Much of the time, students who skip class do not realize what they are missing.

Hankins says there is little to do about students who do not come to class, and that college is the time that students should learn to take care of their own academic welfare.

"I don't like draconian measures like attendance-taking and maximum allowable absences, as I still harbor the no-doubt antiquated view that college students, at least in the humanities and soft social sciences, should be interested in the life of the mind for its own sake," Hankins says.

If students can't learn now that they need to go to class, Hankins says, there is little hope for them in the real world.

"Modern American college life already infantalizes students in so many ways, there's no need to introduce more mindless hoop-jumping and cattle-prodding than already exists," he says.

The best way for Faculty members to get students to come to class, Hankins says, is to give good lectures.

Rentshler says the best way to get students to come to lecture is to present new and interesting material and to not simply rehash the reading.

"The fact that I am bringing in new and individual materials and that I try to make a point of having lectures that offer material that is not in the reading helps people to come to lecture," Rentschler says.