Engagement is widely recognised as being essential for successfully achieving your full potential when studying. Engagement with your lectures, seminars and workshops, having regular supervisory meetings with your supervisory team, or practical training, provides you with opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully achieve the outcomes of your programme.
We are keen to support you to maximise your potential, and by monitoring attendance and engagement we are able to quickly spot patterns and work with you to help you overcome any issues that may be affecting your attendance and/or engagement with your studies so that you can stay on track.
The University has a Student Engagement Policy & Procedure which aims to:
- improve the engagement and attendance of all students
- ensure a proactive approach to providing support when you need it
- enable you to maximise your full potential, increasing success and achievement
To help you understand our policy and processes, we have developed a Moodle course on student engagement and attendance which explains the key information you need to succeed in your studies.
Engagement - what do we ask of you?
You are expected to engage according to the requirement of your programme of study:
- Students on Taught programmes – You are expected to attend all timetabled face-to-face teaching sessions along with seminars, workshops and tutorials.
- Students on Taught Postgraduate programmes at Project/Dissertation Stage – You are expected to engage with fortnightly meetings with your supervisor.
- Students on Postgraduate Research programmes – You are expected to maintain regular contact with your supervisory team every month via the PULSE system.
- Students on Degree Apprenticeship programmes – You are expected to attend all timetabled sessions, along with all off-the-job training.
- Students on Distance Learning programmes – You are expected to engage with your studies in line with the expectations of your individual programme of study.
- Students on Work placement – You are expected to maintain regular contact with your placement tutor or Faculty placement team on a monthly basis.
- Students on Clinical/Professional placement – You are expected to attend all placement sessions agreed with your placement setting in keeping with your programme requirements.
All students are expected to respond to communications regarding your engagement from your programme team, your Faculty Retention and Success Officer, Student & Academic Services, and for international students, from the Visa Compliance Team.
How we monitor engagement
In order to record your engagement, we will measure your engagement activity against specific criteria during a set time period according to your programme of study – these are called 'Contact Points'.
- Students on Taught programmes – Attendance will be recorded for all in-person teaching sessions, including lectures, workshops, seminars, tutorials, lab/studio sessions etc. An entire week with no attendance at any module will normally be considered as a missed contact point.
- Students on Taught Postgraduate programmes at Project/Dissertation Stage – Each supervisory meeting (either face-to-face) or online is considered to be a point of contact. You are normally expected to engage with your supervisor on a fortnightly basis.
- Students on Postgraduate Research programmes – Each supervisory meeting (either face-to-face or online) is considered to be a point of contact. You are normally expected to engage with a member of your supervisory team on a monthly basis. You will be expected to record a minimum of one supervisory meeting per month on the PULSE system. For more information on the PULSE system please click here. An entire calendar month without a point of contact will normally be considered as a missed contact.
- Students on Degree Apprenticeship programmes – Attendance with university-based study days will be monitored in accordance with Taught programme engagement monitoring. Degree Apprenticeship students are also required to have a minimum of 85% attendance with timetabled sessions. Engagement is also monitored through off-the-job (OTJ) training, which includes teaching of theory, practical training such as shadowing, mentoring, industry visits and participation in competitions along with learning support and time spent writing assessments. Apprentices are expected to record non-timetabled sessions in their OTJ Moodle and these are reviewed at tripartite reviews.
- Students on Distance Learning programmes – Your engagement will be determined and monitored by the programme team based on the structure of your programme.
- Students on Work placement – Where a taught student is undertaking a work placement, regular contact with the placement tutor or Faculty placement team will serve as evidence of ongoing attendance and engagement. Such contact is usually expected to take place on a monthly basis. An entire calendar month without a point of contact will normally be considered as a missed contact.
- Students on Clinical/Professional placement – Where a student is attending a clinical or other professional placement (e.g. nursing, social work, teaching) in order to satisfy a PSRB professional practice requirement, attendance will be monitored on a weekly basis (in accordance with published programme regulations).
We will make every effort to avoid having to initiate the formal engagement escalation process, but if we are unable to see that you are engaging with your studies, we will send you a series of notifications asking you to get in touch.
If you fail to respond to these communications and your lack of engagement continues, you could be withdrawn from your studies. Section 6 of the Student Engagement Policy & Procedure explains in full how the procedure is applied.
Notification of Absence
Whilst engagement is very important, we recognise that occasionally this may not be possible due to external factors. If you do need to notify the University of an absence, you should use the appropriate procedure.
- If you know you are going to be absent for up to three calendar days, you should submit apologies via the online system here. You can also access the link via your Student Portal - My Learning - Notify staff of non-attendance. If this is not done, the absence will count as a missed point of contact.
- For absences of more than three calendar days, you will need to complete an Authorised Absence Form, which must be authorised by your Faculty Retention and Success Officer. Your request will need to be supported by appropriate evidence.
If you believe your absence might affect your academic performance, you should read our guidance on Extenuating Circumstances in case you need to make a claim.
In some cases, you may decide to request to interrupt your studies for a period of time.
Your personal tutor can advise on support systems within the university and provide guidance on university procedures.
Appeals against a withdrawal decision
If you have not responded to communications regarding your engagement and have been notified that you are being withdrawn from the university, you have the right to appeal the decision. Your appeal must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the date of the email informing you of the withdrawal. You will need to set out the reasons why you believe that the withdrawal was not justified based on the available grounds, providing a compelling reason why the information and evidence on which you are basing your appeal could not have been made available before the decision to withdraw you was reached.
For full details of how to submit an appeal and the procedure for consideration of your appeal, please refer to Section 7 of the Student Engagement Policy & Procedure.
For further support, you can contact the GSU Advice Service here.
Drop-in sessions with Faculty Retention and Success Officers
Business: Lucy Burridge; Kofi Currid-Goode; Abigail Fitzgerald
Drop-in sessions: Online and in-person
Mondays: 13:00-15:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting gbs-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Tuesdays: 13:30-15:30, online - Please book your appointment by contacting gbs-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Wednesdays: 13:30-15:30, QM240
Thursdays: 13:30-15:30, QM240
Liberal Arts & Sciences: Ophelia Lopez Bonelli
Drop-in sessions: In-person and online - please book your online appointment by email at least 1 day in advance.
Mondays: 11:30-12:30, online - Please book your appointment by contacting flas-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Wednesdays: 14:00 - 16:00, in person (D111)
Fridays: 13:00 - 15:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting flas-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Education, Health and Human Sciences: Paul Moran; Sally Mills-White
Drop-in sessions: Online and in-person
Mondays: 10:00 – 11:30am, in person (2nd floor, Fry building)
Tuesdays: 13:00-14:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting fehhs-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Thursdays: 13:00-14:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting fehhs-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Fridays: 11:00-12:30, in person (2nd floor, Fry building)
Engineering & Science: Victoria Jones; William Chalkley; Manjit Bassra
Drop-in sessions: Online and in-person
Tuesdays: 14:00-15:00, in person (Blake B054 - Medway campus)
Wednesdays: 14:00 - 15:00, in person (Blake B054 - Medway campus)
Thursdays: 10:00-12:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting fes-attend@gre.ac.uk.
Fridays: 10:00-11:00, online - Please book your appointment by contacting fes-attend@gre.ac.uk.