In order to benefit from your time at University you are expected to attend your classes regularly and the University has Regulations that define what you are expected to attend and describe the procedures that will be followed in the event of non-attendance.

Each year, in accordance with these regulations, the Department publishes lists of key monitoring points (5 per term in terms 1 and 2 and a smaller number in term 3). Missing any 1 of these monitoring points in a year will result in your being asked to discuss the situation with your tutor, whilst missing more will result in an escalation to a discussion with the Director of Studies and ultimately to the initiation of requirement to withdraw procedures. In fact we will normally intervene much earlier than these University requirments.

Illness

You should keep your tutor informed of any illness that interferes significantly with your studies, and if this situation continues for more than a few days you will need to submit a sick note. A note signed by your medical practioner is required in the following circumstances:

• you are absent from a formal University examination due to illness
• you seek an extension to a submission deadline for a piece of work that counts towards your final degree, or are absent from such an assessment for 7 or more consecutive days. (N.b. we will usually waive this for minor pieces of work like laboratory notebooks)
• you are absent from classes for an extended period due to an illness and we request a certificate.
• you are repeatedly absent for short periods due to illness and we request a certificate.
• you are advised to withdraw from the University on medical grounds

For other situations where you wish us to make allowances for illness we will ask you to self certificate (forms are available at the University health centre and on-line here).

Temporary Withdrawal

In the event of a prolonged illness or other circumstances that seriously affect your studies it may be appropriate to consider withdrawing temporarily from the University, to return at approximately the same point in a subsequent year, when the problem is resolved. Experience shows that this is often a better course of action than "struggling on". If you think this may be an appropriate course of action then you should consult your tutor at the earliest opportunity.