Student Frequently Asked Questions about attendance, absence and the SAMS project
FAQ Guide for students, updated September 2013
DRAFT - page being redeveloped
Questions about the University’s policy
Q. What is the University’s policy on attendance and attendance monitoring?
A. See www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/Attendance/
The University wants staff to be aware of whether students are engaging with their programme and has set a minimum standard for academic units to monitor attendance. This is once per fortnight but many academic units want to monitor on a more frequent basis - this is because they want students to do well in assessments and research shows that students who attend classes do better in assessments. The choice of what classes to monitor and how often is made by your programme/academic unit. The University is currently developing its systems and approaches to monitor whether students are engaging with their programme of study, in line with the expectations of the Policy on Attendance.
Q. Why do you want to monitor lectures? Are all classes going to be monitored?
A. The decision on what to monitor rests with academic units. The University would encourage monitoring of small groups where possible. However in some cases there is no pattern of small group teaching across the whole semester – e.g. seminars are not offered every week but every 2nd or 3rd week instead. Some disciplines have therefore chosen to monitor attendance at lectures. This situation is subject to ongoing review and is at the discretion of the academic unit.
It is not envisaged that all classes will be monitored, although we do know that some programmes have carried out full/ significant monitoring for many years and we do regard that as good practice. Our approach will be flexible so monitoring can vary by programme, but University policy only requires that student attendance is monitored once a fortnight on average through the teaching semester.
Q. Are classes going to be made compulsory?
A. At the moment the University expects students to attend classes, but not all classes are compulsory. In some disciplines however, there are already compulsory classes – e.g. where there is a professional requirement, sequential lab content or health and safety issues. Also, because of Home Office rules international students are expected to attend at least 80% of their classes. The University will be looking at this question over the next few years and may propose that (some) classes become compulsory, but that is not the current position. We have to examine the options and consult student representatives. The University does recognise students are adults and independent learners, and are thus not obliged to attend every non-compulsory session of their programme.
Q. This is higher education, and students are expected to be independent, so why are you monitoring attendance like schools and FE colleges?
A. Attendance at universities across the UK has always been monitored. At Newcastle, however, there has not been a consistent approach across all disciplines. We have also had separate attendance checks for international students for the last few years, but it is important that we do not single out international students in this regard. Both the University and the Students’ Union have agreed that international students should not be singled out.
Recent Home Office communications have led all universities to review their practice. The universities that always had robust attendance monitoring arrangements have less change to make but others, like Newcastle, have to make their systems more rigorous. Higher Education is absolutely about independent study and the end results in assessment are key. But attendance at classes does not contradict the nature of HE – classes are generally only a small percentage of time in an average student’s week and students need to be accountable. The University also needs to be accountable – to ensure that students are likely to complete their studies. Research has shown that attendance monitoring can help identify students in need of support and enable University staff to intervene to improve the chances of a student’s successful completion.
Whilst students are adults and independent learners, and are thus not obliged to attend every non-compulsory session of their programme, the University nevertheless has a duty of care to be aware of any students who are consistently failing to attend classes, so that enquiries can be made about their welfare, progress and engagement with their study. Research shows that attendance monitoring has a positive impact on student retention, engagement and the student experience.
Q. Why don’t you just monitor international students?
A. This was something the University considered but overall there was agreement that if attendance had to be monitored in class then it should apply to all students. However, this principle does lead to some pragmatic difficulties - particularly until there is a proper SAMS system - so academic units are prioritising attendance records for international students. The Students’ Union supports the view that if international students must be monitored, home students should also be monitored to ensure equality of the student experience. We are also mindful of the research showing the positive effect of attendance monitoring which applies to all students.
Q. Why do we have to comply with the Home Office?
A. UK laws were changed a few years ago and to admit international students the University had to apply for a licence from the Home Office. In applying for a licence the University had to accept Home Office terms. The Home Office have made it clear that if universities do not like the terms they have the choice not to admit international students. If a university does not fulfil its obligations to the Home Office, its licence to admit international students can be revoked. The University must therefore comply with the Home Office, although we do make representations via Universities UK and the Russell Group, when appropriate.
Q. Are other universities doing this?
A. All universities are reviewing their practice for attendance monitoring – a number of policies are now published on websites.
Questions about gaps in attendance
Q. I have been told that I did not attend a class, but I did - what can I do?
A. It is your responsibility to make sure that your attendance is confirmed during any class where attendance is monitored - i.e. you should make sure that you sign the sheet or scan your card. If you did not do this, perhaps because you were late and missed the list going round, that is your responsibility and nothing can be done after the event. If you are late you should ask other students whether there has been a register and, if there was, ask to sign it at the end of the class.
Q. So what will happen if I don’t attend classes?
A. When academic units collect attendance data the University requires them to prioritise follow-up for international students. This is because of our obligations to Home Office. The attendance policy does however apply to all students and we want academic units to be able to identify attendance patterns that give cause for concern, and follow up if appropriate. Action will depend on how frequently you have been absent, whether you have had previous warnings etc. In the first instance nothing may happen or you may just get an email confirming that you were noted as having an unauthorised absence, together with an offer of support if you need it. If there are continued absences you may be called to a meeting etc. In very extreme cases an academic unit may invoke unsatisfactory progress regulations. In very rare cases the University may withdraw students who are not attending their classes. (These are long-standing rules University regulations). As part of our work over the next few months the University will decide what the thresholds will be for absence but there is no expectation that students will attend 100% of all classes. The University wants to develop systems that are responsive to individual student cases.
Questions about the Student Notice of Absence Form
Q. Is the form compulsory?
A. No. It is your choice whether you complete a form. Most academic units don’t need to know about short absences. Even if you miss a monitored class it may not matter. But if the absence is lengthy (e.g. 3 days or more) or for a significant reason it is in your best interests to tell your academic unit – they will generally try to support you if there is a significant problem.
Q. Who will see the form?
A. The absence and the dates will be visible to academic staff if they look at your student record, but the detail of the form will only be available to those staff authorised by your academic unit.
Questions about the SAMS Project
Q. What is SAMS?
A. SAMS is the University’s intended Student Attendance Monitoring System. We will develop our student records system to link to the timetable so we can record whether students attend a specific class IF that class is a monitored event. This will allow us to follow-up where there was unauthorised absence. Data on attendance will be made available to academic staff via the staff portal and also to students via S3P. In addition we are developing an on-line Student Notice of Absence Form to notify tutors of an absence which will automatically feed into the records. To collect attendance data we are planning to use scanners in classrooms so that all students can confirm their attendance without involving academic staff and thus minimising disruption to classes. In May 2013 we did a pilot of this in the Business School which was successful. In October 2013 there will also a pilot in 3 lecture theatres to test the use of scanners in large venues. After the lecture theatre pilot we will ask for staff and student feedback and will evaluate requirements but, at this stage, we hope to start introducing this system from later in the 2013/14 academic year.
Q. What is the University doing?
A. From 2012/13, the University has asked all academic units to improve attendance monitoring for all students.
In common with most universities, the practice of monitoring attendance at Newcastle has varied across subjects and Schools. We now want to introduce a more consistent approach for the following reasons:
- We have an obligation to the Home Office (the former UK Border Agency) to ensure that international students are attending their programme, and must be able to provide records promptly in the event of a Home Office audit.
- It is important to the University, and to the Home Office, that international students are not singled out for attendance monitoring purposes. We wish to provide an equal student experience for all students.
- Irrespective of the Home Office requirements, we believe that University action on attendance can have a positive impact on student outcomes. Research and our own experience have shown that attendance monitoring can encourage good attendance, and help University staff to intervene and provide support if necessary, if a student’s attendance record gives cause for concern about their chances of successful programme completion.
To support a more consistent approach across the University, with the added benefits of efficiency in administration and rapid access to records, the University is intending to develop a Student Attendance Monitoring System (SAMS). The University must do this to protect its Home Office licence and international students studying at Newcastle.
Q. What is happening from 2013/14?
A. The SAMS project group has been established. The project is expected to take a year. In the meantime, academic units will manage attendance in a number of different ways – many will use signature lists and some will use smartcards. A Student Notice of Absence Form is also being developed in S3P - the Student Self Service Portal - to help students and staff manage attendance records more effectively. Screenshots are available.
Q. Does this affect all students?
A. From 2013/14, the Student Notice of Absence Form available on S3P will be used by most students, although there will be some exceptions for clinical programmes. Throughout 2013/14 all academic units will continue to monitor attendance at some events and will maintain that data in different systems as they have done previously. Three pilot schools - Psychology, Mechanical and Systems Engineering and Architecture, Planning and Landscape - will be using other aspects of the new SAMS technology which enables them to record and review attendance data. For these Schools there will be very little change for students but students will be able to see their history of attendance at monitored events in S3P.
Q. Are students involved in the development of SAMS?
A. Yes. The Students’ Union Education Officer has been involved in developments since the start of the project and is a member of the SAMS Steering Group. We want student representatives to be involved in the design and testing of the on-line absence form and also in the decision about which scanners we use. Student views were sought after a pilot of scanners in the Business School and will also be sought after the October lecture theatre pilot.
Questions about scanners in classrooms
Q. What scanners are the University going to use?
A. We would like the scan to be quick and cause minimum disruption to both students and staff – ideally confirmation when the student enters the room. Following consideration of other technologies, the University has reviewed options and decided that it prefers to use smart card scanners but has yet to confirm which type of scanner. The initial view is that fixed scanners in teaching rooms are likely to be chip readers and mobile scanners are likely to be bar code readers.
Q. If you use scanners won’t you cause a queue to enter the lecture room?
A. There is not yet a final decision on the type of scanner or which rooms to put them in. If scanners were to be placed in large capacity lecture or teaching rooms there would be multiple scanners. Experience at other universities is being reviewed and there are no reports of queues. We are running our own lecture theatre pilot in October 2013.
Q. What is the scanner pilot in lecture theatres?
A. We have installed fixed scanners in 3 lecture theatres - Curtis Auditorium, Herschel LT3 and David Shaw. From 30 September to 25 October we want to evaluate the experience of large numbers of students using the scanners on entry to the room. We particularly want to see whether there are blockages / delays on entry to the room and whether that gets better after the first week. In some cases staff may also circulate paper class-lists or mobile scanners in addition to asking you to scan on entry to the room.
Q. What will happen if scanners do not work for a particular class?
A. If there is a problem with in-class scanners for a limited period, e.g. an individual class or a day, probably nothing will happen – that event will be excluded from the monitoring records. If there was a longer term problem the University would almost certainly invoke contingency arrangements (i.e. revert to paper signature lists).
Q. If everything is not monitored why will you put scanners in most teaching venues?
A. The University has common/shared teaching rooms across disciplines and use of the rooms varies across the year and between years. And some academic units want/need to monitor a greater number of sessions. Therefore we need to equip a large number of venues – but note we have not yet decided about lecture theatres. Also, we thought it would be easier for staff and students to have a general principle that scanners will be on entry to teaching venues.
Q. Who will be able to see in-class attendance records?
A. When the full SAMS system is in place you will be able to view your attendance records on S3P. Screenshots are available. Your attendance at monitored teaching events will also be visible to academic staff if they look at your student record.
Questions for international students
Q. I am an international postgraduate student, why do I have to ask for permission to take holidays during the summer?
A. Postgraduate programmes are normally 45 weeks of full time study. For PGT students there is normally 4 weeks holiday over the Christmas period and 4 weeks over Easter, so you are not entitled to holiday over the summer. However, the University may grant 2 weeks summer holiday by discretion only. Please use the Student Notice of Absence Form to request any summer holiday.
Summer holiday is a particular issue for international students as the Home Office (formerly UKBA) expects you to be in attendance on your course throughout the full programme. Consequently, the University needs to know when you are away from your studies. Holiday in the summer is discouraged for international students - as some international students have not been allowed to return to the UK by the Home Office in July/August. Also, international students have an extra 4 months visa after their course finishes during which they can take holiday.
Q. I am an international postgraduate student, can I complete my dissertation back in my home country?
A. Yes, if there are no on-campus resources that you need to finish your dissertation. But you need to be aware of the implications of this. If you require a visa to study in the UK, when you return to your home country the University will report to the Home Office (formerly UKBA) that you are completing your studies but from your home country (or other country depending on your request). This means that your UK visa will be curtailed. Therefore if you intend to return to the UK at a later date (e.g. to attend your congregation ceremony) you may need to apply for a visitor visa.
Q. I have been told that I did not attend a class, but I did - what can I do?
A. It is your responsibility to make sure that your attendance is confirmed during any class where attendance is monitored - i.e. you should make sure that you sign the sheet or scan your card. If you did not do this, perhaps because you were late and missed the list going round, that is your responsibility and nothing can be done after the event. If you are late you should ask other students whether there has been a register and, if there was, ask to sign it at the end of the class.
