Vinson Pressley/Contributing Writer
The countdown begins as soon as the five-minute mark. In 10 more minutes, class is over unless the professor makes an appearance.
Some students agree that if a professor is late 15 minutes or more, they can leave class without penalty. One problem, though: this rule does not exist.
This rule or any variation of it cannot be found in the Student Code of Conduct, Policies and Regulations or FIU’s catalog. Although some universities like Clemson University have policies that require professors to designate how long students should wait before leaving class in their syllabus, FIU does not.
But confusion exists anyway.
Because some of her professors suggested if they are tardy more than 15 minutes, students may leave, Luiza Georgescu, a freshman and biology major, thought it was a fact.
In this situation, since the professor explicitly endorsed this unofficial rule, students in that particular course can obey the rule without considering other options.
Although it is convenient to accept this rule as fact and walk out, some students, like Georgescu, will give the professor a few more minutes before deciding to leave. Some students, like Helena Saravia, a sophomore nursing major, will check their email before making an executive decision to leave.
Phalancia Louisy, a sophomore English major, believes the rule is fiction because most professors will most likely send an email to the class warning them that the professor will be a few minutes late.
The origin of this 15-minute rule is a mystery but Louisy believes it originated from the self-interest of the students.
“We’ve heard it from other students. No one has denied it,” Louisy said. “It’s like a rumor that’s been spreading.”
Jayne Klein, program director for Honors College at the Biscayne Bay Campus and a 19-year FIU veteran, has never seen the 15-minute rule on paper nor has no clue about its origin.
Klein, who has never been more than 15 minutes late to her courses, believes that if professors are consistently showing up late for their classes, it is rude on their part since “students pay a lot of money for their class.”
Although the 15-minute rule does not exist on paper, some students will still be courteous.
“I [will] wait 16 minutes just to be fair,” Georgescu said.