Unsatisfactory work, attendance and engagement
We expect you to engage fully with your studies. If you do not submit work, attend or engage you are at risk of not succeeding with your studies, and you may be withdrawn from the University.
If you know you that you are unable to attend or engage with your studies it is very important that you let your School know in will be absent from a session, it is important that you notify your school in advance via the Student Services Absence Self-certification process in Minerva.
School concerns
If your school has concerns that you are not engaging with your studies, decides that your attendance is unsatisfactory, your School will write to you to explore with you the reasons for your absence and to direct you towards sources of support. It is very important that you respond to correspondence from your School and let them know what is happening.
If your work, attendance or engagement does not improve, you will receive a warning from the head of your parent school that you may be withdrawn.
Presumed withdrawn process
In the following scenarios the University will presume that you are withdrawing:
- If you are currently registered as a student, but have not submitted work, attended or engaged with your studies for four weeks or more, and not responded to school contact.
- If you were on temporary leave and have not returned to study by your expected return date, and have not otherwise been in contact with your School in the month prior to your return.
In both cases, your school will notify the programmes and assessment office and they will contact you to confirm that they are withdrawing you from the University.
If you are an international student who is presumed withdrawn, you should seek immigration advice immediately.
Unsatisfactory work, attendance and engagement procedure
If you are submitting work, attending, or engaging with your studies, but your engagement is considered to be low, and your Head of School judges your case to be sufficiently serious, they will issue you with a first formal written warning.
If there is no improvement in your work, attendance or engagement a second formal written warning will be given. This warning will be copied to the Student Cases Team.
The Head of Student Cases will then interview you.
Based on the interview and the information you provide, the Head of Student Cases will decide the next course of action. This will usually be one of the two following possibilities:
- Your case will be submitted to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Education with a recommendation that you are permanently excluded from the University; or.
- The second formal warning will be enforced with a final warning that if you do not make a serious attempt to recover the position, then your case will proceed to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor with a recommendation for exclusion.
Where the case proceeds to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice Chancellor’s decision is final.
Legal responsibility to inform UK Visas and Immigration
The University has a legal responsibility to report any serious case of non-attendance by an international student with a student visa to the UK government, as non-attendance may invalidate the terms of that visa.
The standard attendance process applies to all students in relation to failing to register, leavers, presumed withdrawn and sanctions under the unsatisfactory students procedure.
If you are an international student with a student visa that falls into one of these categories, the University will carry out the following final verification before notifying UK Visas and Immigration.
Once you have received your final notification relating to your unsatisfactory attendance, the University has ten days to notify UK Visas and Immigration that you are a presumed leaver.
During this time, the University will make a final check with your school to ensure all held information is correct to date and that you are, indeed, a leaver.
Further information
Further details of the unsatisfactory student procedure can be found at the Student Cases website.