Attendance monitoring
The University is required by the UK Home Office to monitor the attendance of students on a visa to ensure they continue to be genuine students who are attending and engaging with their course of study. The University monitors student visa student attendance in accordance with the UKVI Student Route Compliance Handbook section 12.
Attendance is monitored via Check-In, Solent’s attendance monitoring system. Check-In matches attendance data you register via the app during the session against your student timetable. Student attendance is recorded at every timetabled session, and you are expected to attend all timetabled sessions.
Your attendance is reviewed and assessed every two weeks and if your attendance/engagement does not meet the requirements of the University, you will receive warning emails, and unfortunately if your attendance continues to be below expectations, you will be withdrawn from the University. It is therefore vital that you log your attendance using the app at all your timetabled scheduled lectures, tutorials and seminars, regularly engage with your course on SOL, and submit all assessments/examinations.
Authorised absence
Students on a visa may sometimes have a valid reason not to attend the University, for example, illness or family bereavement. If you will be absent from the University, the University can grant you a short period of authorised absence. This request must be authorised by the relevant department and Visa Compliance staff.
To report a absence of up to 7 calendar days you will need to access Check-In via the MySolent app or via the apps page on the Student Portal. You will need to click on the three lines at the top, click on Absence and follow the instructions. You can enter up to 7 calendar days (self-certified).
For any absences longer than 7 days, you will need to email internationalsupport@solent.ac.uk to request an authorised absence - please include as much details as possible, including dates you will be absent, reasons and appropriate evidence (e.g a doctors note). We usually only consider absence requests up to 14 calendar days, and in exceptional circumstances up to 4 calendar weeks.
Where possible requests for authorised absence should be submitted in advance. Unplanned absences may be submitted up to 7 calendar days after the last day of absence, requests submitted after this point may not be considered.
Placement
Student visa students are permitted to go on work placement during term time provided the work placement is an integral and assessed part of their course. The University is required to notify the Home Office if our students on a visa carry out a work placement during their course of study. If we do not report the work placement to the Home Office, you could be breaking the conditions of your visa if you work over the permitted working hours stated on your visa. Therefore, it is essential you log your placement on the University Placement App prior to starting the placement.
The University will also monitor your attendance at the placement through regular checks with the employer and other means as it deems appropriate.
Please note, if a work placement is not an integral and assessed part of your course, you could undertake a period of ‘work experience’ in the UK instead. If you undertake work experience, you must continue to attend all timetabled sessions, and you should be aware that any work experience is likely to count towards your permitted working hours.