Faculty of Life and Health Sciences
PRINCIPLES FOR MONITORING STUDENT ATTENDANCE
this information is available in MS Word Format
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The following principles will guide the development of School policies on Student Attendance
Data collection
Attendance data will be collected in all modules in all taught courses and in other events deemed appropriate by the course committee. Data will be centrally collated at an appropriate level (subject/ school) and made available to course directors.
Module coordinators
Module co-ordinators are responsible for informing students of our expectations and the means by which attendance data will be collected. They (with other staff teaching the module) are responsible for collecting the data.
Course Director
Course Directors are responsible for informing students at induction of our expectations. They will receive reports of poor attendance and act on them with the Advisor of Studies to encourage students to re-engage with the teaching. Course Directors will collate information from modules and investigate the causes of non-attendance. Attendance will be a regular item on the course committee agenda (reserved). Some functions may be devolved to other nominees (School Attendance Monitors, Year tutors etc).
School Co-ordinators of Teaching and Learning
Co-ordinators are responsible for the formulation and quality control of the school policy. They will report annually to the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee.
Heads of School
Heads of School will assign staff to monitor attendance at non-modular provision and to be Attendance Monitors where appropriate. They also act in a formal capacity to interview transgressing students and facilitate any further actions in accordance with school policy.
School Policy
The purpose of a policy on attendance is to encourage students to attend and thereby maximise their chances of successfully completing the course. The school will define when a student’s attendance pattern would give cause for concern and incorporate this into a policy document. Actions (both support and sanctions) should be applied where necessary and within the university regulations (see Appendix 2). The School schedule of actions will be included in the policy document. The policy will be reported to Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee to allow examination of comparability between schools. Once agreed they should be written into programme regulations as they are revalidated.
Non EEU students
The attendance of non EEU students is monitored for immigration purposes and that exercise is independent of attendance monitoring for student support.
INTRODUCTION
These principles have been developed in the light of:
- Teaching and Learning Strategy (2008/09 – 2012/13)
The University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy has identified 4 Strategic Aims the second of which is:
“To target, recruit, support and retain a diverse range of students.”
Within this strategic aim is the objective to:
“Improve student attendance since this is an indicator of student commitment and engagement.”
- Guidelines for First Year Teaching
The University has produced a set of Guidelines for First Year Teaching. Among these is the need to co-ordinate activities in year 1 and an important aspect of this coordination is that:
“Attendance monitoring with rapid (supportive) follow-up should be in place.”
- Course/Programme Regulations – Attendance Requirements
The standard university regulations (section 9) state
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
9.1 Students are expected to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance.
9.2 …….(illness provision)
9.3 Students who are absent without good cause for a substantial proportion of classes may be required to discontinue studies, in accordance with the General Regulations for Students.
- Duties of Office bearers
Among the duties of Course Directors is:
“the regular review of student attendance and progress and presentation of reports on these matters to the Course Committee,…… and to the Faculty Board in respect of students deemed withdrawn on account of non-attendance for an (aggregate) period of four weeks”;
Module Coordinators are required to:
“monitor student attendance and progress and advise the Course Director and Adviser of Studies of any problems”
PRINCIPLES FOR MONITORING STUDENT ATTENDANCE
The Faculty failed to agree on a common set of procedures for attendance monitoring largely on the basis of the sanctions to be applied. This set of principles is designed to provide a framework within which each school, subject or course can develop its own policy to fulfil the university’s requirements and provide a supportive environment for its students in the context of that subject area. Natural justice however, obliges us to agree a minimum policy so that students are treated equitably across the faculty. School policies will therefore be monitored by the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee.
- Applicability- Attendance at all sessions will be monitored in all modules across all years in all taught courses. Other non-module specific events may be designated (e.g. general tutorials, induction sessions, meetings with Advisors of Study, placement preparation) at which attendance may also be monitored.
- Modules. Formal responsibility for collecting attendance data at module level lies with the Module Coordinator. Module Coordinators will also ensure that timely records of student attendance in an accessible format are maintained although this function may be devolved to course, subject or school level.
Heads of School will ensure that staff member(s) are nominated with corresponding responsibilities for other designated non-module specific events.
At the start of each module, Module Coordinators will ensure that students are:
- reminded of their general attendance obligations
- advised of any additional module-specific attendance requirements;
- reminded that attendance is recorded in their file and will be commented on in any future reference.
- advised as to how attendance records for the module will be assembled. They will identify (for example):
- The range of classes at which attendance records will be taken.
- The mechanism(s) to be employed.
Members of staff assigned corresponding responsibilities for the other designated non-module specific events will provide corresponding information for their events.
Automated systems are available which will send an e-mail to absent students after each recorded unexplained absence.
3 Courses- Formal responsibility for attendance monitoring at Course level lies with the Course Director, although functions may be devolved to a nominee(s) at school level. (Attendance Monitors, Year tutors etc). Monitoring at course level will be on the basis of reviewing records of attendance for those modules and other non-module specific events and activities undertaken by students enrolled on the programme. Course Directors will make every effort to obtain attendance information from Module Coordinators for relevant modules that are hosted outside of the Faculty.
During induction, Course directors will ensure that students are:
- reminded of their general attendance obligations (quoting the Student Charter, Course Regulations and other relevant sources);
- reminded of the benefits of attendance (e.g. any relationship between attendance and progression);
- reminded of the resources available to them for informing staff of non-attendance or other related issues (e.g. NA1 forms, EC1 forms). Additional forms are available which give more details of the classes missed. (e.g. Appendix 1) Their use is optional;
- advised that attendance at all taught modules will be monitored;
- advised of any other non-module specific events (e.g. general tutorials, induction sessions, meetings with Advisors of Study) at which attendance will be monitored.
During the year course directors or others acting on their behalf will follow up any student whose absences from a module give cause for concern. Students will be contacted in the first instance to remind them of the need to report absences and to offer explanations. Unsatisfactorily explained absences will trigger a discussion of what additional support/ guidance might be required. Regular accounts of student attendance are presented to the course (subject) committee.
Discussion of Student Attendance will be regular item on the agenda of course committees (reserved).
4. Remedial actions.
Where a student’s attendance profile gives rise for concern the School’s policy for the following up of student non-attendance will be invoked. The School’s policy might consist of any of the following in an appropriate sequence:
- Sending an e-mail via an automated system after each absence;
- Informal investigation of any problems the student may be experiencing;
- Requiring students to report regularly to a members of staff to review progress;
- Formal interview with School Attendance Monitor and Course Director; record placed in student file.
- Formal interview with Head of School; record placed in student file.
- Formal letter to home address; record placed in student file.
- Decisions regarding the progress of the student.
A list of possible further actions is given in Appendix 2. The purpose should be rehabilitation rather than punitive. Schools will report the schedule of actions to be used to Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee to ensure that students are treated equitably across the Faculty.
5. Timing of monitoring
To enable a prompt response to non-engagement, Schools should monitor the pattern of student attendance in accordance with the following:
- All first year students (including taught postgraduate).
Schools will make arrangements to rapidly contact students who fail to attend for any required pre-academic year event (e.g. enrolment/ registration, induction/ orientation) without providing prior notification.
- All years (including taught postgraduate).
Attendance profiles will be closely monitored on a regular basis especially during the first 3 weeks of each semester.
By the end of Teaching Week 3, Schools will arrange for those students whose attendance is already causing concern (OR other agreed criterion) to be investigated. They will arrange to meet with the student if appropriate.
Details of any meetings with the student will be recorded and placed on the student’s file.
The pattern of student attendance will be monitored regularly throughout the semester.
6. Schools
Each school will develop a policy which is consistent with these guidelines. Compliance with the policy will be monitored by the School Co-ordinator of Teaching and Learning through regular reports from Course Directors to the School Teaching and Learning Committee. At the end of each academic year each course will report on the attendance pattern for the course. In addition attendance patterns should form a component of module monitoring. School Teaching and Learning Co-ordinators will report the operation of their policy (including any schedule of sanctions) to the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee annually.
This document has been derived from the code of practice on attendance being developed in the Faculty of Engineering and from a draft faculty attendance policy produced by Mark Poulter (Health Sciences).
Tony Cook
09-02-10
Appendix 1
Notification of Non-Attendance (NONA) Form
This form enables you to report the reasons for your non-attendance so that any extenuating circumstances can be identified.
( this information is available in MS Word Format )
- Use one single NONA form to cover all instances of non-attendance in a single continuous period provided the same one reason for non-attendance applies to all missed classes during that period.
e.g. If you miss two classes on one day, or three classes over three days, because of the same episode of illness, you need only submit one form… if you recover and return to class, but then subsequently succumb to the same illness and have to miss further classes, you should then submit another NONA form.
- Submit one hard copy to the Student Attendance Monitor within 5 days of the first class to which it refers.
N.B. – If you have any evidence to support your stated reasons for non-attendance (e.g. a note from a doctor or coach) you should submit that too – this will be used to determine the acceptability of your claim.
- Retain one copy for your own records.
- This does not substitute for an EC1 form which relates only to the non submission of assessment.
1. |
Student’s details: |
|||
|
Reg. No.: |
_______________________ |
Name: |
_________________________ |
2. |
Reason for non-attendance(s): |
|
Where possible, you should attach and submit supporting evidence to support your stated reason for non-attendance (e.g. note from doctor/coach) |
|
|
3. |
Confidentiality: |
|
|
|
This form will be viewed by the Student Attendance Monitor and the Course Director. On occasions, we may wish to share the information with other academic staff, but only with your permission. |
||
|
|
YES |
NO |
4. |
Class details: |
|
|
|
|
|
Add additional class details as necessary |
||||
|
Module Code |
Abbreviated Title |
Day |
Date |
Time |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appendix2
Sanctions
The University Teaching & Learning Committee endorsed a ‘Protocol in respect of student attendance’ (T&LC 04/39) and this suggests (and thus allows, though does not require) the following sanctions:
- Withdrawal from course:
The Faculty Board (or Dean, if no meeting of the Faculty Board is imminent) can take action to deem the student withdrawn.
This is in accordance with Regulation 11 of the University’s General Regulations for Students which states: “The Board of the Faculty shall deem a student to have withdrawn from the University if the student has been absent without leave from prescribed instruction for a period of four weeks or an aggregate of four weeks in the semester”.
- A fine, a reprimand, and/or suspension of privilege for up to one semester (i.e. student cannot enter any of the University's premises or University-controlled residences, is not permitted either to attend classes or to take examinations):
The Protocol suggests that these may be applied by Deans and Heads of School following unauthorized absences of less than four weeks.
This is done under the Ordinance on Student Discipline, for failure to comply with Regulation 6 of the University’s General Regulations for Students which states: “Students must be punctual and regular in their attendance at such classes or other forms of instruction as may be prescribed”.
In addition to these, Regulation 13 of the University’s General Regulations for Students also allows:
- Debarment from taking examinations and discontinuation of studies:
The regulation states:
“If at any time the Board of a Faculty, on the advice of a Course/Subject Committee, is of the opinion that a student’s progress is unsatisfactory it may:
- send to the student due notice in writing that, unless there is an improvement, it will debar the student from taking examinations; or
- decide on behalf of the Senate that the student be required to discontinue studies”.
The University regulations are at http://plangov.ulster.ac.uk/governance/council/pdfs/2008-2009_regulations.pdf and the relevant sections on page 4. – General Regulations for Students (regulations 6,7,8, and 11)