The tourist season 'empties' the UIB classrooms

PalmaThe classrooms of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) are emptying earlier and earlier. After Easter, coinciding with the start of the tourist season, absenteeism is particularly accentuated in higher courses, where many students combine studies and work. “Between 30 and 40% of students may stop coming to class because they are working,” assures professor David Abril, who considers this trend “structural” and closely linked to the reality of the labor market and the need to pay for studies autonomously. However, the increasing absenteeism of students throughout the entire course is a topic that occupies the university community.

The UIB does not have attendance data because it is not mandatory, but it offers a perspective: “Absenteeism is an increasingly common phenomenon on campuses in the State, although it varies according to the degree, the weight of practical work, and teaching culture. The post-pandemic era has normalized flexibility and remote access to content, while technology has transformed study habits and shifted part of the value of the master class. In view of this, universities face an adaptation challenge,” explain official university sources. “We do not have an exact quantification, but it is true that student attendance in class has decreased considerably,” adds, for his part, Biel Cardona, director of the Higher Polytechnic School.

Cardona explains that the phenomenon of absenteeism cannot be understood without the change in the way of accessing knowledge. While a few decades ago going to class was practically essential, today this monopoly has been diluted. "There was a time when the student went to class because it was a source of knowledge that they could not access in any other way," he recalls. Now, on the other hand, "the professor's job of adapting knowledge is also done by AI".

Add added value

Technological change forces us to redefine the very meaning of face-to-face attendance. “The key is to find a way for the student to receive added value by going to class,” argues Cardona. For this reason, he believes that the logic of mandatory attendance or cultural inertia no longer works. “Now the idea of going to class to look good is increasingly fading,” he laments, and also warns of a “herd effect” among students: if some stop going, others do too.

The situation is worrying because it occurs even in studies with high cut-off grades. “There are careers like Medicine where attendance is also low,” points out Cardona. In some cases, he explains, students organize to further reduce face-to-face attendance: “They have set up note-taking committees: one day one goes, one day another goes...

For many students, face-to-face attendance loses its meaning when the class is limited to reproducing content that they already have available. A second-year History student believes that many subjects remain too focused on the lecture. “There are professors who simply read for two hours. If the content is already in the books from the teaching guide, I come out ahead if I study on my own,” he explains.

Dense masterclasses

Abril coincides with the fact that the system needs a thorough review. “There is still an abundance of unbearable lecture-style professors,” he states. According to him, the problem is structural: the university prioritizes research over teaching. “The Bologna Plan considers teaching almost a punishment. If you publish a lot and have projects, they take away class hours; if not, they increase them,” he criticizes. This, he adds, ends up resulting in unmotivated professors and repetitive classes.

Despite everything, both Abril and Cardona agree that the solution does not involve making attendance mandatory. “If the only way to get them to come is to take attendance and say ‘if you don't come, you fail,’ that is not the solution,” Cardona maintains. The UIB regulations provide that, within the framework of the evaluation of subjects, some evaluation elements linked to practical credits may incorporate a certain minimum percentage of attendance at the corresponding practical sessions. This requirement, if applicable, must be defined and specified explicitly in the subject's teaching guide.

At the Faculty of Law, the vice-dean Josep Horrach explains that only one subject evaluates attendance, and it represents approximately 10% of the grade. It cannot subtract, only add. “What we must do as professors is to encourage student involvement,” he defends. Along these lines, the faculty has introduced methodological changes: more concentrated schedules, asynchronous activities, podcasts, forums, and intensive use of digital resources. “We have made more flexible and conciliatory schedules, which favor autonomous work,” he explains.

Precisely, reconciliation is one of the most frequently cited factors among students. A first-year Primary Education student explains the difficulty of balancing studies and work. “The schedules are designed as if university were a school and not a place where people work. Abril contextualizes it: “Many students inevitably prioritize work because it is an economic necessity. We don't make it easy for them,” she summarizes. In this regard, she points out that more flexible and virtual models are gaining ground because they better respond to reality.

Low attendance, as always

Jesús Revelles is vice-dean of Philosophy and Letters and agrees that the student profile has changed. “Approximately 25% of students in the Catalan Philology degree are students doing second degrees or are over 25 years old, people who work and cannot come every day,” he explains. He himself adds that, despite the current alarm, absenteeism is not a new phenomenon. “When we were studying there was also absenteeism, of course,” he recalls.

A third-year Law student defends a more pragmatic view. “There are very good professors who conduct debates, practical cases, and sessions that are really worthwhile. But there are also frustrated people who wish they weren't this,” he explains. For this reason, he believes that university “should not be compulsory” and that each student should be able to decide how they learn best.

The emergence of AI adds even more pressure on university renewal. “We professors must be aware that we are competing with it,” Abril summarizes. This forces us, according to him, to rethink the teaching model and offer an experience that cannot be substituted. “We have to find a formula that cannot be replaced,” Cardona agrees. The challenge is no longer to fill classrooms, but to provide reasons to want to be there.