ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv

Student attendance policy

We want every student to have the best time at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv and achieve their goals during their time with us.

While every course has , showing up for lectures and classes is still the most vital part of your university experience. It helps you engage and connect, boosts your wellbeing and will ultimately lift your grades.

Our own figures from last year showed that ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv students with excellent attendance achieved on average 10% higher marks than those with poor attendance. You simply won’t get the most out of your course or become the best you can be without engaging fully in our taught, in-person activities.

To help you succeed, and to be clear about what’s expected of you, we’ve launched a new Student Attendance & Engagement Policy for the 2025-26 academic year. This includes a new requirement to attend a minimum of 80% of lectures and timetabled activities.

What do I need to do?

To follow our policy you’re required to register your attendance at all timetabled activities. This includes lectures, seminars, workshops, lab sessions, fieldwork, practical classes, supervised projects, tutorial sessions and online taught content.

Registering your attendance is quick and easy to do. Most rooms on campus are fitted with card readers – simply swipe your student ID card against the reader as you enter the room. Take your card out of your wallet to do this to make sure it scans properly.

If your room doesn’t have a card reader, or for timetabled online activities, your tutor will let you know how to register your attendance.

Please note – you must record your attendance during the first 15 minutes of your timetabled activity or you will be recorded as absent.

You are responsible for registering your own attendance and must not ask someone else to swipe your card for you.

What happens if my attendance is low?

As a student you are expected to attend all scheduled teaching and learning sessions. However, as a minimum requirement, you should attend at least 80% of your timetabled activities.

Your attendance is officially recorded. If it drops below 80% during the year, we may contact you to explore the reasons why your engagement is low. This process is designed to support and encourage you and to help you to re-engage with your studies.

If your attendance remains low, you will receive a formal notification from the university which may result in a disciplinary process, which might ultimately mean dismissal from your programme. See our policy to find out more about the process.

As a university we’re required to share students’ attendance with other bodies, for instance the Student Loans Company and the ESFA, so low engagement could also impact your student loan or funding. If you’re an international student, low attendance might result in the withdrawal of your visa.

What happens if I can’t attend?

From time to time every student will have a valid reason for missing timetabled activities. This might be through illness, bereavement, a family emergency, religious observance or an event like an academic conference. If you have a disability or long-term sickness you might also have attendance-related reasonable adjustments. A full list of authorised reasons for absence is included in our new policy.

If you’re not going to be in class it’s vital that you let us know. Informing your academic tutor or faculty in advance or within five working days of missing an activity will allow us to approve the absence.

What support is available?

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv staff are there to help and want every student to succeed. Please let us know if you’re struggling, either with your studies directly or with outside issues which are affecting your engagement.

Support is always available from your personal or academic tutor, so do reach out to them. Alternatively your Faculty Student Advice Centre, the Student Hub and Student Services can offer guidance too, as well as your nominated contact for attendance and engagement.

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv also has dedicated services to help guide and support you. Take a look at the Student Gateway for more information on help including wellbeing, finance, careers and student resources.

Become your best

As a student you’re at the heart of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ãºmv – everything we do is set up to help you to succeed. For instance, our system of block teaching is designed to fit around other commitments so you shouldn’t need to choose between study and family or work. We’ve also increased the amount of one-on-one academic tutoring you can access this academic year.

We can’t wait to welcome you this year and will do all we can to help you become your best with us.