D. Reporting on and reviewing students’ engagement with their programme

1. In order to monitor a student’s attendance and engagement with their programme, there must be a mechanism within each School by which a review of student engagement with the programme is undertaken to determine whether appropriate action needs to be initiated, and to ensure that action is taken in a timely manner. These can be actioned within the Student Attendance system.
   
   
2. Schools must determine points within the academic year at which a review of non-attendance or non-engagement should take place.  Best practice would include a monthly review of non-attendance/engagement, sharing the outcomes of that review with a student’s Academic Advisor.  However, Schools should consider existing activities within the programme management structures that could facilitate such a review. These may include:

• Meetings with Academic Advisors
• Review of registrations
• Receipt of coursework for a compulsory unit
• Consideration of examination results 
• Activity within the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment or other approved system

3. A key role for Academic Advisors, and in relation to postgraduate taught students, also personal tutors/programme directors/dissertation supervisors, is that of reviewing a student’s engagement with their programme and, where records have been kept, attendance at classes or other teaching and learning activities.

4. It is recommended that Academic Advisors review attendance patterns of advisees before meeting with students and discuss any unauthorised absences and the impact of authorised absences, and any missed points of contact (as predetermined by the School), with their advisees.

5. If Academic Advisors are notified that an advisee is not engaging with their programme of study, they should arrange to meet their advisee as soon as possible in order to try to determine and address any possible issues and, if relevant, provide support and/or links to other sources of support or assistance to the student.

6. Some areas have embedded the academic advising system within programmes and course units as a means of monitoring attendance and engagement with the programme.

7. The Student Attendance system provides reporting facilities for Schools to be able to monitor and track students’ attendance and engagement. Reports can be generated via PowerBI, with a standard reports suite available which can be driven by individual School student support/PS staff to generate outputs.