School of Psychology

Attendance, Absence and Engagement

You can find information here on the School attendance policy: what to do if you are going to miss a teaching session, how to report your absence and what to do if absence continues to affect your studies.

You are expected to be ‘in attendance’ at the University for the full duration of the published term dates for your course of study. That means you should be regularly attending lectures, seminars, labs etc. and committing time to your studies to be in a position to comply with academic and administrative expectations.

 Research shows that students who attend regularly are more likely to achieve a better degree result than those who do not.

It's really important that you let us know if you are ill or cannot attend classes so that we can register this as a notified absence. 

How to report an absence from a Psychology module

If you are unable to attend your seminars or workshops, you need to send an email to psychologyabsence@sussex.ac.uk setting out the following information: 

  • Seminar(s) / workshop(s) that you will be absent from (list all of them)
  • Tutor name
  • Brief reason for absence
How to report absence that is going to affect your studies for more than 3-6 days or longer

If you are unable to attend your seminars or workshops, you need to send an email to psychologyabsence@sussex.ac.uk setting out the following information: 

  • Seminar(s) / workshop(s) that you will be absent from (list all of them)
  • Tutor name
  • Brief reason for absence

 

Students who are unable to attend or engage for more than 6 days due to illness, incapacity or other situation will need to provide a medical certificate (or suitable alternative professional evidence). This must be sent to the Psychology School office, addressed to “Psychology Absence”. If suitable evidence is provided, then the Psychology Director of Student Experience will authorise the absence, and will agree a return to study plan to ensure that the student can continue on their current programme of study. If a medical certificate (or suitable alternative evidence) is not provided, or the Psychology Director of Student Experience is not satisfied with the evidence provided, the absence may not be authorised.

Attendance is monitored regularly. If you are identified as having poor attendance you will be contacted and expected to discuss your attendance with your academic advisor, the Student Life Centre, Student Support Unit or the Psychology Director of Student Experience. Please use this link to find out about the support services here at the university: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/psychology/internal/students/support

What happens if I don't improve my attendance and engagement with the course?

Where a student does not respond to contacts or improve their attendance or engagement, or a student’s absence is expected to prevent them from progressing on their course, this will then lead to a School Student Progress Committee Meeting. Students can then be temporary withdrawn or permanently withdrawn from the course depending on the situation.

To avoid this happening, please make sure you inform us of any absences and that you respond to any contacts (email or letter) about your attendance so we can help you to re-engage with your course.

The University Attendance, Absence and Engagement Policy can be found in the AQP Quality Guide (Section 4, 4.3).