Attendance Monitoring
Students on campus-based taught courses are monitored for attendance and engagement. It’s a necessary part of your commitment to being here at university as described in the University Regulations and good attendance generally means better performance. We monitor attendance to make sure you are engaging with your course and to make sure we support you if you are struggling and to connect you as quickly as possible to any support that you may require.
For International students, it is part of your visa requirements that you must attend all university sessions and be fully engaged on your course.
Non-attendance can mean withdrawal from your course and the University. For International students this also will have an impact on your sponsorship and visa status. For home students, this will stop your funding from Student Finance England.
How will attendance be monitored?
You are required to swipe your Student ID card against the card readers at all teaching locations on campus at the start of each session. The light will go green if the card is registered and you will be marked as attended.
Please make sure you swipe the reader directly with your Student ID card, and not through a wallet or purse as this can cause the reader to provide a false reading. In other words, the light may turn green if it recognises another chipped card in your possession and so it will look like your attendance has been registered but it might not have been.
You should swipe as close to the start of a session and should only attend those on your personal timetable. You do not need to swipe out at the end of a session.
What are spot checks?
Random spot checks will be carried out by the school to ensure students are not abusing this system. If you swipe into a timetabled session and leave before the end of it, and a register is taken, you will have breached the student disciplinary regulation and an investigation will take place (see section 12 student disciplinary). You MUST inform the tutor if you are leaving the session and you are able to. If you cannot, you should inform the school’s Student Support Office as soon as possible after the class.
What if my student ID card is not working?
If your student ID is not working, you should go to iPoint, located in Central Services to ask them to check and investigate. It’s your responsibility to make sure your student ID card does work.
What happens if I lose my student ID card?
You need to go to iPoint as soon as possible to obtain a new card. There is a small charge for a replacement card. It is your responsibility to keep it safe, as without this you cannot get into the University or register your attendance. You should only ever have one ID card as only the latest will be active.
What if the card reader is not working for all students?
In the rare instances this happens please let the school’s Student Support Office know. We will investigate and adjust the attendance records for that room and affected sessions so that students who were not able to swipe are not adversely affected. Occasionally the attendance readers need resetting to work properly and we rely on you telling us where that may be the case.
Can I ask the school to manually input my attendance if I forget my student ID card?
No, it is not possible to record your attendance after the event. Likewise, tutors cannot alter your attendance after a class has taken place. Please ensure you always have your card with you when you are on campus and it is your responsibility to swipe into classes correctly to register your attendance.
What happens if I am absent?
Students who are not studying here on an international study visa can log your absence directly on MyHud. This must be on the day of absence or within 24hrs before the absence. Visa students do not have access to this facility and either absent or present. You will need to provide the reason for your absence, the modules and sessions you expect to miss and how long you expect to be away from your studies.
If your absence will be for longer than five days, you will be required to complete an authorised absence form which needs to be authorised by a member of staff and requires appropriate evidence. This can be obtained from the Student Support Office. This is available for visa and non-visa students and is the only way for an absence to not be counted towards your attendance record.
Watch this video to find out more about how you record an absence.
What happens if a timetabled session is cancelled at the last minute?
Wherever possible, we will inform you of any changes to your timetabled sessions by email, text and/or through announcements on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (Brightspace) in advance of the planned activity.
Unfortunately, there are occasions when a scheduled class may be cancelled at short notice, usually due to staff absence or because of severe weather conditions (resulting in cessation of public transport).
If a session must be cancelled at short notice, you will be notified as follows:
- An announcement will be placed on the module in Brightspace.
- An email will be issued to those of you who are affected by the cancellation.
- If you have ‘opted in’ to receive communications by text (see your MyDetailsaccount to opt in – instructions below), you will receive a text message.
- If there is widespread disruption, we will also post announcements via Social Media.
If you are notified of the cancellation of on-campus teaching in this manner, you will not be attendance monitored. The attendance records will be updated so this session is not included in your attendance. This might take a day or two to update.
What happens if you have consecutive sessions but on a different module/same module in the same room?
You will need to leave your seats and scan in again at the start of the second session. However, if they are timetabled as one single session then this is not required. You only need to swipe at the start of the sessions if they are distinct sessions on your timetable.
What should I do if I get an email suggesting my attendance needs to improve?
You should start attending. If you cannot, you should take up the offer of support and book into see the guidance team to see how they can support you, by emailing sce.guidance@hud.ac.uk or book an appointment with Guidance Team through this link.
What happens if I receive an email from the university asking me to attend a Formal Attendance Meeting?
You MUST attend this meeting to explain the reason for your absence, and steps will be put in place to ensure you can improve your attendance. If you cannot you should let us know as soon as possible, as indicated in the communication sent to you advising you of the meeting. The meeting cannot be postponed indefinitely and you will likely be asked to provide evidence for the need to postpone the meeting.
What happens if my attendance does not improve?
We may interrupt your studies or withdraw you from the course and university. Please note that this will affect overseas students where you are on a visa to study as your visa will be revoked at this point too. For Home students this will mean that your funding from SFE will stop.
The formal attendance monitoring procedure can be found here.
