I have to take a CPR course for work (I work in a hospital). The course is at the same time my class is. If I dont take the CPR class on that date, I risk termination.
I already have two bachelors degrees, but I have never taken a professor twice in the same semester, before (I am now). He already sort of remembers me and it is only the second week. Also, this class is only one day a week and is small. I had good attendance when I got my two Bachelors, so this concept is new to me. Plus, I repeated profs a good bit in undergrad and when I figured that one prof out, I would skip class and not tell them because I knew how to prepare. But this prof. in my current situation is brand new. Half of me says “Waste of time. You re an adult, make big boy decisions” but the other half of me wants to be respectful.
Thanks.
The fact that you’re initiating contact will make a big difference. Most students won’t even do that. They’d just skip.
If you contact the professor and explain the situation, odds are they will be perfectly understanding. They’re people too, and they know that things come up sometimes. Be sure to ask them what you can do to make sure you stay current with the material. They might be willing to email you the power point, or send you a copy of the lecture notes or something like that.
As a prof, I’d be understanding of this conflict. I’d be even more so if, rather than asking for my notes/ppt, you mention that you’ve made arrangements to get the notes from a classmate. Saying something nice about the class(es) never hurts, but don’t go overboard! Acknowledging that you know that you are responsible for making up the missed work will also be seen positively.
Is this for a graduate school class? If so, this is absolutely not a big deal - students occasionally have to miss one class a semester for something like this. However, I will say that it is the norm in graduate school to let the professor know ahead of time if you know you are going to miss class. (Undergrads should do it too, but they often don’t know any better.)
So just send him a short email saying that due to an unavoidable work conflict you have to miss class on X date, but you’ve made arrangements to get lecture notes from a classmate and will make up any work that you miss.