2.1 Students are responsible for organising their residential and other arrangements to facilitate engagement and attendance as required by their programme. Students must attend all teaching activities necessary for their studies, undertake all associated assessments and attend meetings and other activities as required by their school or the University.
2.2 The Policy on Circumstances Affecting Students' Ability to Study and Complete Assessments details the processes that students and schools should follow when a student’s ability to study or take assessments is in any way affected, including if the student wishes the University to consider an Extenuating Circumstance. Where students wish to interrupt their study, they should follow the University's procedure on voluntary interruption of study. Retrospective interruption of study is not permitted. For more information, please consult the following:
Policy on circumstances affecting students ability to study and complete assessments
Voluntary interruption of study
2.3 Where a student is not engaging with or attending their studies, the School should follow the Student Engagement and Attendance Policy and Code of Practice. Where the School requires the student to suspend, and the student does not wish to voluntarily interrupt their study, then the recommendation to suspend should be forwarded by the School to Registry & Academic Affairs for consideration by the Quality and Standards Committee (QSC). If the School’s recommendation is ratified, the student will be required to suspend. Where it is identified that the student would benefit from additional support, the School should follow the Support to Study procedure.
2.4 Schools will use the Student Engagement Dashboard and the official University attendance capture system in order to follow this procedure, as outlined on the Student Engagement and Attendance policy. This policy is in place to support student wellbeing with engagement being a key indicator.
2.5 The University has a Code of Practice for managing student engagement and attendance. For more information please consult the Student Engagement and Attendance webpage.
2.6 For student visa holders, the University has a Code of Practice for UKVI academic engagement. For more information please consult the UKVI Code of Practice.
2.7 The University has a policy regarding students required to withdraw temporarily or permanently on grounds of health and safety and it may be appropriate to manage non-engagement and/or non-attendance through that procedure rather than through these regulations. For more information, please consult the following:
Students required to withdraw on grounds of health and safety
Support to Study Policy
2.8 If data in the Student Engagement Dashboard indicates that a student is not attending any modules, supervision or other required activities and the School has confirmed that the student is not engaging and the student provides no explanation for this non-attendance when invited to do so and does not engage with the process for contacting a disengaged student, the Assumed Withdrawal process will be followed. Further information about this can be found in the regulations governing registration in the Quality Manual and in the Engagement and Attendance Policy (link above).
Registration, attendance and study
2.9 Where a student replies to the Assumed Withdrawal communication and provides an explanation for their absence, this will be considered by the School and any other relevant departments (such as the Visa and Immigration team and Student Account Services) who must determine whether the explanation provides good cause for the absence and whether and how a return to studies is viable, given missed learning. If the explanation offered does not establish good cause, the Assumed Withdrawal process will stand.
2.10 If a student is identified in the Student Engagement Dashboard as having zero attendance and the School has no knowledge at all as to the student's whereabouts the School should contact Student and Campus Life and the emergency contact protocol will be applied.
Postgraduate Research Students
2.11 Annual leave for research students should be in accordance with the relevant guidance and where students do not comply with this they may be managed under this policy.
Responsibilities of the student (PGR)
Apprenticeship Students
2.12 This is applicable to all learners on a Degree Apprenticeship programme commencing study from August 2022.
2.13 Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funding rules require that active learning must take place at least every four weeks and evidence provided, in the case of block release programmes, active learning must take place every three months and evidence provided. Otherwise break in learning must be enacted to stop funding to the University. The Compliance and Engagement Team (Institute for Professional and Work-based learning) routinely measure evidence of active learning and will notify an apprentice where a non-compliance is found, giving five working days to respond and provide evidence.
For more information about ESFA funding rules, please consult the following:
Apprenticeship funding rules
2.14 If evidence is not submitted within those five working days, Registry and Academic Affairs will apply a suspension from studies.
2.15 Apprentices commencing study from August 2022 will have contractual obligations outlining this requirement, and any queries related to apprentice starts before this date should be directed to the Compliance and Engagement Team (Institute for Professional and Work-based learning).