Faculty should verify, by checking the roster at the beginning of the first class meeting and at least one additional time, that the students in the classroom are only those who have registered for the course. Verification of the class roster is important.

• Academic departments offering distance education courses receive funding for faculty positions based strictly upon the number of credit hours officially recorded in the Banner Student Information System for each distance education section.
• Allowing non-registered students to attend class could represent a liability to the student and/or to the university or professor should an accident or an incident of any kind occur. This is particularly important with regard to new students as Appalachian's criminal background check policy states that applicants who are subject to the background check (for any reason) cannot attend class until they have been cleared to do so by the review committee. Permitting a non-registered student to attend a class meeting may violate this policy.
• Students on the course roster on census date each semester (the 10th class day of each semester) must match the student roster for grading purposes. If a student is allowed to attend class without having registered, he or she may feel that a grade should be awarded, and this cannot be accomplished without a registration audit exception.
• The names of students who are listed on the roster but not present or who stop attending classes should be reported to the Office of Extension and Distance Education as soon as possible.
• Should a faculty member become aware that a student is deceased, he/she should immediately notify the Offices of Student Development and Extension and Distance Education.

If a faculty member discovers that a student is in class and is not on the official class roster, the student may be allowed to remain for that ONE class period at the faculty member's discretion with the understanding that NO student who is in the process of a criminal background check review should be allowed to be in class. The responsibility for verifying that a non-registered student is not undergoing a criminal background check review falls on the faculty member who allows the student to remain in the class. For classes that meet for "double" or longer periods, non-registered students should be asked to leave at the break point to resolve registration problems. No student should be allowed to attend any additional class meetings until he or she presents proof of registration to the professor.