Engagement Monitoring for Taught Students

The University uses a range of data sources that represent participation with studies to monitor student engagement.

Engagement correlates with performance. The more you engage, the better you do. Also, the University is required to collect engagement data by bodies that fund and sponsor students. The engagement monitoring process gives us early warning of students who need help.

Engagement will primarily be monitored by card swipe data from face-to-face learning sessions and engagement with course materials in Canvas. 

If you hold a Swansea University sponsored  Student Route (previously Tier 4) visa,  attendance will be monitored via card swipes at face-to-face learning sessions only.  

Certain programmes with the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science also have a different process, based on weekly card swipe attendance, due to the professional nature of the programmes. You will be informed by the academic staff on your programme if it will be monitored via this process. 

If you have no engagement with course materials in Canvas and no registered card swipes at face-to-face learning sessions for 2 weeks, or if your engagement in these areas is very low, the formal engagement monitoring process will start. In this case, you will be contacted with offers to help; but in addition, you will be warned that continuing to miss learning sessions could lead to you being required to withdraw from the University or suspend your studies. 

If you have no engagement with course materials in Canvas and no registered card swipes at face-to-face learning sessions for a further 2 weeks (4 weeks in total), or if your engagement in these areas continues to be very low,  you will be required to attend a compulsory face-to-face or virtual meeting with your Faculty/School. This meeting will be to discuss your reasons for non-engagement and the Faculty/School will consider whether you can continue with your studies at the University. 

If you hold a Swansea University sponsored Student Route (previously Tier 4) visa, there is a different process due to the Home Office (UKVI) regulations. In this case, attendance will be monitored on a weekly basis via card swipes at face-to-face learning sessions only and this will be managed by the Engagement Monitoring Team in Student Compliance Services.  

Student Route (previously Tier 4) students who haven’t attended face-to-face learning sessions on campus for 3 weeks in total will be invited to a meeting with Student Compliance Services to discuss this.  

Certain programmes with the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science also have a different process, based on weekly card swipe attendance, due to the professional nature of the programmes. Unsatisfactory attendance over 3 weeks will require you to attend attend a compulsory face-to-face or virtual meeting with your Faculty/School. You will be informed by the academic staff on your programme if it will be monitored via this process. 

If you don’t attend these meetings with either your Faculty/School or Student Compliance Services, you may be required to withdraw or suspend and, in the case of Student Route (previously Tier 4) sponsored students, your visa will be curtailed.  

If you are unable to offer satisfactory reasons for your non-engagement during the meeting with your Faculty/School or Student Compliance Services, you may be required to withdraw or suspend and, in the case of Student Route (previously Tier 4) sponsored students, your visa will be curtailed.  

If you attend a meeting with either your Faculty/School or Student Compliance Services you will be expected to re-engage with your studies in person by attending face-to-face learning sessions and swiping your student card to confirm your attendance straight away. Failure to do so could result in the requirement to withdraw or suspend your studies and, in the case of Student Route (previously Tier 4) sponsored students, your visa will be curtailed.  

Every effort will be made to take full account of all extenuating circumstances when considering withdrawal from the University and, for Student Route (previously Tier 4) students, consideration will be given by Student Compliance Services as to whether it is suitable to continue sponsoring your leave in the UK. 

If continuation is permitted, engagement will be closely monitored by the Faculty/School or Student Compliance Services. 

If you arrive more than 15 minutes after a face-to-face session has started, you will be marked as late.  If you try to swipe after a session has ended, your swipe will not be recorded against the session. 

Students are expected to join live virtual learning sessions in readiness for the start time to get the most out of the session.

Card swipes from face-to-face sessions will only be matched to your session from 15 minutes before the start time. If you swipe earlier than this, your swipe will not be matched against the session.

Students are expected to join live virtual learning sessions in readiness for the start time to get the most out of the session.

Students are expected to attend all face-to-face learning sessions as per their timetable, unless prevented from doing so by circumstances such as self-isolation or illness. Students who have a pattern of non-attendance at face-to-face sessions may be contacted by their Faculty/School to determine the reasons for their non-attendance. Student Route (previously Tier 4) students will be contacted by Student Compliance Services.

You will be informed by email from your Faculty/School or  Student Compliance Services if you are withdrawn or required to suspend for non-engagement. You may request a review of this decision, please see the Engagement Monitoring Policy for more information. 

We understand that sometimes students experience difficulties which impact upon their engagement. If you are experiencing any difficulties, affecting your studies, please contact your Personal Tutor, who will be able to support and advise you, or put you in touch with others who can help. You may also wish to seek advice and assistance from your Faculty/School, MyUniHub or the Student’s Union Advice Centre.

Some programmes in Medicine and Human and Health Sciences have professional body attendance requirements which means you need to attend all learning sessions. For these programmes, the formal process could be triggered if you miss any event without reason. Your Faculty will inform you of any requirements.

The University will contact you about your engagement by email to your student account. Email is used for nearly all communications with students so it is important to read your email every day. You should treat reading your student email account daily as a professional commitment.

Students who hold Student Route (previously Tier 4) visas are required to demonstrate high and consistent levels of engagement in order to maintain their visa status. 

Student Route (previously Tier 4) sponsored students who have not engaged with face-to-face learning for 3 weeks continuously will be contacted by Student Compliance Services and will be required to attend a meeting to discuss their non-engagement. 

Substantial periods of non-engagement must be reported by the University to the UKVI, who will in turn act to curtail leave. 

Students who hold Student Route (previously Tier 4) visas are also required to check in once a week via the SafeZone app at the start of one of their timetabled classes. The check-in is very easy as outlined in our short user guide.

We also undertake Student Route (previously Tier 4) Engagement Checkpoints to review overall engagement over a Teaching Block. For further information, please contact studentvisaattendance@swansea.ac.uk

Students are expected to swipe into all face-to-face sessions. It is not possible to get your engagement recorded after the event. Please remember to bring your card to your next face-to-face learning sessions.

It is not possible to get your attendance recorded after the event, please make sure that you swipe at your next scheduled learning session.

Report it and get a replacement from the Library as soon as possible.

If the swipe reader does not show your name and/or beep when you swipe your card then there is likely a problem with the reader. Please continue to swipe and contact your Faculty/School to have the fault reported.

We understand that on occasion students may have to miss learning sessions for good reason, but if this happens, students will need to make sure they keep up with their work. If you need to be absent for a prolonged period – particularly if this will start the escalation process described above – contact your Faculty/School as soon as possible. Absences over 2 weeks could mean suspending your studies; it is difficult to catch up after a long absence, for any reason. For more information, contact your Faculty/School. 

You (and the holder of the card) would be in breach of the University’s Engagement Monitoring Policy and your Faculty/School or Student Compliance Services will be in touch to discuss the next steps. If you are on a professional programme, you could face a Fitness to Practice enquiry.

If you are a research student, a taught postgraduate student working on your dissertation, or studying away from Swansea (internationally, or in industry), your engagement with your learning will be monitored by other means. The engagement monitoring policy for research students can be found here.

If you have questions, please go to your Faculty/School or MyUniHub.