Regulations for taught students: Section 4
SECTION 4: Attendance Monitoring Regulation
You should seek impartial advice and support from the Students’ Union Advice Centre, your School student support systems or the University Well-being services if you are struggling to attend your timetabled sessions.
4.1 Regulation introduction
4.1.1 You are required to attend all of your timetabled sessions both on campus and online, and to be present during all term time weeks. If you are undertaking a placement or a period of study off campus as part of your course, this regulation also applies to you. If you do not do this, you could be withdrawn from the course and you might not be able to study with us again.
4.1.2 You must record your attendance at timetabled on campus sessions by using the card readers in each room. If you do not bring your student ID card to a timetabled session you will be marked as absent. For online timetabled sessions and if you are a distance learning student, your attendance will be automatically recorded and monitored.
4.1.3 You must tell us if you are going to be absent for good reason, using our online reporting system; this includes absence due to shielding, isolation or quarantine. This replicates expectations in the workplace and we expect you to behave in a professional manner when you are managing your absence. Your school may ask for independent evidence to support why you need to be or have been absent.
4.1.4 You should be aware that some courses have specific attendance requirements and you must meet these requirements in addition to this procedure.
4.1.5 Attendance at and absence from scheduled formal examinations are dealt with under the university’s examination regulations, the ‘Fit to sit’ policy, as determined in section 1.9 and the extenuating circumstances (ECs) procedures, not under its attendance policy and procedures.
4.1.6 If you are studying on campus, you must carry your student ID card with you at all times and make your card available to any member of University staff that asks to see it. If you refuse to allow a member of staff to see your student ID card this will be considered to be a breach of the Student Disciplinary Regulation (Section 12).
4.1.7 If you lose your student ID card, you must report this to your school immediately and you must buy a new student ID card from iPoint.
4.1.8 You must only have one student ID card. If you have more than one student ID card this will be considered to be a breach of the Student Disciplinary Regulation (Section 12).
4.2 Spot Checks
4.2.1 If you are studying on campus, your attendance will also be monitored by random spot checks. These will be carried out by your school. We expect you to be in your timetabled sessions. If you swipe into a timetabled session and leave before the end of a session without informing the session leader of the reason you need to leave, and a register is taken, you will have breached the Student Disciplinary Regulation (Section 12) and an investigation will take place under that procedure.
4.3 Fraudulent swipes
4.3.1 You should not give your student ID card to another student and ask or allow them to swipe into a timetabled session for you.
4.3.2 You should not swipe into a timetabled session for another student.
4.3.3 We consider the above activities to be fraudulent and if you do either of these things you will have breached the Student Disciplinary Regulation (Section 12) and an investigation under that procedure will take place.
4.4 Additional information on right to study: visa students
4.4.1 If you are studying on a student visa or have limited right to remain in the UK, then these sections are relevant to you. Please read them carefully as they are very important and you are responsible for making yourself aware of the necessary attendance regulations.
4.4.2 The Home Office requires students who are studying on student visas to attend all timetabled sessions and to be fully engaged with their course as part of their visa conditions. You must swipe into every timetabled session on campus and attend each timetabled session online. If you are a student visa student the University is obliged to advise the UKVI of any absence exceeding ten contact points.
4.4.3 If you are a taught Master’s degree student completing a dissertation you must swipe weekly at your school.
4.4.4 If you do not attend your timetabled sessions, please be aware that this may have an impact on your student visa and your permission to remain in the UK. Ultimately you will be withdrawn from the University, your student visa will be curtailed and you will be required to leave the UK.
4.4.5 If you fail a spot check, you will be required to report to the International Office, within 5 working days of the discrepancy. If you fail to report, we will issue a written warning and apply immediate sanctions. If you do not comply within a further 5 days, we will withdraw you from your course and withdraw sponsorship of your visa, both with immediate effect.
4.4.6 Please note, if you are sponsored by a government or corporate organisation we may inform your sponsor of any concerns regarding your attendance at any point.
4.5 Additional information for learners studying on degree apprenticeship programmes and distance learning programmes
4.5.1 If you are an apprentice and not able to attend university or join a planned face to face or online live session you must inform your school as soon as possible after first contacting your employer. If you miss any timetabled sessions these will be reported to your employer and you will need to repeat these.
4.5.2 If you are on an approved registered Distance Learning programme, your engagement and attendance will be monitored. We expect you to attend all timetabled synchronous sessions and engage proactively with online materials. Attendance at online timetabled sessions will be automatically recorded and your engagement with materials and activities in the VLE will also be monitored.
4.5.3 If you are on an approved registered Distance Learning programme, you will only be subject to the attendance and engagement procedure, not the visa compliance procedure.
4.6 Additional information for students required to repeat failed modules with attendance
4.6.1 As per 1.16.2, as an Undergraduate student if you are not able to progress to the next stage or complete your award because you are required to repeat one or more failed modules, you will in almost all circumstances need to attend the university in order to do that. This regulation is intended to ensure you have the support you need to stay engaged and increase your chances of success.
4.6.2 We recognise that there will be rare occasions when applying this regulation would mean you face a disproportionate difficulty, for example, undue financial hardship. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In the first instance, you should consult your school (and the International Office if you are studying on a student visa) for advice.
4.6.3 This regulation does not apply to you if you have remaining attempts outstanding, for example, because you had approved exceptional circumstances.
4.6.4 This regulation does not apply to you, if you are allowed to progress to the next stage of your study, even if you are trailing a module.