Engagement Monitoring

As your Student Visa sponsor, Aston University is required to meet a number of UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) conditions to ensure that you are actively studying with us. We call this Engagement Monitoring.

To meet the full engagement monitoring requirements of your visa you will need to log an on campus and academic engagement at least once every 2 weeks during term time. Ways to log engagements are listed below. If you are on an approved placement or study abroad programme, you will need to engage with your course in other ways, also listed below.

It is your responsibility to log engagements and ensure your engagement record is up to date. During term time, we will monitor your engagement and we will also send you reminders by email. You can check MyAttendance for your timetabled event attendance information.

Some other activities are registered automatically for you, for example if you have attended an exam, or if you have submitted a piece of coursework electronically using the barcode system, and these can be seen on MAP.


What is engagement monitoring?

Engagement is any activity students undertake as a part of their academic studies. Engagement is important for your success in your course and ensuring you are keeping up with your studies.

Engagement monitoring is how the university ensures you are interacting with your studies both on campus and off campus for UKVI regulations. We need to monitor your on-campus engagements to demonstrate that you are in the UK and engaging with your studies. This is to ensure you are following UKVI regulations and keeps your visa safe.

The requirements

You must register an engagement activity at least once every two weeks during term time.  Please note, you must still log engagements during term time during periods where you may not have taught sessions.

It is your responsibility to:

  • To use your ID card to register attendance to timetabled sessions. Ensure you are on time to sessions as attendance may not be recorded if you arrive late.  More information can be found on the MyAttendance web page here.
  • Ensure your engagements and meetings with staff members are recorded on MAP
  • To maintain contact with the University and inform us if you encounter any issues that will impact you in meeting your engagement requirements
How do I register an engagement activity?

It is your responsibility to register engagement activities regularly.

Here are examples of how to log engagements on campus:

  • Attending timetabled sessions and swiping your ID card
  • Undertaking laboratory work
  • Attending meetings with an academic on campus
  • Attending on campus exams
  • Studying in the Library
  • Visiting the Student Solutions Centre
When is Term Time?

Undergraduates – All Schools

  • Engagement Period 1: 18th September 2023 to 16th December 2023
  • Engagement Period 2:8th January 2024 to 28th March 2024
  • Engagement Period 3: 22nd April 2024 to 8th June 2024

Postgraduate Taught Programmes

Please note Engagement period 3 runs until your course end date. Once the teaching elements of your course have been completed in Engagement Period 2, you are still required to be engaging with your studies on the University campus. Any absences during this period must be authorised, including any periods you will be writing up your dissertation from another location.

September Cohort

  • Engagement Period 1: 18th September 2023 to 16th December 2023
  • Engagement Period 2: 8th January 2024 to 28th March 2024
  • Engagement Period 3: 22nd April to 30th September 2024

January Cohort

  • Engagement Period 1: 8th January 2024 to 28th March 2024
  • Engagement Period 2: 22nd April 2024 to 5th July 2024
  • Engagement Period 3: 8th July 2024 to 27th January 2025

April Cohort

Please refer to your College for your specific term dates as these may differ between Colleges.

Latest term dates can be found on our webpage.

Postgraduate Research Programmes

As a full time research student, you are expected to be engaging with your studies on a full time basis as if you were in full time employment. All holidays, absences and research periods away from the campus and any periods of paid or unpaid work (including voluntary work) must be approved by your supervisor BEFORE they take place.

What happens if I do not engage?

Stage Zero
If you record your engagement activities regularly, no action will be taken and no communications will be sent to you.

Stage 1 – 2 week reminder
If you do not record any face to face engagements and miss all your scheduled teaching events in a 2 week period you will be contacted by email, reminded of the requirement to engage with your studies, and signposted to sources of support.

Stage 2 – 4 week reminder
If you do not record any face to face engagements and miss all your scheduled teaching events in a 4 week period, you will be contacted by email to discuss the reasons for non-attendance and offered appropriate pastoral support where required. 

Stage 3 – 6 Weeks Final Warning
If you do not record any face to face engagements and miss all your scheduled teaching events falling within a 6 week period, you will be contacted by email with an invitation to an Engagement Support Meeting with the Student Engagement Team and your College to discuss your non-engagement. The Teams will review your entire student profile including interactions with Blackboard, Panopto, Assessments, Examinations, Personal Tutor Meetings etc. and will be discussed in your meeting.

Stage 4 – Notice of Withdrawal
If you do not record any face to face engagements and miss all your scheduled teaching events falling within an 8 week period then you will be referred to your College and the Visa Compliance Team with a recommendation to withdraw you from the programme.

Appeals
If you reach Stage 4 you will have five working days in which to lodge an appeal in line with the University Appeals Process. An appeal should be submitted in writing to the Head of Visa Compliance that demonstrates why you have not been able to respond to previous communications. If an appeal is not received, or if evidence in support of an appeal is not deemed satisfactory, you will be withdrawn for non-attendance and officially informed of this in writing. You will be reported to the UKVI and your Student Visa will be withdrawn.

Absence during your studies

We understand that you may need to be away from university during term time.  You must request your absence prior to leaving the University and the absence must be under 60 days.  To do this you must contact your College with the dates you request off and the reason for your absence. In some circumstances, you may need to provide evidence for your absence, such as medical documentation if you are absent due to illness. Your College may have specific requirements for absence, please ensure you speak with them prior to your absence to ensure it adheres to their policy. A decision would be made on whether the length of absence would impact you academically and how you can engage with your course while absent. 

On your Short Absence is in place, you will not be required to do any face to face engagements at the University.

You do not need permission to travel during official vacation periods, but we recommend that you request a 'Confirmation of Study' letter in MAP before you travel to show to UKVI Border Officials. If you are unclear regarding your official term dates, please check the 'When is Term Time' section of this webpage.

Postgraduate Taught Students – please note that your engagement period runs all the way until your course end date, even though the taught part of your studies may have completed. You are still required to be studying full time writing up your dissertation. This means you must still attend face to face engagements during the summer holidays. You cannot work full time during this period as you are still classed as being in term time.

Postgraduate Research Students - any periods of absence must be authorised by your supervisor and the PGR team before they take place. Information on requesting leave is available in your Graduate School handbook.

I want to complete my studies/dissertation from abroad

If you wish to complete your studies from abroad, you must seek permission from your College. If this is approved, they will update your record accordingly. You will need to contact the International Advice Team at astoninternational@aston.ac.uk to discuss the visa implications of this choice. If you choose not to return to the UK, we would notify the UKVI accordingly. When this has been fully approved, you will no longer need to engage on campus.

Engagement on Placement

Once your placement has been approved by the Careers & Placements team or your College, you would be expected to complete off campus engagements regularly until your placement end date.

You can log engagements on placement by:

For more information please refer to

Engagement on Placement.pdf164.89 KB
I have completed my studies, do I still need to engage

If you have completed your studies with Aston and are still receiving engagement reminders, please contact your College in the first instance. You can also email the Student Engagement Team to update us on your situation. Your College will need to update your study status. Once they have removed you from the monitoring list then you should stop receiving engagement reminders.

Last updated: 17/08/2024 KB