Student Attendance Monitoring

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Student Attendance Monitoring (SAM)

SAM - Systems and User Guides

SAM - Departmental Contacts/Uploaders

SAM - Frequently Asked Questions

Student Attendance Monitoring - Systems

Overview
The University has a comprehensive Student Attendance Monitoring policy (the policy and guidance
document is available as a download at www.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam). Alongside this a central Student
Attendance Monitoring (SAM) system has been designed to assist departments in the collection, storage
and analysis of attendance monitoring data relating to students. The SAM system can be accessed in
three ways:

1) Go direct via the web page www.shef.ac.uk/attendance

2) Log into MUSE and go to the Staff Applications tab. In the CIES Student, CIES Staff and Student
Attendance Monitoring channel, select Student Attendance Monitoring.
3) Alternatively, if you are logged into CIES already, at the Main Menu, select Option 13 Attendance
Monitoring.

Access to Systems

Attendance Monitoring Data Types

Data Recording Methods

 Attendance Reports

Departmental Student Attendance Monitoring Contacts

Queries about the use of SAM systems

Access to Systems

All staff who have access to the Corporate Information Enquiry System (CIES) will automatically have
access to the 1 to 1 Meeting Facility and the Reporting Facility. If you do not have access to CIES you will
need to be set up as an authorised user via a Registration process.

www.shef.ac.uk/cics/cis/registration

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Attendance Monitoring Data Types

There are two main types of attendance monitoring data:

1) Attendance Data Departments are required to monitor the attendance of all students (both Home/EU
and Overseas). Departments must maintain their own records of student attendance monitoring activities
they undertake, and are strongly encouraged to use the central SAM system for this purpose.

2) Check Point Data Departments are required to regularly review attendance data and other evidence
of participation/progress for all students (both Home/EU and Overseas) to judge whether they are fully
engaged with their programme of study or not. Using the central SAM system,
departments must confirm at two or three official check points during the year following initial registration,
whether or not students are engaging with their programme of studies.

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Data Recording Methods

There are a number of methods for recording attendance monitoring data on central systems in order for
departments to monitor student attendance and inform and manage their Check Point data returns.

1) CMIS Registers this is part of the CMIS Timetabling software which is used by all departments, and
enables class registers to be printed and/or updated online. Attendance data loaded via CMIS Registers
is automatically incorporated into the central SAM system.

2) 1 to 1 Meetings Facility a web-based facility within the central SAM system for staff to record 1 to 1
meetings/interactions with individual students. This facility is also accessible via individual CIES Student
Profiles.
3) Departmental Data Uploads enables departments to upload student attendance data via excel or
.CSV file format onto the central SAM system.

4) Check Points Facility - a web-based facility within the central SAM system for staff to record
checkpoint data for cohorts of students. More information about required checkpoints, including the dates
of checkpoint windows is available in the SAM policy document (available as a download
at www.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam).

Further information and User Guides relevant to each of these centrally provided systems is available
from the downloads box on the right. All the User Guides can be downloaded from this webpage, but are
also available as links on the relevant screens of the central SAM system. Two additional User Guides on
Departmental System Integration for both Departmental Attendance Data Upload and Check Point
Recording are also available, but only from the relevant screens on the central SAM system.

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Attendance Reports

Once student attendance data and checkpoint data has been added/uploaded onto the central SAM
system, departments can use the Attendance Reports facility in the central SAM system (accessed via the
link on the home screen) to view and analyse the data for cohorts/groups of students and for individual
students. A User Guide is available from the download box on the right.

Following the closure of a checkpoint window, TPO and RIS will review the checkpoint data for each
department to identify students who may be a cause for concern, and will take follow up action where
required (and where a department has not already contacted TPO/RIS). Follow up actions may differ
dependent upon whether the student is a CAS student or non-CAS student. Further information is
available in the SAM Policy and Guidance document (available as a download
at www.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam).

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Departmental Student Attendance Monitoring Contacts

As part of the process of setting up the central SAM system, each department has been asked to provide
details of one Primary and one Deputy SAM contact (different staff contacts for different cohort
responsibilities are acceptable, eg: UG, PGT). These contact details have been loaded onto the central
student records system, along with details of all those staff who have applied for security access to
upload files of SAM data onto CIS (see Data Recording Method 3 above).

This information will be used to contact appropriate staff via email with student attendance monitoring
information, including the sending of automatic system-generated email reminders of when check point
window start and end dates are approaching (all primary contacts and uploaders). Contact details also
appear on the student listings produced when running Attendance Reports within the central SAM system,
and will be used by TPO/RIS to contact the relevant departments following the review of checkpoint data
if it is felt that follow up action for specific students is required. Whilst only the Primary contact is
displayed in these student listings, both the Primary and Deputy contact will be emailed.

A web page listing staff who act as either a Departmental SAM contact or uploader can be viewed
at www.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam/deptcontacts. If you would like to amend any contact/uploader details, please
contact Cheryl Hewitt, Taught Programmes Office (c.hewitt@sheffield.ac.uk, Ext. 21277).

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Queries about the use of SAM Systems

The various SAM system components have been designed to be user friendly and easy to use. However,
if you have any queries please consider the following:

In the first instance, consult the relevant User Guide. These are all available from the downloads box at
the top of this webpage.
If you still require assistance, contact your relevant Departmental SAM
contact (seewww.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam/deptcontacts)

If your query is still unanswered, then contact:

For queries on the use of CMIS Registers, contact Cliff Alcock, Teaching Space Manager CICS
(c.alcock@sheffield.ac.uk, Ext. 23194)
For queries on the user of the 1-1 Meetings Facility, Departmental Upload System, Reporting
Facility or Check Point Recording, contact Andrew Stainforth CICS (a.stainforth@sheffield.ac.uk, Ext
21115) OR the CICS Helpdesk (helpdesk@sheffield.ac.uk, Ext 21111)

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This Student Attendance Monitoring Overview is also available to download from the Downloads box on
the right.