You must attend all your classes, i.e. lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops and practical sessions and register your attendance by swiping your student ID card. Attendance of both face to face and online activities is monitored; for face to face classes, you must ensure you swipe in person and with your own ID card. If you do not attend, this will be noted as unauthorised absence. Please familiarise yourself with the University of Bedfordshire's Attendance Policy [PDF]

The team is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of student attendance monitoring processes, including the accurate collection and analysis of attendance data. They support departmental staff in gathering attendance information, identify non-compliance, and assist in interventions, including communication with students and relevant departments. The team ensures that absence monitoring aligns with policy, provides reports to key stakeholders, and liaises with the International Office on student-specific cases. They also contribute to the continuous improvement of tracking systems and processes, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of attendance data.

You can contact the team at Tracking@beds.ac.uk

The policy is designed to monitor and support student attendance and engagement to help students succeed academically and personally. It ensures early identification of students at risk and enables timely support. The policy applies to all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at the University’s main campuses: Bedford, Luton, Aylesbury, and Milton Keynes, including distance learners.

It does not apply to MPhil/PhD or Professional Doctorate students, or those studying at Study Centres.

There is a proven link between regular attendance and academic success. Monitoring allows the University to support students at risk of failure or withdrawal and meet external obligations to bodies like the SLC and UKVI.

• Attendance means being present during scheduled teaching or learning sessions—online or in-person—for the full session.
• Engagement includes active participation in learning, using University resources, submitting assessments, and responding to communications.

We use a learning analytics platform that gathers data such as:

• Assessment submissions
• Blackboard activity
• Library/resource usage
• ID card swipes for access and attendance
• Participation in classes and online forums
• Communication with academic staff

If you show low, very low, or no engagement over a 3-week period, you’ll be contacted by academic staff to arrange a 1:1 meeting.

In line with the Student Success through Engagement Policy, the attendance team will contact referred students on 3 separate occasions and 10 days apart to notify them that their registration with the university is at risk. Letters will be issued to students via SITs so that a record of communications are stored on the student's record.

Issue of Letter 1

The attendance team will review each student’s record, in line with processes outlined above, and where appropriate, issue the first letter to students as follows:

• Students who are not on a visa. Visa students are monitored by existing International Office Attendance monitoring processes
• Students who have an enrolment status of a form of ‘current’ and have not yet been ‘Reduced’ by existing non-registration processes or ‘Withdrawn (Cancelled)’ due to fee liability’

Students have the opportunity to respond to these letters and may contact the Attendance team, Personal Academic Tutor, Student Success Coach or SEAM as appropriate.

In such circumstances where it is deemed appropriate for the student to be removed from the faculty risk register, the attendance team will be advised that no further action is required.

This will be noted on the risk register.

Issue of Letter 2

After 10 working days from the date of the issue of letter 1, the attendance team will do the following:

1. Identify any students to be removed from the risk register. Students in this situation will be identified via communications from colleagues in faculties and/or SEAM, and by checking the engagement reports.
2. Where a student has re-engaged with their studies, it assumed that these students will be managed via the supporting student engagement processes at Faculty level, and no further action will be taken to facilitate their withdrawal.
3. Issue letter 2 to students that continue to be at risk.

Like letter 1, students have the opportunity to respond to letter 2 and may contact the Attendance team, Personal Academic Tutor, Student Success Coach or SEAM as appropriate.

In such circumstances where it is deemed appropriate for the student to be removed from the faculty risk register, the attendance team should be advised that no further action is required.

This will be noted on the risk register.

Issue of Letter 3

After 10 working days from the date of the issue of letter 2, the attendance team will do the following:

1. Identify any students to be removed from the risk register. Students in this situation will be identified via communications from colleagues in faculties and/or SEAM, and by checking the engagement reports.
2. Where a student has re-engaged with their studies, it assumed that these students will be managed via the supporting student engagement processes at Faculty level, and no further action will be taken to facilitate their withdrawal.
3. Issue letter 3 to advise of withdrawal.

Students who re-engage at this stage are advised to submit an appeal or complaint, depending on their circumstances.

Withdrawing non-engaged students

At the time of the issue of letter 3, the attendance team will:

1. Forward a list of non-engaged students to the relevant portfolio administration team to set records to ‘Reduced’ on the SITS student record system. This means they will be exited at the next exam board and will no longer be an active student at the University.
2. Notify the Finance team to report to SLC.
3. Notify the International Office if appropriate.

Faculty colleagues with access to the SharePoint site can review and track the status of students reported as at risk.

Indicative Timeline of Activities

In order to facilitate this process and ensure the timely exit of students at exam boards and the following timeline is adhered to:

Week	Action
Week 5 of Semester	Referral of at-risk students by Faculties
Week 5 of Semester	Letter 1 Issued
Week 7 of Semester	Letter 2 Issued
Week 9 of Semester	Letter 3 Issued Records ‘Reduced’ to be exited at the next Exam Board

Deliberately trying to bypass attendance monitoring (e.g. by asking someone else to register for you) may result in disciplinary action under the student conduct policy

Students: what do I need to do?

Check you student app for your timetable, know the date, time and location of your classes.

Bring your student ID, tap it on the classroom’s wall-mounted reader and your attendance is recorded.

What’s changing?

Starting from September 2025, the university will launch a QR code-based attendance system. At the start of each class, simply scan the QR code with your phone and your attendance is recorded instantly and securely.

How it works:

1. Arrive at your class
2. Open the QR scanner on your mobile phone
3. Scan the code displayed by your lecturer
4. Done! You’re marked present in real-time

📅 Get ready now – September 2025 is around the corner!