Record your attendance

Record your attendance in lectures, seminars, labs and other classes using the University of Bristol app.

On this page

Who should record attendance

All taught students should record attendance using the University of Bristol app, unless your school or faculty tells you not to.

PGR students have other ways to record attendance.

Students with a Study Support Plan 

Students with a Study Support Plan (SSP) must also record their attendance.

Contact your school if you:

  • have a disability that means you cannot use the app
  • are worried about how your disability may impact your attendance.

Visa sponsored students

Visa sponsored students must attend and record attendance during on-campus classes to keep your visa sponsorship.

Find out what to do if you can't record your attendance because of an app issue.

Why record your attendance

Most programmes are designed to teach you in person, such as through lectures, seminars and laboratory sessions. This supports your learning and wellbeing.

You agreed to attend all in-person teaching when you accepted the Student Agreement.

Recording your attendance helps you demonstrate that you are:

  • meeting your programme attendance requirements
  • fulfilling your visa responsibilities, if you are a visa holder.

It helps the University to:

  • see how you are engaging with your programme and offer timely support
  • make unit attendance decisions, for example if you are required to complete a supplementary year with reassessments. The decision to require you to complete a unit again, with or without teaching, may be based on your previous attendance record for that unit
  • make decisions on whether you can continue your programme.

If you do not record attendance

We aim to help you continue your programme and remove barriers to attendance.

We may contact you to remind you to record your attendance.

If your record shows no or very low attendance, your academic progress and ability to meet the requirements of your programme may be affected. Repeated absence could have serious consequences, such as suspension or withdrawal, depending on your circumstances.

How to record your attendance

You can record your attendance from 15 minutes before your class starts. You need to be in the teaching room.

To do this, you need to:

  1. Download the University of Bristol app.
  2. Check your device's location is switched on (for both your device and the app) and showing your current location.
    • Remember to be in the room before you check in.
  3. Open the app.
  4. Select the ‘record your attendance’ tile.
  5. Find your current class. If it doesn't show, refresh the page and wait for it to load.
  6. Select ‘record’.
    A green tick will confirm attendance has been recorded.
  7. Select ‘finish’.

    You cannot record your attendance if: 

    • you are too far away from the room (the app will mark it as an 'invalid' check-in)
    • the class has ended.

    Neither your School nor IT Services can add or change your attendance data.

    Web version

    If you are having problems with the University of Bristol app, you can use the web browser version.

    On a Windows 11 laptop

    • Select 'settings' > 'privacy and security' > 'location', turn on location services 
    • turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app by selecting 'let apps access your location' section.

    On a Mac

    • In 'system settings' > 'privacy and security', turn on location services
    • turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app.

    View history of recordings  

    You can view a 4-week history of your attendance recording in the app. This will show attempts that have been recorded as successfully validated or where attendance was recorded with an error message.

    If it was not possible to record your attendance, this will not be visible in your history.

    Forgot to record attendance

    If you forgot to record your attendance, make sure you do it for the rest of your classes. If you are not recording your attendance, you will be contacted to understand the reasons for this, and support will be offered.

    Get a reminder to record attendance

    The University of Bristol app can send you a reminder to record your attendance 5 minutes before each class is due to start. To switch this function on:

    • On iOS (Apple) devices, open the app and select 'settings' at the bottom of the screen.
    • On Android devices, go to device’s 'settings' > 'apps' > 'University of Bristol'> 'Notifications' menu.

    Your phone settings override the app settings. Make sure your notifications settings are enabled for both your device and the app.

    Resolving common issues

    If you try to record your attendance and your result is invalid or unvalidated, we will see your attempt. However, this will not confirm your attendance. You will need to resolve the issue for future classes.

    The most common reasons for a failed recording are:  

    The location recorded by your device did not match the location where your class was meant to take place.

    Solution: before recording your location, make sure you are where your class is timetabled to take place and your device is showing your location accurately. To do this, select 'maps' and then the 'my location' icon before trying to check-in. 

    Location services may not work if your device: 

    • has very low battery 
    • is in power saver mode

    You did not have location services turned on, or the University of Bristol app or web browser did not have permission to use them.

    Solution: turn on your location in device settings and give permission to the app.

    You did not tap "Check-in" during the check-in window.

    Solution: The check-in window opens 15 minutes before your class starts and closes when your class ends. You must check-in during this period.

    If you check in too far away from your teaching space the University of Bristol app will mark the check as 'invalid'. In the case, the app will not record your attendance for that activity. 

    You do not need internet to record your attendance.

    Solution: If your GPS location is accurate, and you log on to an internet connection before midnight on the day of your class, your attendance will be recorded successfully.

    • Turn on location settings for the device by selecting 'settings, > 'privacy and security'. Location must be on.
    • Turn on location permissions for the University of Bristol app by selecting 'settings' > 'University of Bristol' (towards the bottom of the screen).
      Location should be set to 'always'.
    • If you are using a web browser to record your attendance (e.g. Google Chrome) turn on location services for the web browser app.
    • Log out and log back in again: select 'settings' at the bottom of the screen and then 'logout'. When you log back in, check your login details are correct as previous errors can be copied over.
    • Uninstall and re-install the app.
    • Turn on location settings for the device by selecting 'settings'> 'location'. 'Use location' must be on.
    • Turn on location permissions for the University of Bristol by selecting 'settings' > 'location' > 'app location permissions'. 'Location permission' must be set to 'always allow' or 'allow while using the app'.
    • If you are using a web browser to record your attendance (e.g. Google Chrome) turn on location services for the web browser app.
    • Log out and log back in again: select the three dots in the top right and then 'settings'. The sign out button (shaped like a key) is next to the three dots. When you log back in, check your login details are correct as previous errors can be copied over.
    • Uninstall and re-install the app.

    If you are having problems with the app, you can use the web browser version.

    On a Windows 11 laptop

    • Select 'settings' > 'privacy and security' > 'location', turn on location services 
    • turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app by selecting 'let apps access your location' section.

    On a Mac

    • In 'system settings' > 'privacy and security', turn on location services
    • turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app.

    If you are still having problems with the app, contact the IT Service Desk for support.

    You must give them: 

    • time, locations and names of 2 or 3 of the classes affected 
    • the device you are using 
    • details of what happened  
    • any messages displayed. 

    Confidentiality

    We are committed to supporting your wellbeing. To do this, we may need to share some information in line with our confidentiality and privacy statement.

    How we use location services

    We do not make your data accessible to third parties.

    The device’s location is only recorded when the 'record your attendance' button is selected. It uses this to confirm your attendance at that session. It is not recorded at other times.

    Give feedback

    Give us your feedback on using University of Bristol app so we can keep improving the student experience.