Absence from classes and attendance requirements
At the time of registration, students will have ticked a box on the Student System to indicate an agreement to follow the University of Manchester’s regulations. These regulations require students to attend all scheduled/timetabled classes on their programme of study, including submission of all written work by deadlines specified by Course Unit Directors.
Non-attendance is only acceptable on health or compassionate grounds. In this event, if you miss class, (lecture or seminar/workshop/lab) you must follow the procedure outlined below. There is an expectation that you will catch up on any missed work and be adequately prepared for the next class of that course.
Please refer to:
- University's Policy on Recording and Monitoring Student Attendance and Engagement
- University's Regulation XX for full information about attendance requirements: Monitoring attendance and wellbeing of students
In the event of injury or illness which is likely to lead to absence of a longer period of time, students must contact the Student Support and Wellbeing team ambs.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk as soon as possible.
The School will monitor student attendance and engagement throughout the academic year. Should attendance/engagement be deemed unsatisfactory or raise concerns, the School will contact the relevant students and give them the opportunity to provide an explanation and also improve their attendance/engagement going forward.
Appropriate support will be provided in the event of welfare concerns or issues.
For those students who do not have a credible reason for their absence and who show no improvement in attendance, the University has the power to refuse them permission to attend exams with the consequence of being excluded from their programme of study.
Should a students’ examination results be marginal, the Board of Examiners will take into account attendance/engagement records which could impact progression.
Student Engagement and Attendance System (SEAtS)
Our new Student Engagement and Attendance System (SEAtS) enables students and staff to log attendance at teaching sessions, such as lectures and seminars.
Using SEAtS is compulsory for all undergraduate and postgraduate students attending taught activities on campus.
The SEAtS system will help you stay on top of your academic schedule and will actively support your engagement and wellbeing, allowing us to offer you further support during your studies should you need it.
How to use SEAtS:
- Download the SEAts App
- Log in using your University email
- Select a teaching event and scan the QR code
For more information about SEAtS, please visit the SEAtS information page on the Student Support site.
If your circumstances will result in absence from class, please log your absence through the Student Engagement and Attendance System (SEAtS). Make sure you specify the reason you will be absent using the drop-down menu. If none of the absence options are relevant, then you can use the ‘other’ option and add comments with reasons for your absence.
If you are absent due to an unforeseen circumstance, you can still log this absence through the app. Make sure that you leave a comment to explain the unforeseen circumstance.
Find out more about how to request an absence on the SEAtS guideline webpage. Watch the video guide for a step by step instruction on how to log your absence through SEAtS.
- Students' attendance at all classes is compulsory and will be monitored across seminars, tutorials, labs and workshops. Spot checks across lectures may also be undertaken each year. Alliance MBS will take action in response to absences - see below.
- If, in either semester, your engagement has been deemed to be unsatisfactory, you will be contacted by a member of the Student Support and Wellbeing Team and asked to provide an explanation (unless you have already completed the 2023/24 AMBS UG absence from teaching form and are in contact with the Student Support and Wellbeing Team). Failure to respond to this request to contact the Student Support and Wellbeing Team is a serious matter, so students must ensure that they check their University email accounts each day during teaching periods.
- If you fail to respond to the request from the Student Support and Wellbeing Team, your Academic Advisor/ Programme Director will contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss your situation and possible ways to improve your attendance/ engagement.
- If you receive a warning letter and fail to comply with the requirements laid down in it, Alliance MBS's Director of Undergraduate Studies will issue a letter of refusal, which will exclude you from formal assessment and thus terminate your degree programme.
- If you are refused permission to take an examination or other form of assessment on the grounds of unsatisfactory attendance you may submit an appeal against that decision within twenty working days of notification of the decision in accordance with the provisions of Regulation XIX (Academic Appeals).
Students on joint programmes are required to follow the attendance regulations operated by their 'home/registering School'. The same applies for students on Alliance MBS programmes taking non-BMAN courses in other Schools, i.e. you are required to follow the procedure as set out above.