Attendance

Attendance expectations

All University of Sheffield students are expected to attend and engage with their studies on a regular basis, as set out in the University Regulations XIV (PDF, 96KB).

Regularly attending teaching sessions is a key component of this. It provides you with structured opportunities to engage with learning material, participate in discussions and receive guidance. This is essential for you to develop the academic knowledge and skills that are core outcomes of the University's courses.

Some University programmes are also accredited by external professional, statutory or regulatory statutory bodies, and may have separate or additional attendance and engagement requirements that you need to meet to complete the course.

Managing absences

As outlined on the University's attendance monitoring pages, if there is a good reason that you will be absent from a teaching session (or a number of 'expected contact points' like lectures, tutorials, labs or supervisory meetings) for a temporary period of time, you must let your school know as soon as possible. 

You should use the attendance monitoring system to log the reasons for your absence. You may also need to alert your school. It is a good idea to read through any specific guidance on attendance expectations that your school provides and ask any clarifying questions you have about this as soon as possible. You should be able to find this kind of information on your school's hub or handbook webpages (current students with log-in credentials can click here for an A-Z directory of these).

If you miss individual sessions, or are absent from some sessions whilst continuing to attend overall, this is unlikely to be a problem. However, if you repeatedly miss sessions or build up periods of complete absence, the University may contact you to remind you of your attendance and engagement responsibilities, encourage you to re-engage with your studies, and offer you additional support. This contact point gives you the opportunity to reply and discuss your attendance with relevant staff in your department or central University services.

If your attendance does not improve and remains a notable concern, you could be referred through a formal route for action and would be contacted by central services (eg Student Engagement and Progress, International Student Support, Advice and Compliance or PGR Support) with further information about what you need to do to re-engage with studies within specific timeframes.

Please see here for additional considerations for disabled students