Attendance Monitoring FAQs

Why do I need to record student attendance?

We record student attendance in line with our Student Engagement Policy to ensure we can support students in the best possible way to engage with their studies and meet UKVI requirements for our students on a visa. You can find more information here.

When do I record student attendance?

We expect that you record student attendance for all on-campus in-person timetabled teaching activities including lectures, workshops, seminars, tutorials, labs etc. on GreWeb immediately during class.

Please note that attendance registers must be an accurate reflection of students present in the classroom and therefore will not be amended after a class has taken place. It's the student's responsibility to check that their attendance was recorded accurately in class. Faculty Retention and Success Officers will not amend registers or enter any data on GreWeb retrospectively.

How do I record student attendance?

You can record attendance using the tap-in card reader, QR code or by manually ticking students off on the GreWeb register. You should not record attendance on paper registers. Detailed guidance on the different methods of recording student attendance is available on the Moodle site.

How do I record attendance for apprentices?

For students studying degree apprenticeships only, you should record attendance for all teaching sessions including those delivered online on GreWeb using the usual registers. You must not record attendance for online sessions for any other students on GreWeb.

What is GreWeb and how can I access it?

GreWeb is our attendance monitoring system used to record attendance. It also enables you to view a student’s attendance record. You can access it directly at https://greweb.gre.ac.uk/ or via the Staff Portal – Learning Support – Student attendance.

I cannot see a register for my teaching activity on GreWeb. What do I do?

GreWeb registers are only available for timetabled teaching activities attached to a module and member of staff. If you cannot see your teaching activities, particularly at the start of term, it is likely that timetables are still being updated. Please contact your Faculty Timetabling Lead. You can still record attendance by manually searching for the relevant module in GreWeb and selecting the relevant activity you are teaching.

Why is the information on my register wrong?

Information about the activity, for example, the list of students, the staff member, and the location is drawn from the timetabling system and stored in the Attendance Monitoring System when the register is created, i.e. when a staff member first clicks Record attendance. The two systems are not automatically kept in sync and the information in the Attendance Monitoring System can become outdated if the register is created in advance and changes are subsequently made in the timetabling system.

Each register page has a Refresh register button. This allows you to update the list of students based on current timetabling information, but it will not update any of the other information. In time this feature will be enhanced to refresh all the information on the register but currently there is no way to update information like the staff member and the location, though issues with this information are more prevalent at the start of term when there are frequent timetabling changes and can be avoided by only creating registers when you are about to record attendance.

Why do I have duplicate registers?

Where faculties request timetabling changes, these can result in changes made retrospectively in the timetabling system and new activities/occurrences replacing old ones, which in turn can result in multiple registers if teaching staff create a new register where one already exists.

To avoid issues with this in Greweb, if you need to add attendance to an existing register, view attendance for the module, view the existing registers, and open the relevant register from there. Do not go to record attendance for your timetabled activities as if those activities have changed you risk selecting a different activity and creating a separate register.

If you have created duplicate registers and want all the attendance to appear on a single register, decide which register to keep, make sure it has all the students' attendances, and then clear and delete the other register (click the 'C' at the top of the register, Save changes, and Delete register).

Unfortunately, there is no way to automate or improve this process and it will continue to be a risk where timetabling changes are made after registers have been taken.

A student has contacted me to let me know that they cannot attend class. What should I do?

Please advise the student on the correct notification process.

If a student is absent for up to three calendar days, they must submit an apology via the Student Portal – My Learning – Notify staff of non-attendance. It is not sufficient to email teaching staff, apologies must be recorded on the system to avoid escalation emails being sent to the student.

If a student is absent for more than three calendar days, they must complete an Authorised Absence Form and gain approval from their Retention and Success Officer.

A student has contacted me to request online study for a limited period of time due to health reasons. What should I do?

There is no provision for online study in 2023-24. Please contact Wellbeing@gre.ac.uk to put support in place via the Greenwich Inclusion Plan for an alternative study request.

At what point during the teaching session should I record attendance? When does a student count as late?

This decision is at your discretion or the discretion of your School/Faculty. Please contact your Quality Assurance/Learning & Teaching Lead for further guidance if needed.

How do I use the QR code for attendance recording?

When initialising the register, you will now have the option to select ‘Show QR Code’ in the top right-hand corner. Selecting this option will take you to a new page with the QR code for students to scan as well as a passcode to enter for students who cannot scan the QR code. The QR code is active from five minutes before the start of the teaching session until five minutes after the end of the teaching session and unique to that session.

For 2023-24, we have introduced rotating QR codes, this means the QR code image will change every 45 seconds making it more difficult for students to share the QR code with anyone not present in the classroom. Please note that this means you must show the live QR code from GreWeb on screen to take attendance, you cannot take a screenshot before class and embed it in your slides.

Can I still use the card reader application in addition to the QR code to record attendance?

Yes, you can use both methods simultaneously. The QR code window must be closed, and the register refreshed before entering additional attendance manually. We recommend showing the QR code at the start and telling any students if they have any problems, to come and tap in at the end, with the staff member launching the Contactless Card Reader application or manually recording attendance once they have finished teaching.

Why is a student's attendance not recorded even though they registered using the QR code/passcode?

This typically occurred when a staff member saved changes to the register and overwrote those students' attendance.
If students are self-registering using a QR code/passcode, please either use the Contactless Card Reader application to record other students' attendance or wait until students have finished self-registering and refresh the register web page before recording any attendance manually.

We have now added a tick box 'Overwrite QR code attendances' at the bottom of the register page that needs to be selected before saving changes if you wish to change attendance recorded via QR codes.

What do I do if students cannot scan the QR code because they have no phone with them or poor signal?

On the screen showing the QR code, students are also given the option to enter a passcode on GreWeb which they can do on their laptop if needed.

If students do not have any devices with them, you can still record their attendance with the card reader application or by manually ticking them off on the GreWeb register. When doing so, please ensure you have refreshed and closed the page before entering new data to avoid overwriting any data.

Can students share the QR code with their fellow students?

Students must use single sign-on and multi-factor authentication when self-registering their attendance. They will also be prompted to share their location, only when they agree to this is their attendance recorded. This enables us to check that students were on campus when recording their attendance. If students require support to change their location setting, please direct them to: https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/student-and-academic-services-sas/registering-your-attendance

For 2023-24, we have introduced rotating QR codes, this means the QR code image will change every 45 seconds making it more difficult for students to share the QR code with anyone not present in the classroom. Please note that this means you must show the live QR code from GreWeb on screen to take attendance, you cannot take a screenshot before class and embed it in your slides.

I have a technical issue with the Attendance Monitoring System, how do I get help?

If the issue is not covered in these FAQs, the training in Horizon, the staff guides in Moodle, or in the system itself - there are often keys, tooltips, or information on screen that explain different aspects of the system - then please raise a call with the IT Service Desk.

When raising a call with the Service Desk, please include information that will allow staff to recreate the issue. For example, if the issue is with an individual register, open the register in a web browser, copy the web address and include that in your email so that staff can easily identify the register/timetabled activity in question, and if the issue is with an individual student's attendance, include that student's details along with those of the register. If the issue is with a process, please describe the steps you go through and when the issue occurs.

I have a question about a student’s attendance. Who should I contact?

Please contact your relevant Faculty Retention and Success Team:

GBS: gbs-attend@gre.ac.uk

FEHHS: fehhs-attend@gre.ac.uk

FES: fes-attend@gre.ac.uk

FLAS: flas-attend@gre.ac.uk

What communications do students receive if they have missed classes?

If a student has missed all contact points in a week, they will be flagged on the system for non-attendance. Students on a visa will receive a stage 1 email after one week of missed contact, a stage 2 email after two consecutive weeks of missed contact and a stage 3 email after three consecutive weeks of missed contact before receiving a withdrawal notification. For home students, stage 1-3 emails are sent every two weeks.

To support students not in attendance to re-engage with their studies at the earliest opportunity, all students identified through this process will receive a call via the Retention Project. Students at stage 2, stage 3 and withdrawal stage will also receive a text message.

I am concerned about a student’s engagement. Can someone contact them to check in with them?

Our Retention Project runs during term time calling all students prioritising those not in attendance. If you have a particular concern, you can request for your student(s) to be called by contacting gsu-retention@gre.ac.uk.