Research has shown that in recent years, class attendance in some UK Universities has fallen dramatically, and it’s an issue which is also causing concern internationally. So, what’s going on?
In a Times Higher Education study carried out in 2022, most academics believed that since the pandemic, the numbers of students coming to lectures and seminars had gone down significantly, with a quarter of teaching staff stating that some sessions now attracted as little as 21% of those enrolled on the course.
Six years ago, a friend of mine who is a professor at one of the UK’s most highly rated medical schools, invited an eminent consultant to give a guest lecture. This visiting doctor and researcher was well-known as an impressive speaker and there would be opportunities for questions, discussion and even, possibly, networking. It was pre-Covid, before lockdown led to greater use of remote learning and to negative effects on both the student experience and attitudes to engagement in University life.
70 students were invited. 25 turned up. Those students who did attend were treated to an excellent session; instructive, insightful and highly relevant. My friend and his guest were left surprised, embarrassed and demoralised.
Student attendance in my own department has, over the years, always been something we carefully monitored and was generally good. However, even then, six years ago, I noticed that the numbers rocking up were going down. My medic friend’s experience confirmed it. A culture of non-attendance was developing fast and becoming a problem.
The situation has now become much worse and for some of my colleagues, it’s bordering on a crisis. On programmes of 70, 80 or even 100 enrolled students, it’s common for only a handful to materialise. At one lecture last term, no one at all attended.
There are many reasons which might explain students not attending classes: being busy with more pressing assessment tasks, involved in part-time employment to fund their way through Uni’, feeling ill, or important family and social commitments. The prospect of a long and expensive commute can also be a factor. And then there’s the uncomfortable possibility that some lectures or seminars are perceived as neither very useful nor meeting student expectations in terms of delivery.
Perhaps the big message is that they no longer wish to learn in this way? Students are purchasers of goods and services and if the product isn’t worth the price, they’ll pass on it.
Some institutions take a hard line on non-attendance and by using strict registers will sanction or even remove those they regard as uncommitted. But the educational value of lectures has long been contested, and many educators believe that the ‘chalk and talk’ model (or rather, ‘I talk – you listen’) has now, finally, had its day. Students don’t want what is for the most part a passive, non-interactive experience with no direct, immediate benefits. They know that most of the information and content they need for coursework and exams can be accessed online. Many lectures are now recorded and posted as videos or podcasts on University Virtual Learning Environments.
There is evidence however, that non-attendance can cost marks or even grades. After all, tutors normally set the coursework projects and exam questions and if students attend they can ask questions; getting useful information and a better sense of what is expected. It seems though that for some, the risk of losing a few percentage points is an acceptable gamble if it means you don’t have to schlep into college.
So what can be done? If we were starting with a blank sheet; now, in 2025: being asked to design a University programme fit for the modern world, I suspect there would be little use made of the old-style lecture. Engagement, interaction and skills-oriented learning would be key components of any teaching room or online group session.
For example, some courses already widely adopt teaching methods where students complete tasks during class, supported by their tutors, using workbooks; assessed on a week-by-week basis through quizzes or problem-based learning exercises, often auto-marked by software. Course-relevant information and knowledge is available online or in hard copy as background reading. Short video clips, even live web links to guest experts, are used. Questions and discussion are part of the learning experience and feed directly into the task or project in front of them. Sessions do not need to run all day, every day, so unless there are mitigating circumstances: no attendance, no mark.
It’s all very efficient – yielding immediate returns on a student’s investment of time and effort. Everyone is working smarter and better.
Such pedagogic ideas aren’t new but for some academics they would represent a major challenge, not least because entire learning programmes would have to be redesigned. But the glittering prize on offer would be a new model of training and education which would generate glowing student feedback. Forward-thinking, courageous Universities could turn the problem of non-attendance into an opportunity for innovation and renewal.
