Read more if you hold a Tier 4/Student Route visa and you're studying any pre-degree course.
Learn how UAL will monitor your attendance and engagement with your course. Find out how to request authorised absence.
Attendance monitoring
College and course administration teams will monitor your attendance throughout the year.
Attendance on pre-degree level courses is monitored using an electronic attendance system called SEAtS. All timetabled classes are monitored, including workshop and studio-based classes.
Once you are in the room of your class, your attendance will be taken with Bluetooth via one of the beacons in the class.
Pre-degree students are required to maintain a minimum of 85% attendance. This applies to any students on courses below degree level (RQF Level 4 and 5).
Attendance is a mandatory condition for the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). UAL must ensure we’re compliant with this obligation.
Read more about Attendance policy at UAL.
Pre-degree: online
A Tier 4/Student Route visa is not required for the Pre-degree: online. Missing sessions will not result in visa cancellation but may still put you at risk of withdrawal from the course.
Authorised absence
If there’s an event that will disrupt your attendance, you must tell us. For example an appointment you cannot miss, personal circumstances, illness or a religious holiday.
Depending on your course, you’ll need to tell your personal tutor, course director or course administration team.
Requesting authorised absence
In exceptional circumstances, you may need to be absent for a longer amount of time. You can apply for an authorised absence via the SEAtS app.
All authorised absences will be considered on an individual basis. You must give evidence if your absence is more than 10 days. All evidence should be in English, signed, officially stamped and on headed paper. If the original documents are not in English, you must get an official translation.
Requests for authorised absence will be approved by your course leader.
Find more information about authorised absences in our Attendance policy.
More than 4 weeks absence
We can only support absences for up to 4 weeks during term time. For an absence of longer than 4 weeks, you may need to consider requesting time out from your studies. If your request for time out is approved, you’ll need to leave the UK within a given timeframe and return to study with a new visa.
Contact UAL’s Student Advice Service for more information on how taking time out will affect your immigration status.