Attendance Policy

Murdoch University considers that student attendance is critical to academic performance and successful achievement of progression requirements. This policy establishes the criteria and processes used to determine satisfactory attendance.

The policy also outlines the processes of:

a. Assessing, recording, and monitoring attendance.

b. Notifying students who do not meet or are at risk of not meeting satisfactory attendance.

c. Intervention to ensure that students who do not meet or are at risk of not meeting satisfactory attendance are provided with suitable support through a consistent process.

d. Student appeals.

2. Application

a. This mandatory policy applies to all Foundation, Diploma and Undergraduate students studying at Murdoch University Dubai.

b. This policy does not apply to Postgraduate students studying at Murdoch University Dubai.

3. Policy Statement

Regular attendance is fundamental to student academic success, learning and progression rates. Murdoch University Dubai encourages students to participate in all scheduled teaching and learning sessions to optimise academic achievements. Monitoring of attendance enables identification of students at risk and implementation of appropriate intervention.

4. Assessing Attendance

a. Murdoch University Dubai requires all students to maintain at least 80% attendance in all teaching and learning sessions (classes, tutorials, workshops, labs etc.) in a trimester.

i. Student requests for special consideration, deferred examinations, supplementary examinations, or assignment extensions may receive less favourable consideration if they have not met the 80% attendance requirement. This will be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator at Murdoch University, Perth.

ii. Other consequences of failure to attend the minimum 80% of scheduled learning activities include:

• Cancellation or reduction of any scholarships or discounts currently being applied to a student’s tuition fees.
• Restricted or blocked access to payment plans.
• Restrictions on the number of units in which student can enrol in the next trimester.

This will be at the discretion of the Dean and General Manager at Murdoch University Dubai.

b. Mitigating Circumstances

a. These penalties will not apply to absences for genuine reasons, such as illness (with a doctor’s certificate), family emergencies (with evidence).

b. Students must obtain and submit the appropriate evidence for these situations to avoid the implementation of any of the outlined penalties.

c. These submissions will be sent to:

i. Student Services

ii. Lecturer

iii. Discipline Lead

iv. Unit Coordinator

The evidence must be provided within one week of the absence.

5. Recording of attendance

a. Swapping Classes

A student is not permitted to ‘swap’ classes or to attend a class other than the one in which they are enrolled without prior permission. Please contact Student and Academic Services and copy your lecturer and Discipline Lead for permission.

b. Late Attendance

i. During Weeks 1-2, students may be marked as present even if late at the discretion of their lecturer. Inform your lecturer if it was an emergency or a genuine reason.

ii. From Week 3, if a student is more than 10 minutes late, they will be marked as absent. Inform your lecturer if it was an emergency or a genuine reason.

iii. If students leave the class for more than 10 minutes (such as a student not returning to class after a break) they too will be marked as absent. Inform your lecturer if it was an emergency or a genuine reason.

iv. Faculty/staff may deny entry to students who do not arrive for class or other scheduled activities on time.

6. Attendance monitoring and intervention

a. Lecturers will inform Student and Academic Services and the Discipline Lead via email if a student is absent for two consecutive weeks.

b. Student and Academic Services will follow up by:

i. Getting in touch with the student via email and/or phone call.

ii. Enquiring as to the student’s current wellbeing and reminding the student of the attendance policy and required evidence.

iii. Advising the student to get in touch with the Lecturer, Unit Coordinator and Discipline Lead.

iv. Registering the details of the absenteeism on the portal v. Offering relevant academic advice or referring the student to the campus support services (if appropriate) vi. Informing the lecturer and discipline lead of the outcome.

All students are able to check their attendance percentage through the Dubai Student Portal. While Murdoch University Dubai regularly monitors student attendance, students are ultimately responsible for checking their attendance on a regular basis throughout the session to ensure compliance with the policy.

7. Attendance calculation and penalties

If the attendance falls below 80%, any penalty decided by the university will apply to the next trimester.

8. Appealing

Students can appeal this decision by email within 20 working days. The student must write to the Student and Academic Services email with the appeal: dubai.studentservices@murdoch.edu.au.

Last updated on January 4th, 2024.

To view the complete version, please download the document [here]