RE: Are there really colleges that track attendance?
YES. I know of two.
My daughter attends Grove City College in PA and you better not be absent more than 10% of the time from classes or you’re dropped.
My nephew attends Hillsdale College in Michigan and the policy is the same.
There’s a compelling reason to attend classes beyond having to appear on any attendance lists. In advanced history and political science classes, many of which I took in college, getting A’s in the vast majority and B’s in the rest, regular class attendance and careful note taking were the best and most efficient ways to get the information that was essential to get high grades. My attendance at those classes had nothing to do with whether attendance was taken—it was purely to ace the courses quickly and easily.