While University faculty are aware the H1N1 virus will affect attendance, professors are not changing their class policies.

David Lawrance, medical director at McKinley Health Center, said close to 300 students have contracted H1N1, or “swine flu,” this semester.

He said students with the virus are encouraged to go home, especially if they live in residence halls. That means students may miss three to five days of class depending on the severity of the case.

“Each professor is responsible for creating their own attendance policy,” Lawrance said. “But I would expect them to understand what is going on; they have received information from the provost on down.”

Stephen Altaner, a professor of geology who teaches a natural disasters course, said he has not changed his attendance policy but advertised it much more due to the flu.

“My policy was pretty liberal to begin with and it didn’t need to change that much,” Altaner said. “If you’re sick, don’t come to class.”

Altaner said he has already received e-mails from several students saying that they have been diagnosed with swine flu or are exhibiting symptoms.

“They had to sign a form over at McKinley to guarantee they wouldn’t show up to class for five days and infect other people,” he said.

Altaner said he fully believes the flu will get worse before it gets better.

William Hope, a graduate student who teaches Introduction to Latin American and Caribbean Studies, said he agreed.

“What do we know other than what our health officials tell us?” Hope said. “The best thing to do is just keep going on with daily life and keep washing our hands.”

Hope instructs a class of almost 300 students. He said his attendance policy, which allows students one unexcused absence unless they have documentation excusing them from class, has not changed because of the virus.

“We’ve had two cases of swine flu already,” Hope said, “We’re aware of the situation and we want to help students out.”

Lawrance said the flu is expected to peak in October.

“But there’s also a saying that those who try to predict the flu are fools,” he added.

Altaner said he does not plan to cancel class.

“The main thing that I’m concerned about is that I don’t get sick and that my teaching assistants don’t get sick,” he said. “As long as I have a few students left, we will still have class.”

Altaner added that he thinks drops in attendance affect smaller lectures and discussion sections more than larger lectures.

“For my teaching style, there’s not that much difference between engaging a class of 600 and 50,” Altaner said. “When you get much smaller than that it becomes much worse.”

Hope said he agreed that absences will be felt more in discussion sections.

“In the lecture, even if 20 to 30 people are gone, it is still a big room,” he added.