What you MUST include : Email to prof (missing class in 2024)
TABLE OF CONTENTS (jump ahead and save your time)
1.) Should you email professor if you miss class?
2.) How to email professor when you miss if you regularly attend class
3.) What to include in the email
4.) Email template for students who regularly attend
5.) How to email professor when you miss if you DON’T regularly attend
6.) Email template for students who DON’T regularly attend
7.) Do I have to email my professor if I miss class?
8.) Do professors care if you miss class?
Should I email my professor when I miss class?
You should email your professor when you miss class if you want to show them that you are dedicated to their course or if you need to request some assistance. In your email, make sure you identify yourself, and include the course and section number so that the professor knows who you are. And skip the details. Make sure you go to the remaining classes.
I remember my first semester of college. I had no idea what I was doing. Only one person in my family had even went to college. It is pretty evident that I was a newbie and didn’t expect what I had coming.
I ended up not attending class. And then I failed all my classes in my very first semester of college. Every single one. But towards the end of the semester, I tried to reach out to all my professors via email.
While I did not directly lie in the email, I exaggerated the truth. Sure, something terrible had happened to my uncle, but what did that have to do with me and my college career? But it didn’t stop me from trying to persuade my professors.
Have you been there?
Now that I AM A PROFESSOR, I know they could see right through my nonsense. None of them passed me despite my elaborate attempts. And I am very thankful. Because I realized I would have to attend class to earn my grade the next term.
You might be in a similar situation, or maybe you are a good student and just want to make sure your professor knows you care about the class but will need to miss. Maybe you’ve had car troubles, or an illness. Or maybe you are perpetually missing class for personal reasons.
Either way, I have some excellent tips that I know will help you decide how to craft the perfect email no matter the situation you are in.
And don’t be afraid to reach out to your professor. After all, that’s what they get paid for.
How to email your professor when you have to miss class
If you are going to miss your college lecture, and you want to email your professor to let them know, make sure you keep the email short and simple. When you email your professor about missing class, you will want to include why you aren’t attending and provide any necessary documentation. Before you do, read their syllabus and determine how this absence will effect you.
If your professor has a strict policy about attendance, you need to understand if they have excused or unexcused absences. You might have to provide some documentation about your absence.
Keep in mind that some professors do NOT want to get overwhelmed with emails from students when they don’t attend class. It might not be in your best interest to even reach out. They may just get annoyed.
Make sure you are sending this email ONLY if it is necessary.
Keep READING to learn my tips when you communicate with your professor about this.
What to put in the subject line of your email when you miss class
When you write an email to your professor about an absence, you want to make sure it gets their attention. In the subject line for students who are missing class, I would write REPLY REQUESTED : and then include the class name and number you are enrolled in.
When I see something in my inbox that is all caps or gets my attention, I am more likely to check it right away and reply.
You aren’t leaving any questions unanswered by this email subject line for a missing class.
How to email your professor about missing class if you regularly attend
This email might look a little different than students who are missing regularly. Your professor likely knows you by name and will recognize that you are missing class. Maybe you have had personal interactions with the professor during office hours or participate in class discussions often. Either way, your professor knows you. And you prefer to let them know you are going to miss class.
Email before you miss class
My first tip, always email them before you miss class. Don’t email days later. It loses its significance. If you email a few days later, or even weeks later, the professor has likely forgotten about that lecture and cannot really assist you in remembering what was covered or even remember your absence.
When you email in advance, it shows your professor that you are concerned about missing material and likely have a valid excuse for missing class.
Now, if you are hospitalized or had an emergency, definitely email, no matter how late. But if you are missing class, you likely know this ahead of time.
So, prepare the email days before, if possible. If not, email the day of class, at the very latest. The earlier you make contact, the more likely they can accommodate you.
What to include in an email to your professor when you are going to be absent?
In the email, try to make your concerns clear and directly ask specific questions. Don’t just tell them you are going to be absent. Make sure you address your concerns and ask a specific question or make a direct statement, so the professor understands why they are receiving your email.
Title of your professor
Address the email to your professor by using their professional title followed by your professor’s last name. Make sure you address them appropriately (Professor or Dr.). This makes the email more professional and is good practice for your future career and professional interactions.
Course and section
But first, make sure you always put the course and section number in the email. Some professors teach a handful of classes and don’t know which class everyone belongs to. It is best to send an email with the subject line including your course number and section number. The professor may teach five sections of the same English course. It’s important to put which class you are enrolled in to make it easier for the professor to identify you.
No slang or grammatical errors
For the contents of your email, you should use proper email etiquette. Don’t use slang but instead use proper grammar. Don’t use things like “4” instead of “for” or “u” instead of “you.” Proofread everything before you send it.
Identify yourself
Don’t expect the professor to remember you unless they have called you by your name on several occasions. I recommend putting something in the email that helps them recognize you. And include your full name. I recommend using the name that is on their roster (what you registered with).
Skip the details
Avoid giving too many details, unless necessary. While the professor cares about their students, they may have hundreds of students, and it can be overwhelming to respond to each one with such personal details. Keep it simple but provide an explanation. And if necessary, please do share details because the professor may be able to refer you to helpful resources. So don’t avoid talking to your professor, if needed. They do care.
Read the syllabus first
And before you send an email, read their syllabus for their attendance policy. There is likely something in the syllabus about how they handle absences and some might not allow unexcused absences. If they allow absences and don’t need any verification or correspondence about your absence, you probably shouldn’t send anything.
In the syllabus, find out if you have missed any course assignments and review their makeup policies too.
I would include something in the email that explains you are aware of their policies and have already looked at their syllabus to understand the impact of your absences.
Avoid asking for preferential treatment
Don’t ask for them to make exceptions to their policy for your situation. If they think your situation warrants any exceptions, they’ll let you know. It’s really important to make sure you are focused on grasping the course material and not just trying to pass the class.
Go to the next class
And let them know you will be at the next class. Make sure you explain that you are committed to attending all future classes and follow through with that promise. If you are having trouble going to class, I have an entire article dedicated to motivating yourself to attend.
Check the spelling of the email address
And most importantly, make sure you have spelled the professor’s email address accurately. Check the syllabus for their contact information and double check it before you send it to make sure it arrives.
Sample email template to professor about missing class from student who regularly attends
Dear Professor Smith,
My name is Jane Doe and I sit in the front row of your English 101 class that meets every Monday at 1pm. We briefly talked last week about my trip to Europe. I enjoy being present every lecture but will sadly miss class this Monday because of a family emergency. I understand, from your syllabus, that we are allowed a few absences, and this is my first one, so my grade is not effected. However, while my grade is important, what is even more significant is the lecture content I am going to be missing. Your lectures have helped me understand some complicated material, and I am worried missing the lecture on Monday will further complicate things. I know we are discussing some serious concepts next week and wanted to ask if you could recommend someone to me who would share notes so I could review them. Again, I apologize for missing your class in advance, and would appreciate if you could help point me to someone who might oblige and offer me their notes.
Thanks in advance,
Your student
Critique of email
Let’s look at this example. You identified the class name you are enrolled in, and what day it meets. You also included the section number information for reference. This allows the professor to quickly dwindle their student list to one class to better understand who is sending them an email. You also specified a conversation you shared with the professor to help jog their memory and provided a description of where you sit.
Then you acknowledged that you read the class syllabus and were already prepared to understand how their policies effect your grade. You let the professor know your question directly. It was short, yet explanatory, and did not provide unnecessary details that can distract from your question.
This email is a professional email, free of grammatical errors and properly addressed. This is the ideal email and any professor would be happy to receive it.
How to email your professor about missing class if you don’t regularly attend
If you don’t normally attend class, your email is going to look a lot different.
You are trying to help your professor understand that you know the consequences of not attending class and respect their class and time.
You don’t want your email to sound generic, and you want it to be meaningful.
You need to make sure you really follow through with all your promises, like regularly attending all future classes.
And keep in mind that if you send a carefully written email, your professor might see your desire for success and could give you additional help.
Email template to professor from student who doesn’t regularly attend class
Dear Professor Smith,
My name is John Doe and I am enrolled in your English 101 Section 11 course. I am sending you an email to discuss my attendance and situation. I have missed many lectures due to some personal circumstances. While not an excuse, I want you to understand that your course is important to me and my future. I reviewed the syllabus and understand your course policies. I can understand why those policies are in place and I respect your attendance policy. By my calculations, I can still pass the course with a satisfactory grade if I start attending regularly and pass all my remaining assignments. I have already attended a seminar on time management, and even contacted the college counseling center to schedule a session to discuss my personal issues to help me better deal with my circumstances so that it doesn’t interfere with my college career. I am dedicated to attending and I will see you on Wednesday for class. Can you give me an appointment to meet with you during your office hours to discuss the past material as I have a few things I need clarified to move forward. I appreciate your time.
Thanks,
John Doe
Critique of this email
In this email, you are apologetic and admitted your faults. You did not exaggerate your personal circumstances and explained that you have already been working on rectifying the situation yourself. I am not suggesting that you state you went to counseling and completed a seminar if you really didn’t. What I am showing you is something you could do to try and fix the problem yourself so your professor understands you aren’t asking for special treatment and you are responsible for your own attendance.
This shows initiative. You are committed to doing well and are taking the necessary steps to improve. At the end of the email you asked a specific question and explained why you wanted to meet.
You did not just say “I want you to explain all the material to me individually” because that would be quite a task for your professor, but you said you wanted some things clarified.
This puts the responsibility on you to review the missed material. While I am sure the professor is happy to clarify things, they cannot repeat the lectures for you entirely. It’s a good idea to catch up on any missed material outside of class and be prepared for next time.
Do I have to email my professor if I miss class?
You are not expected to email your professor if you miss class unless that’s their policy. But it might be necessary to email them if you are missing an important assignment or you need an accommodation. Your professor has hundreds of students and they don’t want students emailing them every time they are absent.
Let’s say that you are missing class repeatedly, you will want to email them about your missed classes. This would be important to discuss with your professor about your status in their course.
Or if you are going to miss class when an assignment or exam is due. This way you can find a solution to make up the assignment or exam.
Otherwise it is not usually mandatory to email your professors every time you miss class. Honestly, it can be too overwhelming for professors to get emails from every student that is absent.
Do professors care if you miss class?
Most professors will care if you miss class, but sometimes there are so many students to keep track of, your absence will likely go unnoticed. However, when I looked at the attendance records for my students, I always cared when I students missed too many classes. But a lot of professors leave the responsibility of attendance on the student.
However, your professor has hundreds of students each semester and they cannot let every absence bother them.
They might think about your absences for a brief moment, but it is your money and college education after all.
How many days can you miss in college?
There’s not really a certain amount of days a college student can miss class without any consequences BUT it will be up to the professor’s policies. Some professors will outline an attendance policy where they require you to attend their class regularly or your could fail the class.
Check your professor’s syllabus to find out their attendance policy to learn more about how many classes you can miss.
Even if there is not an attendance policy, how many classes you can miss will depend on how many times the class meets. If you are meeting once a week, you will miss more material than a class that meets three times a week. So, you can’t afford to miss very many classes when you don’t have class that often.
What should you do if you miss a college class?
If you miss a college class, you should email your professor, if necessary. And request notes from a classmate yourself. As a former professor, I would suggest that you check your syllabus and see what exactly you missed and figure out how to make up the coursework, if any. It is important that you catch up on the material you missed. Finally, I would attend all the remaining classes.
Just know that missing a college class is totally normal. I would estimate that around 35% of all my students would miss a class occasionally. So don’t worry too much about missing a class for an emergency, however you just want to make sure you don’t miss anything important.
Final thoughts
Please understand that these emails are examples. You need to tailor the email to your particular circumstances.
Do not lie in the email.
Be honest. Depending on your circumstance, you might need to ask if you should drop the course.
Don’t copy and paste my examples for your email because it does not explain your situation. These are just examples of things you should consider before sending an email and ways to properly email your professor about your absences.
If you miss regularly, you should try and find solutions to make sure you stop skipping class. Then tell your professor about what you’ve done to fix it or what you are planning on doing. Or see if they can offer any assistance.
Professors want students to succeed and are happy to offer some assistance. Beyond that, they can be honest with you about where you stand academically.
Again, make sure you are truthful and the email is not full of fluff. It needs to be accurate. Not that your professor will penalize you if you lie, it just doesn’t do anything to help your circumstances. Professors understand that unforeseen circumstances arise in student’s personal lives, and are happy to see students care about their courses.
Now the hardest part is waiting on their response. Don’t expect an immediate response, and review their syllabus to see if they have a turnaround time for a response.
If you don’t receive an email response after enough time has elapsed, then reach out to their work phone number. And if that doesn’t work, meet with them before or after class, or during office hours.
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