Student Engagement Monitoring

At the beginning of Semester 2, we are maintaining the current local processes for engagement monitoring. That means that wherever attendance is taken in class via QR code, spreadsheet or manual attendance we will continue to take attendance as per the existing processes (with one caveat for PGR/PGT students explained in the last paragraph).

For the new processes introduced using SafeZone for teaching time and the Engagement Form for postgraduate dissertation/project periods, our initial focus is on visa holder students only.

That means that we are only requiring student visa holders to check in via SafeZone, and direct communications on this are going out to student visa holders directly. Similarly, it is only a requirement for visa holder PGR/PGT students during dissertation/project period to record at least one four-weekly engagement via the engagement form.

The only caveat is that the UofG Helpdesk engagement form replaces all other local forms for documenting engagements for PGR/PGT students during dissertation/project period and we ask all staff and PGR/PGT students to use the engagement form for documenting supervisory meetings, seminar/workshop/events and coursework submissions (e.g. a section of dissertation).

What are the changes in responsibility for School staff?

Schools must continue monitoring engagement for their student visa holders in semester two 2025. Schools are asked to keep in place the current processes they have for recording attendance and engagement for students at teaching events.

To ensure we are compliant, we will now escalate student visa holders who have not engaged within 3 weeks for UG/PGT teaching or 4 weeks for PGR & PGT during dissertation/project.

We are asking each of our schools to continue their existing engagement monitoring processes, but the engagement check will be required at the timescales listed above.

Note that, for PGR/PGT Dissertation students, Schools should adopt fully the new UofG helpdesk engagement tracking process.

A new process for capturing additional engagement data is being put in place using student check-ins in the SafeZone app and UofG helpdesk engagement form for PGR/PGT students during the dissertation/project period. The additional engagement data will be used in conjunction with engagement points provided by the Schools to confirm attendance/engagement for students.

Schools will be required to record any engagement points they were able to verify for each of their student sponsor visa holders, highlighting which is online and which is offline.

If the UKVI Compliance Team could not confirm attendance/engagement during the past 3 weeks (4 weeks for PGR/PGT students during the project /dissertation period), the School will be asked to provide any information on additional contact points via the UofG HelpDesk engagement form.

Schools will still be responsible for contacting students who have not shown engagement according to the policy in the interim period. The UKVI compliance team will communicate to students in parallel through case management in UofG Helpdesk.

Do Schools have any responsibility in the withdrawal decision?

Schools will continue to initiate the withdrawal process as previously until we put in place a new process. 

Do schools still have to maintain records?

Yes, please continue to maintain records until something different is communicated.

For UG and PGT, are we still required to use a variety of engagement methods (attendance, submissions), or will we be able to use solely the attendance data?

There are no changes at this time to the local current practice for engagement monitoring, which includes a mixture of acceptable contact points, including attendance and submissions.

Are SafeZone check-ins required of all students or only visa holder students? If for visa holders, doesn’t it single out one group of students?

Only visa holder students are required to check in via SafeZone. Visa holder students will not be prompted by teaching staff at the in-person event, they will have received direct communication about SafeZone check-ins.

What support is available to students who don’t have a mobile phone or their phone does not support SafeZone?

Students who don’t own a mobile phone, or their phone does not support SafeZone App, can in some cases get help to purchase a new mobile phone. This will be done using the Financial Support Fund. This fund is available to help cover the costs of purchasing a mobile phone, but is limited and will require an application process.

What will be SafeZone check-ins checked against to ensure students are checking in for their scheduled sessions?

SafeZone check-ins are checked against the timetabled events for the respective student to ensure students are in the expected area.

What about check-ins in labs, where students are not permitted phones for health & safety?

Check-ins are permitted from 10 minutes before up to 10 minutes after the teaching event. If check-ins for a particular timetabled teaching event are not possible, students are encouraged to check in at the next event to meet the minimum engagement requirements.

Where do I direct students if they have technical issues with SafeZone?

Students can use Reach Out if they have technical issues with SafeZone.

Is SafeZone tied to campus locations?

SafeZone can only be used for check-ins for teaching events on campus.

Is Dumfries campus on SafeZone? What about QEUH campus where we send students to the Teaching and Learning Centre?

Yes, students can check in using SafeZone from both the Dumfries campus and the QEUH campus.

Can SafeZone identify which room the student is checking in from, or only the building?

SafeZone can only identify the building, not individual rooms.

How will SafeZone ensure that the student is where they are supposed to be and not clicking from home/not on campus?

SafeZone uses near-real time location that can identify the building on campus that the student is checking in from.

How can we ensure that all students download the SafeZone app? Can SafeZone send reminders for students to check in?

We have communicated through various channels to students who need to use SafeZone. If students fail to download and use SafeZone the non-engagement process will be triggered, which will involve additional communication to student. SafeZone is currently not set up to send reminders for check-in.

Is the UG student check-in every 3 weeks or weekly?

Students are encouraged to check in at every timetabled teaching event, and as a minimum they are required to check-in at one teaching event per week.
If the student has not engaged for three weeks during teaching time, the non-engagement/escalation process will start, involving communication with the student as the first step.

Can SafeZone be used to check in for online classes?

No, SafeZone check-ins are only intended for in person timetabled teaching events taking place on campus.

What types of engagement can be documented through the engagement form? 

The engagement form can be used for the following types of engagement, which can be selected from the engagement type drop-down: 

• Supervisor/ Tutor Meeting
• Seminar/ Workshop/ Event (which includes PGR development and training events, seminars, workshops and annual progress reviews (APRs)
• Coursework submission (which includes submitting a [section of a] dissertation for formative feedback)

Where can I find the engagement form?

Staff can access the form by searching ‘engagement form’ in UofG Helpdesk. 

How do I use the engagement form?

Guidance on how to fill in the Engagement Form can be found in the UKVI Engagement Form guidance for staff.

How often must students submit an engagement form? Are in-person and online meetings acceptable?

PGR/PGT visa holder students during dissertation/project must submit an engagement form every 4 weeks. A mix of online and in-person meetings are acceptable.

Is the engagement form live?

Yes, the engagement form is live on UofG Helpdesk, starting on Monday, Jan 13th 2025.

How do I get access to Ivanti for the engagement form?

Ivanti is the developer of UofG Helpdesk which is available to all staff and students. You should go to UofG Helpdesk and use the help function if you have any issues with logging in.

Will School Admin teams see if students haven’t completed the Engagement forms or if Engagement forms haven’t been signed off in order to follow up?

In order to track the submission and completion of engagement forms, a dashboard view can be applied in UofG Helpdesk by logging in with ‘Student Support Analyst’ role and adding ‘UKVI Engagements’ to ‘My Dashboards’.

Additionally, Admin teams get notified if the supervisor has not signed off the form within the allocated 15 working days.

The Apex Dashboard will also show for any PGT/PGT student if no engagement forms have been submitted at the 4-week checkpoint.

How is the supervisor information captured on the engagement forms?

The student needs to input the contact information for up to two supervisors when filling in the engagement form.

For PGR, we have our own Ivanti form so we can’t continue as normal as it would be a duplication of our work?

All local forms for PGR/PGT during dissertation /project are to be replaced by the new UofG HelpDesk Engagement form. Only the new engagement form needs to be submitted.

What is the procedure for students who have not met engagement but have evidence of difficult circumstances?

Students who have not met engagement are contacted by email (both by the School and through the central process) and have the opportunity to evidence any circumstances that would be relevant prior to the withdrawal decision process being initiated. Schools continue to maintain responsibility for initiating the withdrawal decision until a new process is communicated.

What is classed as non-engagement? What if a student is ill?

The minimum engagement required during teaching time is for students to record one contact point per week or for PGR/PGT students during dissertation/project – one contact point per month. Records of approved absences are taken into account.

Should school go ahead with the scheduled check-in dates, and will get a flag if a student has not engaged via central process for 3 weeks?

Yes, schools should go ahead with their local monitoring process as it is, however we ask that the timelines of your contact points be adjusted so that you are able to perform a check point every three weeks.

From the central monitoring process, you will receive an extract from the Dashboard showing students that have not engaged over the past three weeks. If at that point you have recorded engagement for any of the students on the list, you are asked to provide any information on additional contact points via the UofG HelpDesk engagement form.

Where should our contact points sit in the new approach of checking every 3 weeks/4 weeks for PGR?

You should have a contact point for monitoring engagement in the period leading up to each engagement check (every 3 weeks/4 weeks for PGR/PGT dissertation/project). Do not worry about how many contact points you will get in a year with this approach, as this is likely to be a short-term endeavour until the centralised process is fully up-to-speed.

The following are guidelines about when engagement checks should occur:

• UG/PGT teaching time:
• Engagement check 1: should be scheduled and take place before 31/1/25 (end of week 3)
  Engagement check 2: should be scheduled and take place before 21/2/25 (end of week 6)
  Engagement check 3: should be scheduled and take place before 14/3/25 (end of week 9)
  Engagement check 4: should be scheduled and take place after 21/4/25 (start of revision and exam period) and 23/5/24 (end of exam period

• PGR/PGT (dissertation/project):
• As above. Students should submit engagement forms during the dissertation/project period in June, July and August i.e. until the dissertation/project is submitted.

What constitutes an acceptable contact point?

Engagement at the University of Glasgow can be monitored through any of the following typical contact points:  

• A lesson, lecture, tutorial, lab, or seminar   
• A test, examination or assessment
• A meeting with a supervisor or tutor 
• A research-method or research-panel meeting, writing-up seminars or doctoral workshop which includes internal training and development, events, seminars, workshops and annual progress reviews (APRs) 
• An oral examination (viva)   
• Submitting formative or summative coursework 
• Submitting coursework or a (section of a) dissertation for formative feedback  

For PGR, is it 4 weeks from the LAST engagement, or 4 weeks from a MISSED engagement?

For PGR / PGT students during dissertation /project you must have a checkpoint every 4 weeks (with the first checkpoint being after 4 weeks from the start of teaching). If during the 4 weeks the student has not recorded an engagement via the Engagement form, this triggers the non-engagement process with its timelines for contacting the student.

Are plans underway to centralise follow-up on non-engagement?

The two processes will run in parallel, with central follow-up of non-engagement supplementing the communication to students for non-engagement from local teams. Once the central process is established, it will be clearly communicated when schools should no longer contact students for non-engagement.

Will staff need to chase non-attendance for every week/every month for PGT/PGR even if it is out with the 8 contact points?

For UG/PGT students during teaching time the first checkpoint is after 3 weeks from the start of teaching. A contact point should be set up and monitored during the 3 week period and only students that miss the contact point should be chased up by the Schools.

For PGR/PGT students during dissertation /thesis the requirement is for a four-weekly engagement. Students should only be chased if at the 4-week checkpoint they have not recorded an engagement.

What are the implications for attendance monitoring for visa holder students who have flexibility with attendance as either a disability provision or carer plan support?

Visa holder students are asked to check in to 1 timetabled event at a minimum, so there is flexibility in the process to account for scenarios in which students can’t attend a particular class due to disability provision.

How is the data fed into the APEX Dashboard?

Planning, Insights & Analytics have defined automatic data flows that take into account all the data sources that are relevant for student engagement monitoring. School Admin staff will be able to see engagement monitoring data for their own students.

How is the data that student record digitally in the new process fed back to Schools?

The engagement monitoring data captured from the new processes – SafeZone and UofG Helpdesk Engagement forms – will be collated in a new APEX Dashboard, which will be made available to Schools.

What is the process for student placements and study abroad?

Schools remain responsible for ensuring that students on placement continue to engage. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Erasmus and study abroad mobility periods (outgoing) 
• Compulsory language year abroad  
• Industry placements for integrated master’s programmes (e.g. MEng or MSci)  
• Clinical placements/rotations for Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Veterinary Medicine  

Schools must ensure that for students on placements and study abroad with duration >1 week they document this under MyCampus – Records and Enrolment – Placements – Student Placements.

The following fields need to be completed:

• Term
• Title
• Duration of placement (‘From Date’ and ‘To Date’)
• Organisation
• Location

PGT students must continue to meet four-weekly with their supervisor and submit engagement forms as usual.

For UG students, schools do not need to follow the requirement to monitor attendance continually but must have an agreement in place with the placement provider(s), who must agree to report back to their contact at the University to confirm the student has commenced the placement at the start, and to notify the University if the student ceases attending. This is usually a requirement for all students on placement, regardless of visa status. 

What is the process for short-term summer schools or volunteering?

Short-term incoming students are not sponsored visa students, and therefore out of scope of engagement monitoring purposes.

University sponsored visa holder students that have sanctioned reasons to be away from Glasgow for a duration > 1 week have to be updated under MyCampus – Records and Enrolment – Placements – Student Placements. This allows us to discount the students from the non-engagement process for that time period.

The following fields need to be completed:

• Term
• Title
• Duration of placement ('From Date' and 'To Date')
• Organisation
• Location

How are interruptions of studies (UG/PGT) taken into account?

Suspensions of studies need to be approved by the School or College and the implications are different depending on the suspension period:

• Suspensions of 60 days or less: Visa sponsorship will continue, and the student will be allowed to stay in or re-enter the UK on their Student or Tier 4 Visa to resume their studies later. Schools need to ensure that interruptions of studies are recorded in MyCampus.
• Suspensions of more than 60 days: the University is required to withdraw sponsorship of the student’s Visa and the student will need to leave the UK and apply for a new Visa when they are ready to return to resume your studies. This also applies to suspensions of study requested for maternity leave.

Students considering suspending or deferring their studies should contact International Student Support for advice.

What are the requirements for summer PGT students who have not progressed to project and have no classes or project meetings?

We will need to monitor their engagement for this period, therefore students will need to have contact with their supervisor and submit engagement forms.

Our PGT students who do not do a summer dissertation due to not meeting taught course requirements tend to leave Scotland and do their projects in the Autumn fully remotely. What happens here?

These students no longer require their Student Visa and the University must inform UKVI that we are withdrawing visa sponsorship. To facilitate this, the Student Visa – Confirm end of sponsorship form via the UofG Ivanti Helpdesk must be submitted (by the academic unit or the student).

What about PGT students where the program in delivered over two institutions?

For the time period that students are at another institution, this needs to be recorded under MyCampus – Records and Enrolment – Placements – Student Placements.
While students are at the University of Glasgow they need to record engagement via SafeZone for the teaching period (or UofG Helpdesk engagement forms for dissertation/project).

We have students on MSci placements who go overseas for 6 months and then back to a lab within the Uni for 6 months (not timetabled). Will they be required to check in via SafeZone while on campus?

For the period of time that students are at another institution, this needs to be recorded under MyCampus – Records and Enrolment – Placements – Student Placements.

While students are at the University of Glasgow, if they don’t have timetabled teaching events they will need to submit an UofG Helpdesk engagement form every 3 weeks that needs to be approved by an appropriate member of staff.

What about PGT students writing up their thesis away from Glasgow?

Some PGT students writing up their final thesis/dissertation/project choose not to stay in Glasgow, and to write up and submit from their home country or elsewhere. These students no longer require their Student Visa and the University must inform UKVI that we are withdrawing visa sponsorship. To facilitate this, the Student Visa – Confirm end of sponsorship form via the UofG Ivanti Helpdesk must be submitted (by the academic unit or the student).

Withdrawing visa sponsorship means that the academic unit no longer has engagement monitoring responsibilities for the student. UKVI will curtail the student’s visa, and it will no longer be valid to stay in or re-enter the UK. If the student needs to come back for their viva or writing up corrections, they must with a visit visa. The Immigration Compliance Team will contact the student directly with all this information after the UofG Helpdesk form is submitted.

Do PGT students in dissertation extension/thesis pending mode only need to engage on a bi-monthly basis?

The requirement has been changed to four-weekly engagement. Schools need to make sure that ‘thesis pending’ information is updated in MyCampus under Records And Enrollment – Career and Program Information – Student Program/Plan – Academic Load.

What is the process for student placements, internships or externships for PGR students?

Schools remain responsible for ensuring that students on placement continue to engage. This includes (but is not limited to):  

• Research or work placements, internships, clinical externships
• Research Furth of Glasgow or Fieldwork

PGR students must continue to meet four-weekly with their supervisor and submit engagement forms as usual. These meetings can be virtual for students working or studying off-campus on a placement, internship, or undertaking fieldwork, including Research Furth of Glasgow placements (those allowed to work or conduct research at institutions outside the University of Glasgow). All registered PGRs (i.e. those not on a period of suspension) should continue to record virtual four-weekly supervisory meetings through the engagement forms.

Schools must ensure that for students on placements, internships, clinical externships and fieldwork with duration >1 week they document this under MyCampus – Records and Enrolment – Placements – Student Placements. 

Clinical externships >1 month should be recorded as Research Furth of Glasgow.

The following fields need to be completed:

• Term
• Title
• Duration of placement (‘From Date’ and ‘To Date’)
• Organisation
• Location

How are leaves of absence (PGR) taken into account?

Suspensions of studies need to be approved by the School or College Graduate School and the implications are different depending on the suspension period:

• Suspensions of 60 days or less:  Visa sponsorship will continue, and the student will be allowed to stay in or re-enter the UK on their Student or Tier 4 Visa to resume their studies later. Schools need to ensure that leaves of absence are recorded in MyCampus.
• Suspensions of more than 60 days: the University is required to withdraw sponsorship of the student’s Visa and the student will need to leave the UK and apply for a new Visa when they are ready to return to resume your studies. This also applies to suspensions of study requested for maternity leave.

Students considering suspending or deferring their studies should contact International Student Support for advice.

What about PGR students writing up their thesis away from Glasgow?

Some PGR students writing up their final thesis/dissertation/project choose not to stay in Glasgow, and to write up and submit from their home country or elsewhere. These students no longer require their Student Visa and the University must inform UKVI that we are withdrawing visa sponsorship. To facilitate this, the Student Visa – Confirm end of sponsorship form via the UofG Ivanti Helpdesk must be submitted (by the academic unit or the student).

Withdrawing visa sponsorship means that the academic unit no longer has engagement monitoring responsibilities for the student. UKVI will curtail the student’s visa, and it will no longer be valid to stay in or re-enter the UK. If the student needs to come back for their viva or writing up corrections, they must with a visit visa. The Immigration Compliance Team will contact the student directly with all this information after the UofG Helpdesk form is submitted.

Should we take note of PGR holidays? Should these be recorded?

PGR students are entitled to annual leave as outlined in the PGR code of practice. PGRs are advised to record absences in MyCampus. All students must receive the approval of their supervisors for any period of annual leave. If a four-weekly supervisory meeting is missed because of annual leave, visa holder students need to engage as soon as possible on their return and submit the engagement form through UofG Helpdesk.

Do PGR students in dissertation extension/thesis pending mode only need to engage on a bi-monthly basis?

The requirement has been changed to four-weekly engagement. Schools/ Graduate schools need to make sure that ‘thesis pending’ information is updated in MyCampus under Records And Enrollment – Career and Program Information – Student Program/Plan – Academic Load.

Should I still take attendance in class in semester two according to the practice I was using?

Yes, for the beginning of semester two we are retaining the current process for monitoring attendance and engagement. In addition, student visa holders will be required to download and check in via the SafeZone app. Teaching staff will need to make no changes to practice at this time. Both old and new processes will initially run in parallel until we are confident the new process operates as expected.

Do I need to need to facilitate students checking in via the SafeZone app in any way?

No, visa holder students are responsible for checking in via SafeZone.

How can I support students if they are not able to record attendance using any of the methods available?

Teaching staff can use the Engagement form of UofG Helpdesk to record attendance at a scheduled teaching event for a student if they ask for support and are unable to register their attendance in any other way.

To do this, use the ‘Timetabled teaching event’ option (available to staff only) under ‘Engagement type’ on the Engagement form.

What are my responsibilities as supervisor for monitoring the engagement of my students?

Supervisors need to adopt the new UofG HelpDesk Engagement form which replaces all other local forms for recording engagements with PGR students and PGT student during the dissertation/project period.

It is the visa holder student’s responsibility to submit an engagement form within 5 days of the engagement taking place, however both students and supervisors can initiate the form. Supervisors need to approve/deny the request within 15 working days, with email reminders sent to supervisors after 5 days.

Do I need to see all my students face to face?

No, the policy states that for student visa holders some engagements can be online (e.g. Zoom or Teams meeting). Where some engagements are online, there must be a mix of face-to-face and online contacts.

How often should I have a supervisory meeting?

The policy states that student visa holders must document one supervisory meeting, or other type of engagement, per month.

How will the data within this process be shared?

The specific details of an engagement will be held in the UofG helpdesk, information relevant for engagement monitoring will be shared centrally to the appropriate staff for processes such as UKVI Attendance/ Engagement monitoring.

What is the requirement when students are travelling?

Students are still required to submit a four-weekly engagement form, however engagement can be online, provided that, overall, there is a mix of face-to-face and online engagement for student visa holders.

Is there a guide on how to edit if students raise the engagement form? And can we access them after?

We have not included the ability to edit forms once they've been sent, as this might lead to people amending and changing dates, which can impact the quality of the data. If there is a mistake, we suggest denying the form and asking the student to reraise it with the corrected information.

 
Supervisors can access engagement forms that they have already approved/denied in UofG HelpDesk under ‘My Items’.

What has been communicated to students? Is there an expectation that Schools communicate to students about the new processes?

Student resources have been put in place on the Attendance web page. Direct communication has also been sent to Visa holder students about SafeZone check-ins. If Schools communicate to students, please reference the official resources to ensure consistency of message.

Will academic staff personally be informed about the new processes or are School Admin staff expected to do this?

Staff resources have been put in place on a dedicated page for Student Engagement Monitoring, alongside email communications. Communication sessions have also been set up with staff to clarify messages and answer questions. If schools communicate to Academic staff, please reference the official resources to ensure consistency of message.

How do School Admin staff advise students if they received a message regarding SafeZone and they are not visa holders?

Notifications regarding SafeZone check-ins are based on a flag in MyCampus. Some students may have been identified incorrectly as visa holders, which we will seek to rectify. In the meantime, if the student has doubts about their status as a visa holder, they can contact immigrationcompliance@glasgow.ac.uk.

Is there a central team looking after the project?

Yes, the project team is looking after implementing the new processes for student engagement monitoring and can be reached at student-engagement-monitoring@glasgow.ac.uk

How long will Schools continue with the current monitoring process until the new process is fully implemented?

The timeline depends on ensuring that students have adopted the new processes using SafeZone and the Engagement form and we have confidence in how the data is reflected in the new APEX dashboard. All colleagues will receive communications and updates as soon as we are ready to move to a new phase.

Going forward, can we still keep using MOODLE attendance? This provides essential data for participation grades, and for student safeguarding?

Information from Moodle that is relevant for engagement monitoring (e.g. student submissions) will also be collated into the new APEX dashboard in the future process.

Whom do I contact if I have additional questions not answered in the FAQs?

Please contact the project team (student-engagement-monitoring@glasgow.ac.uk) if you have any additional questions.