What are Attendance Requirements?

As a student you're required to attend scheduled taught activities as much as possible, such as:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Technical workshops
• Briefings and demonstrations
• Supervised studios
• Any other staff-led course activity (on-site if the delivery mode is face-to-face)
• Assessment submissions.

At the start of the academic year, your course team should have discussed these requirements with you, and identified weekly points where your attendance is required.

Your attendance will be captured a minimum of once per week. See Attendance Monitoring – registering your attendance for information on how to check-in to sessions.

Your attendance will be recorded at most sessions, usually via a touch in system, but this can vary dependent on the class location. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are signed into classes, you can see  Attendance Monitoring – registering your attendance for information on how to check-in to sessions.

If you miss a class, you should inform your tutor. If you are facing longer term difficulties impacting your attendance, you may need to apply for authorised absence to ensure the university can support you and your studies and avoid any unnecessary action against you (see below)

I Need an Authorised Absence!

You should apply for an Authorised absence any time you know in advance you will be unable to attend a timetabled session. We also recommend advising your course team if you are likely to be absent for any period of time. You may like to read the UAL Attendance policy to find out more about the Authorised Absence process and when to use it.

You can request Authorised Absence for the following reasons:

• Illness. Extended periods of illness (more than 5 working days) must be accompanied by evidence e.g. medical certificate, doctors’ note.
• Attendance at appointments/commitments considered inflexible e.g. hospital appointments, religious requirements, court attendance.
• Mitigating circumstances e.g. bereavements, serious illness of a close family member, childcare and other caring responsibilities, technical issues related to online study.
• If you have an Individual Support agreement or Parent and Carer Support agreement that includes attendance adjustments and you are absent for this reason.

Where absence is more than 10 working days (or 5 working days for illness), evidence will be required to support your application. You can take no more than 4 weeks (pro rata) Authorised Absence in an academic year.

Students who require a longer break from studies may consider taking Time-out From Study. Your course team can advise on your eligibility to take Time Out, and can help you to complete the Time Out Request Form.

If you need adjustments to your attendance because of disability, parenthood or caring responsibilities, contact the Disability Service or Health Advice Service.

You can apply for an Authorised Absence in 2 ways:

• Log onto the SEAtS website and use the 'Add Absence' icon.
• Download the SEAtS app. Use 'Requests' to apply for Authorised Absence.

All students can use SEAtS to request Authorised Absence, but not all courses will use it to record your attendance. Your course team will let you know how to register your attendance.

What Happens if my Attendance Drops?

Your course team will monitor your attendance, usually weekly, to ensure you are well and meeting your expectations as a student. If they have ongoing concerns about your attendance, they will contact you via email or phone call. This is a great opportunity to discuss your engagement with the course, and identify any barriers that are impacting your attendance.

Your course team will also be able to tell you about UAL services that can support students who are finding it difficult to engage with university. These may include the Disability Service Counselling, Health Advice and Chaplaincy, amongst

We strongly recommend that you work with your course team and other UAL services to address any barriers that are impacting your attendance.

If your attendance remains low, you may be required to contact your Programme Administrator to discuss support.

• I’ve Received an Email about Low Attendance!

Please don’t ignore this email. This is your opportunity to work with your course team to increase your attendance.

If you do not get in touch with your course team, and your attendance does not improve, the next step will be receiving an Intention to Withdraw letter.

I’ve Received an Intention to Withdraw Letter!

As per UAL’s 24/25 Attendance Policy, the university will automatically withdraw you if your attendance remains low for 5 weeks or more with no prior agreement.

If you receive an intention to withdraw letter, this means that UAL are preparing to withdraw you from your studies, unless you can successfully appeal the withdrawal. You have 10 working days to appeal.

After 10 working days with no appeal, the decision is final and unfortunately cannot be reversed. This is why we recommend that students speak with course teams as soon as attendance becomes a barrier, as this will likely prevent getting to the withdrawal stage of the process.

How Can I Appeal the Intention to Withdraw?

As mentioned in the email that you received, you have 10 working days to respond. Working days do not include weekends or bank holidays.

Your response needs to be in the form of an email to the Academic Registrar explaining your grounds for appeal. You will need to attach any relevant evidence to the email.

If you do not respond within 10 working days, you will be withdrawn from your course. Visa-holders who are withdrawn from their course will have their student visa sponsorship removed.

Grounds for Appeal

The appeals process for Attendance Withdrawals is outlined in UAL’s Attendance Policy 24/25.

Students can appeal Intention to Withdraw on the grounds of Mitigating Circumstances or Procedural Errors.

Mitigating Circumstances:

• Serious personal circumstances beyond your control that have impacted your ability to meet attendance requirements. You will need to explain, and evidence, why you did not attend, and where you have made effort to get further support. This can be internal or external to UAL. To understand the types of evidence that may support your appeal, it may be helpful to read UAL's Extenuating Circumstances Evidence Guidance

Procedural Errors:

• If the Intention to Withdraw has been issued in error, or your attendance has not been accurately recorded. You may need to provide evidence of your attendance, attempts to notify your course team of attendance monitoring issues, or an approved Authorised Absence that has not been taken into account.

What Comes Next?

The Academic Registrar has not yet stipulated an expected timeframe for outcomes to Intention to Withdraw appeals. You will be notified of the outcome of your appeal via email to both your UAL and personal email addresses.

If your appeal is denied, the decision is final and unfortunately cannot be reversed. This is why we recommend that students speak with course teams as soon as attendance becomes a barrier, as this will likely prevent getting to the withdrawal stage of the process.