Attendance & Punctuality

Policy & Procedure

• Class times are Monday – Thursday 09:00 to 13:00 (Morning class – 4 DAYS) and Monday – Friday 13:45 to 17:00 (Afternoon class – 5 DAYS) (Subject to change).
• If there is a bank holiday on a Monday of any week, classes will be scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday/Friday at the times outlined above.
• All learners are expected to COME TO CLASS ON TIME and respect the class schedule. There is no leeway/flexibility for arriving late or leaving early.
• If a learner arrives late, the College and/or their tutor has the right to refuse entry & not give them attendance for the day.
• If a learner leaves early, the College and/or their tutor has the right to mark them absent for the day.
• In order to get attendance, learners must sign the attendance sheet and be present in the classroom by 9:00 (morning classes) / 13:45 (afternoon classes). It is each learner’s responsibility to sign the attendance register; no attendance will be given if the learner neglects to sign. Tutors also monitor attendance in the class and Liffey College performs regular spot checks in the classroom to prevent any fraudulent practices.
• Any requests to review attendance must be submitted within 21 (twenty-one) days of the date(s) in question in order to be considered.
• JA (Justified Absence) is given to a learner on provision of appropriate documentation for INIS/GNIB/PPSN visits, Medical Certificates, Legal representation (such as a need to appear in court or to An Garda Siochana) and for a visit to their embassy to renew their passports as an example. As learners are not present on those days, they are marked absent. With Justified Absence learners are not subject to warnings, suspensions or expulsions. Please note that a justified absence (JA) applies to the entire day(s) indicated on the documentation; justified absences cannot be given for only one part/session of the class. For example, learners cannot receive a justified absence for part 1/first session and normal attendance for part 2/second session. The justified absence will be for the day.

Please Note:

• All learners must respect the class schedule. Liffey College has no special agreement with individual learners regarding arriving late or leaving early.

• For safety reasons, in case of evacuation due to a fire and/or any other emergency, tutors will bring their physical attendance sheets with them from the classroom for roll call purposes.

• Liffey College records attendance within the Liffey College Management System (LCMS). Each learner’s attendance is digitally calculated and updated on a weekly basis (Fridays). This data is stored on the LCMS, with the corresponding online security and backup, and can only be shared with a third party at the request of the learner, the Department of Justice or other authorised bodies.

• Learners can view their attendance online at any time while their classes are active and should contact the College if they suspect any errors in their attendance within 21 (twenty-one) days of the date(s) in question.

• Learners who fail to achieve a minimum of 85% (eighty five percent) may be disallowed from sitting assessments and examinations and will face disciplinary procedures, up to and including their Expulsion from Liffey College, resulting in their being reported to the corresponding authorities and their studies/stay in Ireland being curtailed. You can check the Absenteeism & Expulsion here: https://liffeycollege.ie/absenteeism-expulsion/

New Procedures for Calculation of Attendance:

Please note that Liffey College has decided to introduce from 13 November 2023 part attendance for the day, to assist and support our learners better. Therefore, learners will avail of half of the daily attendance before the break (part/session 1 of the class) and the other half after the break (part/session 2 of the class).

If learners miss any part/session , arrive late or leave early, they will miss the half attendance for the day.

Calculation of attendance for a four-day week
(Morning Classes – 09:00 to 13:00 – Monday to Thursday):

• Each day is worth 25% of that week’s attendance.
• Therefore, each part/session is worth 12.5% per day.
• Each learner’s total attendance for the course is the average of the attendance of the weeks they have completed.

Days	Session 1 %	Session 2 %	Total %
Monday	12.5	12.5	25
Tuesday	12.5	12.5	25
Wednesday	12.5	12.5	25
Thursday	12.5	12.5	25
Each day is 2 presents or 2 absents or 1 absent and 1 present.			100

Therefore each day represents two attendances (first half and second half after the break)
For example:
1: If a learner is absent 1 day the attendance will be 75% for that week.
2: If a learner is absent 2 days the attendance will be 50% and so on.

Each days’ attendance counts as 25%. If a learner attends only one session in a day then the attendance will be 12.5% per day.

• In the case of a bank holiday/final examination/training day, these days are not included in the attendance calculation, and the week’s attendance will be divided into three days and each day will be worth 33.3% of that week’s attendance.
• In the case of more than one holiday in a given week or in the event of classes being cancelled due to an emergency or other unexpected circumstances, a week may be divided into two days, in which case each day will be worth 50% of that week’s attendance.

Days	Session 1 %	Session 2 %	Total %
Monday	College Closed	College Closed	N/A
Tuesday	16.5	16.5	33
Wednesday	16.5	16.5	33
Thursday	16.5	16.5	33
Each day is 2 presents or 2 absents or 1 absent and 1 present.			100

Calculation of attendance for a five-day week (Afternoon Classes – 13:45 to 17:00 – Monday to Friday):

• Each day is worth 20% of that week’s attendance.
• If a learner attends only one session in a day then the attendance will be 10% per day.
• Total attendance for the course is the average of the attendance of the weeks they have completed.

Days	Session 1 %	Session 2 %	Total %
Monday	10	10	20
Tuesday	10	10	20
Wednesday	10	10	20
Thursday	10	10	20
Friday	10	10	20
Each day is 2 present or 2 absents or 1 absent and 1 present.			100

For example:
Week 1: Learner is absent one day. So the attendance for that week is 80%.
Week 2: Learner misses two days. So the attendance for that week is 60%.
The total attendance would then be the average of the two weeks: (80 + 60) / 2 = 70%

• In the case of a bank holiday/final examination/training day, these days will not be included in the attendance calculation, and the week’s attendance will be divided into four days and each day will be worth 25% of that week’s attendance.
• In the case of more than one holiday in a given week or in the event of classes being cancelled due to an emergency or other unexpected circumstances, a week may be divided into three days, in which case each day will be worth 33% of that week’s attendance.

Days	Session 1 %	Session 2 %	Total %
Monday	College Closed	College Closed	N/A
Tuesday	12.5	12.5	25
Wednesday	12.5	12.5	25
Thursday	12.5	12.5	25
Friday	12.5	12.5	25
Each day is 2 present or 2 absents or 1 absent and 1 present.			100

Responsible Department: 
Operations Department (Mr. Haseeb Ahmed)
Telephone: +353 (0)1 444 444 7 / Email: info@liffeycollege.ie