrict the availability of any activity according to certain conditions such as dates, grade obtained, group, user profile field, time spent on a different activity, or activity completion. A complex logic can be used with nested restrictions. To know more, explore our detailed guide on [access restriction](/docs/access-restriction/). Alternatively, an activity can be hidden from students until they are ready to be used. ![Activity Restrict Access](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124052/activity-restrict-access-400x148.jpg) ![Activity Restrict Access Options](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124051/activity-restrict-access-options-400x609.jpg) ### Activity completion Activity completion allows you to set completion criteria which basically decides when to consider the activity is completed. The following options are available: - Students can manually mark the activity completed, here you allow students to make this decision. - Activity is considered complete when certain conditions are fulfilled, where one or more conditions can be added. - Student must receive a grade to complete the activity - A date of expected completion of the activity ![Attendence Activity Completion](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124044/attendence-activity-completion-600x221.jpg) ### [Competencies](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/competencies/) (optional) Allows you to link competency to the activity. To know more, explore our guide on [Competencies](/docs/competencies/). ![Activity Competencies Settings](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124044/activity-competencies-settings-600x164.jpg) ### Extra restrictions (optional) [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) recording may be restricted to particular subnets by specifying a comma-separated list of partial or full IP addresses. This is the default value used when creating new sessions. ![Attendance Extra Restrictions](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15124043/attendance-activity-extra-restrictions-600x102.jpg) --- ## Status set Before adding [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) sessions, instructors should review the default [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) status set and customize it as needed according to your organization's requirements. You can access the status set page through the '**More**' dropdown menu in the course navigation. ![Attendance status set and marking page](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123541/doc-attendance-status-set-page.jpg) **From [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) status page, you can**: - Either use default P.L.E.A. (Present, Late, Excused, Absent) statuses or define your own. - Add Acronym, Description, Points, and choose Automatic marking. **Define your own Status set** To define your own status set, click on the dropdown menu and select "New set of statuses." It is recommended to create a new set of statuses rather than editing the existing set labeled as "**Status set 1 (P L E A).**" ![Attendance define custom status set](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123540/doc-attendance-custom-status-set.jpg) ## Adding [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) session After adding an [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity, you can create [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) sessions, including multiple recurring sessions if desired. To add [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) sessions: 1. Click on **Add session** button that opens sessions page. ![Attendance add session button](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123545/doc-attendance-add-session-button.jpg) 2. **Add session tab** ![Attendance Add session tab](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123544/doc-attendance-add-session-tab.jpg) - Date — [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) date, for repeated sessions, this will the from date. - Time — [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) time, for repeated sessions, this will the from time. - Description — Optional, add description for future reference. - Create calendar event — Checking this box will create calendar even for each [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) session. 3. **Multiple sessions tab** ![Attendance repeat sessions tab](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123543/doc-attendance-multiple-sessions-tab.jpg) - Repeat sessions — Check this box to repeat the above session, this will provide further options for repeating sessions. - Repeat on — Check days on which days the above session should repeat, it will repeat on the selected weekdays for the same time. - Repeat every — With this you can control if the sessions should be repeated every week or every other week, and so on. - Repeat until — With this option set the end date of repetition. For obvious reason this must be atleast one day after the from date above. 4. **Student recording tab** ![Attendance student recording tab](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123542/doc-attendance-student-recording-tab.jpg) - Allow student record own [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) — If checked students will be able to change their own [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) status for the session. - Automatic marking — Allows [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) marking to be completed automatically. If "Yes" students will be automatically marked depending on their first access to the course. If "Set unmarked at end of session" any students who have not marked their [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) will be set to the unmarked status selected. "On activity completion" it will push automatic marking. **Note:** Sessions are hidden if they are scheduled before the course start date. You can use this feature to hide older sessions instead of deleting them. Only visible sessions will appear in the Gradebook. ## Recording [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) To record [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) for a session, click on the **record session** icon which takes to new page to record participants' [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/). ![Attendance take session button](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123538/doc-attendance-take-session-button.jpg) ![Attendance take session page](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123536/doc-attendance-take-session-page.jpg) ## Temporary user Temporary user feature in [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) allows you to add a user that might not be existing in your site, maybe this user exists in offline records. To add a temporary user for [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) record, reach to Temporary page from course navigation's **More dropdown** menu. ![Attendance add temporary user](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123535/doc-attendance-add-temporary-user-page.jpg) ## [Assignment](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/assignment/) block The [Assignment](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/assignment/) block works with the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity, it provides teachers with quick access to [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) functionality, and provides students quick access to a summary report for their own [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/). To add [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) block: 1. Click on the Add a block button on the right side bar. ![Add block button](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123547/doc-add-block-button.jpg) 2. From the picker, choose [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) ![Add block picker attendance](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123546/doc-add-block-picker-attendance.jpg) The block is added on the right side bar, and provide direct links for [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity, take [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/), add sessions and access report right from this block. ![Attendance block](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123546/doc-block-attendance.jpg) ## Student view Let's take a look at how students experience the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) page and [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) block from their perspective. ### [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) page view From the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) page, students can view their [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) records for the current course, all the courses they are enrolled in, or all sessions across the site. ![Student attendance page view](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123535/doc-attendance-sessions-student-view.jpg) ### [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) block on course page The [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) block on the course page gives students an overview of all their [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) sessions. It also provides a direct link to the [Attendance](https://www.scholarlms.com/encyclopedia/attendance/) activity for easy access. ![Student view attendance block](https://s3media.scholarlms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15123533/doc-block-attendance-student-view.jpg)