Scribba
You were sick, your ride fell through, or something came up at home. Whatever the reason, you missed a lecture, and now there's a hole in your notes right where the next class will build. One missed class is easy to recover from if you deal with it quickly. The trouble starts when one becomes three, and the hole turns into a gap you can't see across.
Here's what to do, in order, starting the day you miss it.
The same day: find out what happened
Don't wait for the next class to learn what you missed. Within a day:
- Check the syllabus for that session's topic and any assigned reading.
- Check the course page for slides, handouts, announcements and anything that was due.
- Look for changed deadlines. Professors often announce new dates, quiz times or assignment details out loud. If a classmate mentions one, put it in your planner right away.
- Find out whether anything graded happened. A quiz, an in-class assignment or attendance points. The syllabus usually says whether these can be made up, and how.
Don't assume a recording exists. Some classes post lecture recordings and many don't. If yours does, it's usually mentioned on the syllabus or course page. If it doesn't, plan to rebuild the lecture from other sources.
Ask classmates for notes
A classmate's notes are usually the best record of what was actually said. A few tips for asking:
- Ask someone who takes good notes, and ideally two people. Different people catch different things, and comparing two sets fills more gaps.
- Ask soon, while the lecture is still fresh for them too.
- Make it easy to say yes. "Could you send me a photo of your notes from Tuesday? Happy to do the same if you ever miss one."
- Ask what the professor stressed, not just what's on the page. "Did she say anything about the exam?" gets you things that never made it into anyone's notes.
If you don't know anyone in the class yet, this is a good reason to swap contacts with the people who sit near you in the first weeks. How to share notes with a classmate covers the practical side.
Email your professor, briefly
You don't always need to email about a single absence. It helps when attendance counts, when something was due or tested, or when you'll miss more than one class. Keep it short:
- Say which class you missed. A brief reason is fine; you don't need to share private details.
- Say what you've already done: "I've gone through the slides and gotten notes from a classmate."
- Ask one specific question, or ask how to make up anything graded.
Skip "Did I miss anything important?" From the professor's side, the answer is always yes. Showing that you've already started catching up gets a better reply.
If you're missing classes for a longer stretch because of illness or something serious at home, contact your school's dean of students or student support office too. They can often let your professors know, and accommodations may be possible. See note-taking accommodations in college.
Rebuild the lecture in your own notes
Now put the pieces together, in the same place they'd be if you had been there:
- Start a page for the missed class, dated, in the class notebook, so your notes stay in order.
- Work from the slides if there are any, adding what your classmates wrote beside each one.
- Read the matching section of the textbook. It usually covers what the lecture did, often in more depth.
- Write down what still doesn't make sense as specific questions.
- Summarize the lecture in a few sentences at the bottom, as you would after any class.
Then skim the material for the next lecture. You want to walk into the next class ready for it, not still a step behind.
Tip: don't try to rebuild a missed lecture perfectly. Aim for the main ideas, the definitions and anything the professor said would be tested. Smaller gaps can wait until you study for the exam.
Take your questions to office hours
If questions are left after rebuilding your notes, office hours are the place for them. Bring the specific list. "I didn't follow how the second example got from step two to step three" is something a professor or TA can answer in a couple of minutes. "Can you go over Tuesday's lecture?" isn't. How to take notes in office hours helps you get the most from the visit.
If you've missed more than one class
Catch up on the most recent class first, since it's what the next lecture builds on. Then work backward. If it starts to feel unmanageable, talk to your professor or an academic advisor sooner rather than later. They've seen it before, and early is when there are the most options.
Catching up with Scribba
Scribba is an iPad notes app for class. Here's how it helps with the rebuild.
- Scan a classmate's handwritten notes with the iPad camera, or turn their photos into pages, and keep them in your class notebook next to your own pages. See how to scan handouts with iPad.
- Import the slides as a PDF into the class notebook and write on them, adding what your classmates told you. Text in imported PDFs is searchable.
- Keep everything in order. From the page sidebar, you can reorder pages, and move or copy pages between notebooks, so the missed lecture sits where it belongs.
- Bookmark the page with a name like "Week 6 Tuesday (missed)," so it shows up in the notebook's table of contents and is easy to find when exams come.
- Return the favor. When a classmate misses a class, you can export pages as a PDF or share a page as an image. Scribba has no shared notebooks, so sending a copy is how you swap notes.
A note on recordings: Scribba records lectures you attend, on your own iPad. It can't help with a lecture you weren't in, so don't plan around someone else's recording. If you'd like to record future lectures, ask your professor first; is it OK to record lectures? covers what to check.
Frequently asked questions
Should I email my professor every time I miss class?
Not necessarily. Check the syllabus first. Email when attendance counts, when something was due or tested, or when you'll miss more than one class.
What if no one will share their notes?
Work from the slides and the textbook, then bring specific questions to office hours. Professors and TAs can usually tell you what mattered most in that lecture.
How quickly should I catch up?
Ideally before the class meets again, because the next lecture will likely build on the one you missed.