CHE attendance policy

In line with the expectations of the College and the accrediting professional bodies, students are
responsible for attending the timetabled classroom and clinic activities for each module.
Unauthorised absence is not acceptable and may attract academic penalties and/or other penalties.

To get the most out of your studies, you need to attend all scheduled classes and activities
associated with your programme. The minimum attendance requirement of your programme
is 85% of all scheduled classes. We realise that occasionally you will be ill or suffer other
unforeseen circumstances and not be able to attend. Make sure that you liaise with fellow
students so that you can share notes if one of you are absent.

Formally, the situation is as given below:

The College lays down formal regulations about attendance. The main points are:

• In accordance with the student agreement (contract) for the programme of study, it is the responsibility of students to attend scheduled classes and prescribed activities for the modules on which they are registered. Where your attendance fails to meet the minimum required to obtain the learning outcomes of the module (as published in the
  module/programme handbook) you may be excluded from the assessment. You may have the opportunity of taking the whole module again with permission from the Programme
  Leader, without grade penalty, though you will have to pay the module registration fee.
• The ‘X’ assessment grade is applied to your module if you fail to participate in the learning processes of a module (as specified in the module/programme handbook) for which you are registered. It is not a ‘punishment’ for poor attendance but a recognition that you have not been able to prepare yourself for assessments of the module. It is also given when you drop
  a module without formally removing it from your registered programme of study.
• Please let the administrators of the Programme know if you have been unable to attend a class and explain why.
• If you are absent due to illness you should notify the administrators of the Programme. If you
  are having difficulties attending classes because of personal, financial or academic problems
  please talk at an early stage to relevant professional staff – Student Support Officer,
  Academic Support Officer, Programme leader, Operational Director, etc. Keep all relevant evidence (e.g. medical notes) to support your case.
• You must make yourself available to attend all formal assessments at the time given, including viva examinations. Failure to attend an assessment or submit coursework by the
  deadline without having obtained a deferral will result in failure in the module. Any resubmission or resit opportunities must be met at the next available opportunity. You need
  to renew a deferral at every assessment point. Please refer to the Deferral Policy for more
  details.
• Interrupting or withdrawing may affect your fees or financial entitlements. Ask administrators
  of the Programme for advice.
• Your attendance is monitored by reviewing the Register that is taken at the beginning and at
  the end of every teaching day. Please note if you are absent either at the beginning or the
  end of a teaching day, this will count as a half day attendance.
• Students who do not respond to communications concerning continuous unauthorised absence may be deemed to have withdrawn from the programme therefore failing the
  module.

Extenuating circumstances

If a student misses more than the permitted number of sessions for a module, this may be the result of exceptional personal circumstances. The College aims to work in a supportive manner in such
cases. The procedure for students to follow is:

• An explanation for the missed attendance must be sent to the administrator of the
  Programme within four weeks of the missed attendance. Written evidence of mitigating circumstances (e.g. a note from the GP or other healthcare practitioner, letter from employer etc.) should be provided whenever possible.
• Depending on the length of the absence, the Programme Leader will decide upon
  compensation arrangements in consultation with the Module Leader(s). The main concern is to ensure that the student does not fall behind in their studies at this stage. If possible the additional written work will be set to make up for the missed attendance, set by the relevant Module Leader(s) for the sessions missed.
• The student who wishes the College to accept the extenuating circumstances needs to inform the office about the situation and provide all the supporting evidence. This will go to the Progression Assessment Board for the programme, which meets in September of each year. The Board will decide whether or not the circumstances justified the missed attendance. Circumstances which are usually seen as valid in relation to missed attendance include illness, accident, close bereavement, other compassionate grounds, or employment difficulties such as sudden crises at work, or unanticipated overtime or travel. Circumstances such as misreading of timetables or scheduling of holidays are not usually accepted. If the Board decides that the circumstances do not justify the missed attendance, the student fails the module. If the Board decides that the circumstances do justify the missed attendance, the Board will then consider the student’s academic progress as well as the amount of contact time missed. The Board may then decide to accept the completed and assessed additional work as compensation for the missed attendance. However, if there is sufficient concern about the student’s academic progress and/or the amount of time missed, the Board may still decide that the student has to re-take the module.

Late arrivals and early departures

It is important to attend each classroom and clinic session from start to finish. This ensures the
student does not miss out on information etc. and shows courtesy to the rest of their cohort and the
lecturer. Late arrivals and leaving early will be noted in the register, and in all cases lost time will be
accumulated as missed attendance.

The College recognises that there can be occasional difficulties due to personal circumstances,
transport delays, weather and technological failures for example. These circumstances must be
reported to the administrator who will make a record in the register. All instances of late arrival will
be counted as missed attendance, and be accumulated and monitored as part of the attendance
monitoring process, but where there is good cause see “Extenuating Circumstances” above.
Similarly, students leaving a session early can expect time lost to be accumulated and monitored as
part of the attendance monitoring process.

If a student misses an exam due to late arrival, they will have an opportunity to re-sit the exam once
with no financial penalty if they provide evidence for the justifiable reason for lateness. Otherwise
they will be treated as students with no approved deferral (for more details please refer to Deferral
policy).