The University has announced changes to the international student check-in system, after noting that “[c]learly, there are some problems.”
On December 11, the University released a statement addressing some of the feedback and concerns it had received since the introduction of the new visa check-in system for international students.
In it, Dr Simon Merrywest, the Director for the Student Experience, said the University had had meetings with the Students’ Union Executive Team to discuss the visa check-in system and the concerns students had with it.
This comes after there was considerable distress expressed by some international students over the check-in process, and how they were made to feel “unwanted.”
Following the feedback given by the Students’ Union Executive team, the University announced several changes.
First, students are now able to use any check-in location, not just the one in their school.
Secondly, the Engineering Building A check-in desk has relocated to a desk on the ground floor, next to the East Entrance.
Finally, the statement confirmed that the student check-in process does not apply during the Christmas Break and the exam period. Check-ins resume alongside the resumption of teaching on January 29, 2024.
The University said that “[t]he student visa system can be expensive, complicated, and bureaucratic. We’ve been working for years to persuade the government to make it better.”
The University aims to introduce a new online system next year: “[f]rom September 2024 we will have a new engagement analytics system where all taught students, not just those on visas, will register their attendance digitally.”
This comes after The Mancunion exclusively revealed that the current check-in system would remain throughout the current academic year.
Dr Merrywest says that in the new year, the University aims to have an “open meeting” with students to discuss and answer questions and concerns.
He also made it clear that the new visa check-in processes are a by-product of the government’s UKVI (UK Visas & Immigration) guidelines, and that the University is bound to follow these regulations.
