Attendance

Attendance at timetabled sessions is recorded via an attendance register which you must sign at each session. You are required to attend at least 80% of the scheduled sessions for each module. Copies of the register are held by the Programme Director.

We encourage you to behave professionally. If you know in advance that you will be unavoidably absent from a taught session, you must let module staff and the Psychology Student Office know in writing, and you must also make arrangements to cover the material from the session. If you are absent from a session without prior notification, you will be required to hand in a brief report of the key learning points and a reference list.

Persistent non-attendance at timetabled sessions may jeopardise successful completion of the programme.
During the year, non-timetabled seminars in Psychology and elsewhere throughout the University will be brought to your attention. You should aim to attend the Psychology Department seminars and especially the monthly ‘Centre for Innovation in Mental Health ‘seminars.
If you have a genuine reason for not attending a seminar on a key topic in Clinical Psychology, it may be possible to record it if you let the Programme Director know in advance.

Guidance on typical criteria for obtaining (and not obtaining) absences from compulsory session is available in the University’s Quality Handbook. As these criteria cannot cover the particulars of every possible case, they may be extended or rescinded under exceptional circumstances. Normally, however, they will be strictly enforced.

If unsure about the validity of a reason for being absent from a compulsory session, you should ask your Programme Director or the Director of Student Support for clarification.

Notes:

Medical documentation is not required for illness lasting five days or less; instead, students should fill out a Self-Certification of Illness form. This form is available at the back of the Special Considerations/Deadline Extensions Request form:

http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/special-considerations.html

For illnesses lasting longer than five days, students usually require a medical note from a qualified physician (or some alternative form of third-party documentation). This form is available below: Physician Referral Form

Where a severe acute illness due to chronic medical condition, physical or psychiatric, is repeatedly cited, the University may take action as set out under the University’s Fitness to Study policy.