Grades and attendance: is there a link between them with respect to first-year undergraduate criminology students?

This paper discusses the findings of research concerned with analysing the relationship between student attendance to core first year undergraduate criminology and criminal justice modules and the grades they receive in their first summative assessed coursework task for these modules. The research took place against the background of a concern with improving student retention and minimising academic failure. The research found evidence of an association between student attendance and grade outcomes. But it also notes that this association was not as strong as perhaps would have been expected. The paper concludes that its findings reinforce the need to further consider other factors (such as entry qualifications, age, gender and personal circumstance) which may well influence the grades students achieve. However, most importantly, it is argued that the findings presented reinforce the need for teaching departments to proactively support first year criminology students as they make the transition into higher education, particularly given the current economic climate surrounding higher education funding in the United Kingdom.