Can you leave class early (professor explains how)
About the author
Hi there. I am the prolific professor with 15 years of experience teaching online and in-person. I have a graduate degree. I have a passion for education. But I’ve also worked in the professional world (outside of education) too. Thanks for visiting.
Can I walk out of a college lecture?
As a former professor, I can say that it isn’t necessarily appropriate to walk out of a college lecture, but it does happen. Students aren’t forced to stay in the classroom during the entire lecture, so I suppose you could leave whenever you want. But it might seem a little disrespectful to disrupt your professor and your classmates by leaving early. And you could have your participation grade penalized.
Think about it for a second.
When a student leaves, they normally have to pack up all their belongings first. This can be loud and chaotic for other students. Also, it can send a signal to your professor that you were bored or don’t care about the material. It’s not something you want to do if you are trying to network with your professor.
And then after you pack up everything, you have to walk out of the classroom. This can be a distraction for everyone. When students would leave my class early, I worried what all the other students were thinking. Most of the students in the classroom would turn AND watch the student leave, almost like they wanted to know what happened and if there was an emergency.
I worried that other students leaving early would cause my remaining students to leave early too, or signal to them that I didn’t have good classroom management and students could do whatever they wanted.
Be prepared for some professors to say something to you upon exiting. They could address it so just be ready for them to say something if you didn’t get permission to leave early. While they might not try to embarrass you, it certainly could put you in the spotlight.
Why students should stay for the entire lecture
College students should stay for the entire lecture because they paid for those credit hours. Why would they want to pay for something and not get their pennies’ worth. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from a scholar or professional and attend the entire lecture.
When you leave early, you miss important information.
While you can always get notes from a classmate, it just isn’t the same. Your friend may not take good notes, and you are having to teach yourself the information.
Also, are you really going to sit down and go over the notes in depth? Probably not. So, I’d suggest staying the entire class time.
Another reason why students should remain for the entire class is because of the impression your professor gets when you leave. Your professor may think that you don’t care or aren’t committed to college. Then if you ever need anything from your professor, they may not be willing to help.
Is it rude to leave class early in college?
It may be considered rude to leave your college lecture early if you are loud and disruptive. But if you leave quietly and respectfully, it won’t appear as rude. Also, you should really talk to your professor and give them a heads up that you are leaving early. This way they don’t think you are skipping out early and they won’t think anything is wrong.
When students would leave my classes early, I always wondered if there was some emergency, and I was concerned for those students. So letting your professor know will help them understand why you’re heading out early.
Most students were always very quiet when they were leaving early, but a few made a lot of noise and it threw me off. I would have to take a break, and figure out where I was because my train of thought was disrupted.
Don’t let this become a habit. If you leave class early a time or two, it won’t be rude. But if you leave class early a lot, it’s going to seem rude.
Is it okay to walk out of lecture early?
It can be okay to walk out of lecture early if you have talked to your professor in advance.
I recommend talking to your professor, before class, and letting them know that you have an appointment or an emergency and you will have to leave a little early. But I would suggest that you sit closer to the door so you don’t disrupt all your classmates.
While leaving your college class early isn’t ideal, it can be necessary. Your professor would prefer you to stay for the entire lecture, but they would much rather you attend some of their lecture than none at all.
But leaving early should be a last resort. Don’t do it all the time.
However, your professor might count you absent if you miss too much lecture so you need to check their attendance policy.
When I was a professor, I knew of a professor who required their students to attend a certain number of lectures to satisfactorily complete their course and if students missed a portion of the lecture, they were counted absent.
And guess what happened if students missed too many lectures?
They failed the entire class!
Don’t get yourself in a situation like this. Just check with your professor and let them know you need to leave early.
Can you get in trouble for leaving your college class early?
When a student leaves their class early in college, and they cause a disruption, the student could get in trouble for leaving early because their professor could file an incident report directly to the college.
In some very rare instances, if you are leaving early too often, and it is being very disruptive to the classroom learning environment, it is possible that your professor could file an incident report.
Not every university will have these policies but some colleges that I worked for would allow us to file a student incident report if someone was disruptive in class.
And leaving early could qualify although it would have to be a frequent occurrence.
But if you did get in trouble, it would be handled within the college because you are just violating the college’s behavioral policy (code of conduct).
In all my years of teaching at colleges, I have NEVER seen a professor file a report for this behavior. It would have to be really bad.
Can you go to the bathroom during lecture?
Absolutely college students can and should exit their classroom to take a bathroom break. It is completely acceptable to leave the lecture and tend to your personal needs.
When I was a professor, I NEVER made students raise their hand and ask for permission to go to the bathroom. And I have never seen other professors require students to ask for permission either.
You can typically just get up and walk out of a classroom in college without permission and without any type of hall pass. It doesn’t work the same way as high schools do.
You have a lot more privileges and freedom in college.
I suggest that you exit quietly, and try to leave during a time when you think the professor is in between thoughts. This way you don’t interrupt your professor. However, I also recommend students take care of everything before class. I know that might not be possible though so it’s okay to take a bathroom break when needed.
Am I allowed to leave my college class early?
Yes, students can leave their college classes early because there is no law (in the United States) that requires students to stay the entire time. While it is expected that you sit for the entire class, you are not being forced to stay in the classroom.
It is not really good etiquette to leave early, and I only suggest students do this in emergencies or unavoidable situations.
If you leave early, make sure you pay special attention to their attendance policy. In my classes, if students signed the attendance sheet and left really early, I would count them absence because that was my policy.
Students needed to attend my entire lecture, unless they had prior permission to skip out early, and your professor may be the same.
And if attendance is a grade, it could hurt your final grade in the class.
How do professors feel when students leave early?
When students would leave early in my classroom, I never thought much about it because I was so focused on my own lecture that it usually went unnoticed.
But this will depend on the size of the classroom and the number of students. If there are 100 students, leaving early may be less noticeable compared to a classroom of 20 students.
Also, I may not even know if the student was stepping out to go to the restroom or if they were leaving for good. The fewer items the student has, the easier it will be to slip out unnoticed.
Sometimes, a few students would leave class early A LOT. This was noticeable and while I wasn’t really bothered by it, I did worry about the student’s grades and progress in the course.
So, when students leave early, your professors are going to worry about your performance in the class, and if you are disrupting other students. And you can probably forget about a letter or recommendation later.
How to tell your professor that you’ll be leaving class early
If you need to leave class early, you should simply talk to your professor BEFORE class begins. Hopefully your professor gets there a little early, and you can approach them, and apologize in advance, but tell them that something unavoidable has been scheduled and you’ll need to step out early. Let them know that you are going to sit near the door and you’ll be quiet when exiting.
In all my years of teaching, I never cared when students would tell me they had to leave early because I thought it was respectful to let me know ahead of time.
And I figured that they must have a good excuse to leave otherwise they wouldn’t of had the nerve to tell me.
If you can email them BEFORE class, that would be okay too. But realize that they might not get that email before class so it’s best to talk in person.
And if you are struggling to attend class regularly and wonder how you can stay motivated to attend lectures, read my article where I discuss some realistic tips to help you stay focused and attend class.
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