Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students
Attendance at taught classes and supervision meetings is compulsory and registers are taken. Regular (or a pattern of) non-attendance and/or engagement will result in you being contacted by the Programme Administrator to meet with the Programme Directors. Following this, further action will be taken if there isn’t a significant improvement in attendance.
For further information see: Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students:
Regulation XX Monitoring Attendance and Wellbeing of Students
Tier 4 Visa Attendance Monitoring Census
The University operates attendance monitoring census points within the academic year in order to confirm the attendance of students holding a Tier 4 Student Visa. This is to ensure the University meets the UKVI statutory requirements as a sponsor of Tier 4 students and its responsibilities in accordance with its Highly Trusted Sponsor status. If you are a Tier 4 visa holder, you must attend these attendance monitoring census points in addition to complying with your programme’s attendance requirements.
Census Points
- Programme Registration (September)
- January examination period
- May/June examination period
- Project supervision (June-August)
What if a Tier 4 student cannot attend a census point?
If you cannot attend in person due to a valid reason which includes: illness; placement; field studies; on year abroad; research work; or any other reason connected to your programme of study, you must email your iovs@manchester.ac.uk to inform us of your absence and your inability to attend in person. In the case of illness, you must provide a copy of a medical certificate. If you are in this position you should report in person to the School as soon as possible after you return to campus. Students who are recorded as interrupting their studies are not expected to attend during their period of interruption.
What happens if a student does not attend a census point?
The School must be able to confirm your presence to the UKVI by the end of each census point in the academic year. If you do not attend a census point when required and you do not provide a valid explanation for your absence you will be deemed to be “not in attendance”.
Those students identified as “not in attendance” will be reported to the UKVI and the University will cease to sponsor the student’s Tier 4 visa. The Tier 4 visa will then be curtailed and the student must leave the UK within 60 days.
Further information
For more information on Tier 4 visas: https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa
If you have any concerns about the attendance monitoring census points, or your Tier 4 visa status, please contact visa@manchester.ac.uk
Requests for Interruption
It is the expectation of the University that postgraduate taught students pursue their studies on a continuous basis for the stipulated duration of their programme. However the University recognises that it is sometimes necessary, in unfortunate circumstances, for people to interrupt their attendance. The regulations refer to this as “interruption”. An interruption allows students the chance to recover from such things as ill health; it is NOT a device to allow students to take time off for a holiday (for example).
If approved, interruption would normally be granted for a period of 12 months. Thus a student would leave the University on a certain date and resume their studies on the anniversary of that date. Shorter periods of interruption are possible, but since they inevitably involve repeating some of the programme it is unusual for the University to allow them.
A student who wishes to interrupt should initially have an informal discussion with the Programme Director. If an interruption is appropriate the Programme Director will refer them to the Programme Administrator for assistance in completing the required form. This form, along with any evidence provided, will be sent to the PGT Interruptions Committee who will make a decision whether or not to approve the interruption.
Whilst on interruption students will not have access to university systems including email and Blackboard.
Withdrawal From Studies
If for any reason you would like to withdraw from your studies, please contact the Programme Support Team (iovs@manchester.ac.uk) for further guidance. We will ask you to give notification of your withdrawal in writing, and you may be invited to speak to the Programme Director before your withdrawal is processed. Please note that you may be liable for part or whole of the tuition fees due and/or an administrative charge if you decide to withdraw once teaching has started.