Attendance and Engagement for Postgraduate Research (PGR) Programmes
Our University requires ongoing attendance and engagement on all PGR programmes to be regularly and appropriately monitored, in line with Part 9 of the Manual of General Regulations and the Code of Practice for Postgraduate Research Degrees. The PGR Attendance Policy formalises our University's standards and expectations around attendance and engagement, while also setting out staff and student responsibilities.
For any student registered on a PGR programme, including MPhil, PhD and Professional Doctorate, our University requires face-to-face supervisory meetings to form the basis of the ongoing progress and development on the programme. As such, records of regular supervisory meetings are a fundamental part of monitoring progress in terms of attendance and engagement.
Our University also has a number of reporting responsibilities with external bodies, including:
1. To report inadequate attendance of students to external funding bodies, such as UK Research Councils.
2. To monitor and record the attendance of non-European Economic Area (EEA) students on Tier 4 student visas, in line with the responsibilities of our Tier 4 Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) license, withdrawing and reporting such students who do not adhere to our attendance requirements to the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
3. To provide the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) with exact information on students enrolled and in attendance at our University.
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below have been developed to provide students and staff with further clarity on our University’s expectations around attendance and engagement monitoring on PGR programmes.
Attendance and Engagement Monitoring - FAQs
- Why does our University monitor attendance and engagement on PGR programmes?
- What are my responsibilities in relation to attendance and engagement?
- How do I keep a record of meetings with my supervisory team?
- What should I do if I am unable to attend a scheduled supervisory meeting?
- What happens if I fail to attend a supervisory meeting and do not notify my Director of Studies?
- Are the attendance and engagement requirements of international students different to those of home/EU students?
- What are my Director of Studies' responsibilities in relation to attendance and engagement?
- What happens if I do not register or collect my student ID card?
- What do I need to do if I leave the University?
- What should I do if I need to travel overseas to conduct fieldwork?
- What are the attendance and engagement requirements during the 'write-up' stage?
- What should I do if I need to suspend my enrolment or registration period with the University?
Our University recognises that monitoring attendance and engagement is an integral element in enhancing retention and improving student performance through regular supervisory interaction and support. Both Part 9 of the Manual of General Regulations and the PGR Code of Practice consistently emphasise the importance of regular supervisory meetings and recording attendance and engagement. The PGR Attendance Policy formalises these standards and expectations alongside the obligations of our University's staff and students.
For all students registered on PGR degrees, failure to attend regularly scheduled supervisory meetings can have significant consequences, including the potential withdrawal of their registration with our University. For international students on Tier 4 visas, our University is also legally required under our compliance obligations to notify the UKBA of failure to fully register when expected or prolonged periods of unauthorised absence.
All students registered on PGR programmes are required to maintain regular contact and interaction with our University and their appointed supervisory team. This can include a number of activities, such as:
- regular email contact with the Director of Studies;
- attending an Annual Review;
- online enrolment and registration to obtain a UEL student ID;
- attending research skills development training activities.
In addition to this, all students are also required to participate in ten annual face-to-face supervisory meetings. These meetings may include every member of the supervisory team or just the Director of Studies and/or Second Supervisor. The requirements in terms of those participating in the meetings will vary and should be decided in advance between the student and Director of Studies. All students are required to maintain records of the content of these supervisory meetings along with their Director of Studies.
Our University has put in place an online reporting form to enable students to keep appropriate records of supervisory meetings. The form is available here and is easily accessible via PC, laptop, Smartphone or tablet.
A copy of the form should be completed within two days of the supervisory meeting and will be sent automatically to the student, the specified members of the supervisory team and the Research Administrator within the academic school responsible for PGR programmes. All students should make suitable arrangements to retain copies of these reports over the course of their programme.
Where a student is unable to attend a meeting they must notify the Director of Studies and, where necessary, other members of the supervisory team in advance. The student, Director of Studies and, where necessary, other members of the supervisory team will then agree upon a re-scheduled meeting to normally take place within ten working days. Where this is not possible due to exceptional circumstances evidenced by verifiable documentation, the re-scheduled meeting will occur at the earliest possibility.
Where a student fails to attend a scheduled supervisory meeting without communicating a verifiable reason, the Director of Studies will make contact within ten working days to ascertain their situation and reschedule the meeting. The rescheduled meeting should take place within a further ten working days.
Where the student fails to respond to the Director of Studies or attend the rescheduled meeting, the Director of Studies will inform the Research Degrees Leader within the academic school that the student is no longer in attendance. The Research Degrees Leader will then inform Student Records that the student should be withdrawn. In the case of international students on a Tier 4 visa, our University is obligated to report the withdrawal to the UKBA in line with our compliance responsibilities.
- Are the attendance and engagement requirements of international students different to those of home/EU students?
No. All students registered on PGR programmes are subject to the same requirements in terms of attendance and engagement responsibilities.
The overall responsibilities of the Director of Studies are detailed in full in the PGR Code of Practice. With specific regard to attendance and engagement, the Director of Studies is responsible for the following:
- ensuring a copy of the online form is received within two days of every supervisory meeting;
- where a student misses a scheduled supervisory meeting, taking the necessary steps detailed in paragraph 2.2 of the PGR Attendance Policy;
- informing the International Office of any international student on a Tier 4 student visa undertaking overseas fieldwork in advance by emailing the details to pbs@uel.ac.uk;
- notifying the relevant Research Administrator within the academic school of a student's withdrawal from a PGR programme .
Where a student fails to enrol and register for their UEL student ID card they will be unable to access the physical and remote facilities and resources of our University. In the case of international students on a Tier 4 visa, our University will also be required to report the failure to register for the programme to the UKBA.
Where a student is considering withdrawing from their PGR programme, they should discuss this in the first instance with their Director of Studies.
Where a student needs to carry out fieldwork overseas, their scheduled supervisory meetings can be carried out remotely via telephone or internet video-link (e.g. Skype).
All students must carry out an overseas travel risk assessment and obtain clearance from Vice-Chancellor’s Group (VCG) prior to travel.
The Director of Studies is required to notify the International Office of any international student on a Tier 4 student visa undertaking overseas fieldwork in advance by emailing the details to pbs@uel.ac.uk.
Throughout the ' write-up' stage, our University is aware that students still require continual supervision and support and, in some cases, may even need to meet more frequently with members of their supervisory team.
Supervisory meetings during write-up will often focus on reading and commenting on individual draft chapters of the thesis and guidance in advance of the oral examination. As such, there must be at least five face-to-face meetings over the twelve month write-up period along with an additional five meetings which may be limited to remote correspondence via telephone or internet video-link.
Where an international student on a Tier 4 student visa wish to travel overseas during their write-up period, our University is still required to monitor their attendance and they must first notify the International Student Advice Team in the International Office.
During periods of suspension our University's requirements in terms of attendance and engagement do not apply. Students should note that during these periods access rights to University resources will be held in abeyance. All requests must be accompanied by verifiable evidence. Further information is available in Part 9 of the Manual of General Regulations.
Periods of suspension up to twelve months can be approved by the academic school via School Research Degrees Sub-Committee (SRDSC). Where a student already has twelve months of suspension or is requesting a period in excess of twelve months the request should be submitted directly to our University's Research Degrees Subcommittee (RDS).
In addition to providing appropriate documentary evidence supporting the reasons for suspension, international students on Tier 4 student visas would normally be expected to provide evidence that they have left the UK prior to final approval being granted. Such students are asked to seek guidance from the International Student Advice Team in the International Office in advance of submitting a request for suspension to ensure they understand the implications of this on their student visa. Suspensions of study would be reported to UKBA in line with the compliance responsibilities of our UKBA sponsor license.
