NMES: Attendance requirements

There may be times when you cannot attend a class for a valid reason, such as illness or personal circumstances. You don’t need to inform lecturers or tutors of every absence. However, if you are regularly missing sessions for any reason, including illness or timetable clashes, you must inform both your Programme Officer and Personal Tutor.

If you are absent for more than five days, you may be asked to provide a medical certificate.

If you are taking modules from other departments, check their specific attendance expectations.

From the week beginning Monday 7 October 2024, you'll need to use Venio, the faculty's attendance monitoring system, to register your attendance at timetabled activities. This is part of the university’s Student Engagement and Attendance Monitoring Policy, which sets out how we support students to stay engaged with their studies.

You will only be able to register your attendance during the timetabled activity using the registration code your lecturer will give you. In semester 2 this will involve all lectures, skills sessions and revision sessions.

Engagement is vital for your success and wellbeing, and this system will help us to quickly identify where students may need additional support. Consistent or long-term non-attendance will result in your department or personal tutor reaching out to ensure that you are okay and to identify ways to support their engagement going forward.  

Please take the time to review the system guidance below, which will take you through the process step-by-step. 

If you have problems using the system, such as access issues, email itservicedesk@kcl.ac.uk. If you have questions about the new process, speak to your personal tutor or your department's programme team.

How can I log attendance on Venio? A step by step guide 

• Log into the Venio system using your KCL credentials.
• You’ll only be able to log your attendance once a session is active. When you’re in the session, you’ll see a code and attend box next to that session on the system.
• During your timetabled session, your lecturer or teaching assistant will display a code that you’ll need to add into the ‘code’ area in order to submit your registration. 
• Depending on the format of your timetabled activity, the lecturer or teaching assistant may show this code for the duration of the activity, or for a select period of time during the session. The code will change every 30 seconds. If you require additional support with submitting the code, please inform your programme team or personal tutor. 
• Once you’ve entered the code and pressed attend, a green tick will appear next to this activity to confirm your attendance has been logged successfully. 
• If it does not, please try again to ensure you have entered the correct code. 

Important to know:
Consistent or long-term non-attendance will result in your department or personal tutor reaching out to ensure that you are okay and to identify ways to support your engagement going forward.

Using lecture capture

Lecture recordings are sometimes provided for timetabled lectures, but they are not a replacement for attending in person.

• Recordings are intended as a study and revision aid.
• You will miss out on interactive activities and the chance to ask questions if you only watch online.
• There is a clear link between regular attendance and stronger academic performance.
• Attending helps you stay engaged and up to date with your course.

All students in the Department of Chemistry must attend laboratory sessions. This includes experiments, workshops, seminars and dry-lab experiments. It is a stipulation of the RSC accreditation of undergraduate chemistry programmes that students carry out a minimum of 400 hours of taught laboratory work. The department provides this for all its courses (BSc and MSci) to ensure all students have the opportunity to complete the required lab hours. 

Consequently, laboratory attendance is mandatory for progression on the course. We control this with sign-in sheets for each session. It’s the student’s responsibility to sign into the lab. In exceptional circumstances some absence will be tolerated and we may be able to run catch up sessions at the end of term for students in this situation. 

If for any reason you miss a lab session, then you must submit a laboratory absence form to the module organiser or you should have in advance arranged to be absent with the lab organiser.

Attendance is compulsory for all in-course assessments. These may include:

• mid-term exams
• in-class tests
• presentations

If you don’t attend and don’t submit a Mitigating Circumstances form, you will receive a mark of zero. You can find more information in the article What are Mitigating Circumstances? 

You’re expected to attend all scheduled Personal Tutor meetings. These are a core part of the support available to you during your studies.

• If you cannot attend, let your Personal Tutor know as early as possible so you can rearrange.
• For first-year students, attendance will be monitored and recorded.

Helpful to know: Your Personal Tutor may be asked to write references for jobs, internships or further study. Attending meetings helps them get to know you and support you better.

When a student at King's is issued with a Student Visa, they also have to make sure they meet the rules and requirements related to their visa to enable them to maintain their visa and remain in the UK. 

For more information and for engagement and attendance requirements, please read the What are my student visa responsibilities? article.

You can also find further information in the Immigration and Visa Advice section of Student Services Online.