<p>I was hired last week, and just got a call today that my Orientation is scheduled on Wednesday from 9-5, but Wednesday is also my first history class of the semester. School started last week but the professor canceled last weeks classes on both Wednesday and Friday so this will be the first time we meet up. This is my first year, and I'm attending a community college, so the classes are small and you can tell who's missing pretty easily. I need this job badly so there is no way I can't not go to orientation, but I'm worried about missing class. </p>
<p>The class goes from 8-9:20 and it is my only class that day which I guess is lucky, but I'm still concerned with missing it. The place I'm working at is about 10-15 minutes away from where I'm going to school depending on traffic. So would it be better to go to class for the first 40 minutes then leave, or not go at all? I'm really not sure what to do, or what to tell the professor. Iv'e never met him before so I don't know if he's strict or would let something like this go. Obviously I'm not going to be able to make every single class in my college career, but I just feel like missing the first one will leave a bad impression.</p>
<p>It would be much, much better to go and leave, just so the professor knows you’re there. This isn’t high school, if you have to leave early and it’s important, just go. </p>
<p>Most of the time, the first day of class is just going over the syllabus, it’s very rare to actually be taught content during that time.</p>
<p>Email the professor & tell him it’s a mandatory work meeting. Ask him to please not drop you from the class & ensure him that you’ll able to make the other sessions. Let him know that you’re willing to set up a meeting during his office hours & you can go over the syllabus if he feels it’s necessary.</p>
<p>I would make an effort to go to the first half hour of the class because important organizational information might be announced then. (homework, exams, attendance policy, etc) That’s especially important if the syllabus isn’t available online.</p>
<p>If it’s not a big lecture class (where you can sit in the back and sneak out unnoticed), I would email the professor and let him know that you’ll have to leave early this one time for a work orientation. He’ll appreciate the notice. While it’s not high school and you are not required to be there, professors do get irritated when students get up and leave unannounced in the middle of class. (“Is my lecture that boring?”)</p>
It’s very ill-advised to start asking your employer to accomadate you for required things before you even start work.</p>
<p>It’s one time, and that class will probably be Syllabus Reading 101. The worst that can happen if he leaves class early is that the instructor will think negatively of him, but I doubt that will happen if he explains it’s required.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, his employer could fire him before he arrives for Day 1 of work.</p>
<p>Ditto what DavidSSabb said. Prioritize the orientation, and tell your professor you need to leave the class early for work reasons. It’s a CC, so the prof should be particularly understanding.</p>
<p>stradmom, it’s called triage. Given the very minimal (if any) loss of ducking out 30 minutes early on a class vs the very real threat of getting off on the wrong foot with your boss, it’s a no-brainer. Material can be easily made up. Professors very rarely mind if you speak to them ahead of time.</p>
<p>Not everything in life is black and white. Education isn’t >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything else, unless you’re very sheltered. There’s a balance. This is why there’s constantly articles about students with 3.8s who “did everything right” and are having trouble finding jobs. Great grades are nice, but having good grades and a solid background of work experience is better.</p>