The University of Manchester has introduced a new attendance system this year, replacing the check-in system on Blackboard.
SEAtS has made attendance tracking mandatory for both home and international students, requiring students to scan a QR code or enter a PIN during each lecture and class.
The attendance system is designed to be an additional tool for the university to help encourage attendance and support students who need additional support.
The university stated that the system aims to encourage students’ “engagement and well-being”, suggesting that drops in attendance often suggest students “may be experiencing difficulties“.
Students are forbidden from sharing QR or PIN codes with others. If caught, students could be in violation of the Conduct and Discipline of Students document.
Postgraduate Research students are not expected to use SEAtS in this first rollout.
SEAtS was also implemented to make it easier to track international students’ attendance for UK Visas and Immigration.
Attendance and engagement with the University are required to maintain a sponsored student visa at the university.
Before the new attendance system was introduced, international students had to undertake manual check-ins within university buildings.
These manual check-ins were introduced after the university’s monitoring system became inoperative due to the cyber attack in June 2023.
Following the implementation of in-person check-ins, The Mancunion reported that international students felt “unwanted” last year when required to complete the process in person.
Regarding the implementation of SEAtS, one international Pharmacy student stated that having their attendance monitored “is fair, as we are internationals and we get our visas based on a promise… (to) be engaged”.
However, it has not taken long for loopholes in the system to be discovered, with the same student saying, “I can already see some (international students) sharing codes and not showing up”.
This comes despite the threat of sanctions placed on students if sharing the codes is uncovered.
