We hope the following information answers any questions that you may have about why the University is changing how it collects and uses student attendance information.
If you have any other questions, please post these in the student attendance teams channel and a member of the Student Attendance Project Team will get back to you with a response as soon as they can.
If you are taking part in the pilot and the attendance functionality isn’t working for you, please contact the IT Service Desk.
Back to: Student Life (previously Student Administration and Support)
Regular attendance at teaching and learning activities contributes to successful student retention, progression, achievement and employability.
The introduction of the new Student Attendance Policy – and adoption of new functionality and supporting processes – will enable the University to collect and use attendance data in a consistent way across the institution.
More importantly, it will provide a framework on how attendance data can be used to help enhance student welfare, engagement and success.
The aim is that relevant staff will use attendance information to help deliver more targeted communications and timely support to students who may be experiencing difficulties, academically or in their personal lives.
The data will be also be used to ensure the University meets its academic, legal and contractual obligations around attendance data.
The University has always collected attendance data, but following the move to an institution-wide approach to collecting attendance data for timetabled activities, it is now much easier for you to record your attendance or request an approved absence.
Read this guidance on how to register your attendance to find out more.
You should also let us know if you are unable to attend the University. Read this guidance for more information.
All attendance data will be stored and used in compliance with our obligations as Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.
We will not share your data with third parties unless:
The data will be kept for 6 years after the date you leave your course as per the University Retention Schedule.
Academic staff, academic advisers and Student Experience Teams in a student’s School or Department will have access to student attendance data.
The University will also be able to access this data for wider reporting purposes.
Supporting documentation submitted with absence requests will be accessible to named staff members for the purpose of reviewing a request (usually this will be a small group of professional services and/or student experience staff).
These staff will only be able to access this data for students within the school/department they are associated with.
The expectation that you must attend all timetabled sessions has not changed.
The Student Attendance Policy outlines a range of interventions and communications that will be initiated if you either fail to attend five consecutive contact points (a whole day in which you are expected to attend one or more sessions).
A number of degree programmes also have an attendance expectation of a minimum overall percentage, for example 70% or 90%. Please check what the expectations are for your programme.
The hope is that by reaching out to students whose attendance is low that appropriate support can be put in place should they be experiencing any problems, academically or personally.
You can read more about the staged escalation process in the Student Attendance Policy.
Registering your attendance is really easy – you just put a code given to you by the session lead into your timetables app or via the timetable function on the student intranet.
Read this step-by-step guidance to find out more.
The student attendance functionality is integrated within the University’s web and mobile versions of the timetable.
Read this guidance to find out more.
Your activity lead will have the option to set up your attendance code to work for a short time after the session ends.
Please speak to your activity lead to find out how they would like you to register your attendance.
Contact your activity lead or speak to your Student Experience Team.
It may be possible to make changes in your record if you raise any issues within 5 working days of a timetabled activity taking place.
Your activity lead will be able to manually update the ‘roster’ for the timetable activity to register your attendance.
Please speak with your activity lead at the beginning or end of the session and ask them to do this for you.
Alternatively, ask your Student Experience Team to assist you promptly after the session.
The Student Attendance Policy states that local areas can decide how to monitor lecture type sessions, though sessions such as seminars, labs and workshops should always be monitored.
Your activity lead will be able to tell you how attendance will be monitored for your sessions with them.
If you think they’ve forgotten, please prompt your activity lead to share the code or contact your Student Experience Team after the session.
Remember, regardless of attendance monitoring, you’re expected to attend all timetabled sessions unless specifically told otherwise.
If you experience issues logging in to your timetable account during a session, please make sure your username and password are correct.
If they are and you are still having problems, inform your activity lead, so that they can register your attendance for you.
If you continue to experience issues with logging in, please contact the IT Service Desk for support.
If you cannot access the timetabled session via the Timetables app or online, please inform your activity lead, so that they can register your attendance for you.
Please also notify IT Service Desk for support if this issue continues.
Double check with your activity lead that you’ve got the right code.
If you repeatedly receive a ‘wrong attendance code’ message, please inform your activity lead, who will be able to register your attendance for you.
Please also notify IT Service Desk for support if this issue continues.
If the system crashes while trying to register your attendance, please inform your activity lead, so that they can register your attendance for you.
Please also notify IT Service Desk for support if this issue continues.
You can use the absence system which is available on the My Liverpool app or the online timetable page to notify your school or department if you are unable to attend University. This will enable us to update your attendance record and make sure you receive appropriate support and guidance.
Absences should be requested or reported at the earliest possible opportunity. You will need to provide clear and credible reasons for your absence, as set out in the University’s Student Attendance Policy.
You should not use this system to request an absence during an assessment or exam period. If you feel the reason for your absence could potentially impact your studies or your ability to progress on your programme, please contact your School/Department as soon as possible as you may need to submit an application for extenuating circumstances.
Remember, even if your absence is approved, you are responsible for:
Some programmes have attendance requirements, such as a minimum overall attendance percentage of 70% or 90%.
You are responsible for making sure you know what your programme expectations are and managing your time accordingly.
We understand there may be occasions when you cannot attend the University and you will be able let us know when and why by completing a short absence request form.
This will enable us to update your attendance information and make sure you receive the relevant support and guidance.
Staff in your school/department may review your request and decide if it is appropriate to update your attendance record with an approved absence. They’ll use the Student Attendance Policy and any guidance from your school/department to help inform their decision.
Remember, even if your absence is approved, you are responsible for:
Access to a laptop will be useful for your studies as well as for inputting your attendance. All UK students are assessed for eligibility to a Liverpool Bursary and those who receive it may choose to use it to buy a device to support their studies. With this bursary provision we hope everyone has the finances in place to fully engage with the University. If you need more advice on financial matters or to check if you are eligible for other financial support please contact the Money Advice team.
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