Attendance & Punctuality

Class Timetables

The standard class timetables are set out below, subject to any timetable issued or amended by the College.

Morning Classes: Monday to Thursday: 09:00–13:00.

Afternoon Classes: Monday to Friday: 13:45–17:00.

When a Monday is a bank holiday, the standard timetable is adjusted as follows:
Morning Classes: Tuesday to Thursday: 09:00–13:00.
Afternoon Classes: Tuesday to Friday: 13:45–17:00.

Learners are responsible for checking the timetable.

Punctuality and Late Arrival

Learners must arrive before the scheduled start time and be ready to participate in class.

Liffey College does not provide a grace period or allow any leeway for late arrivals. Learners who arrive late or leave early will be marked absent for the relevant session, regardless of the amount of time missed. Late arrival and early departure will affect a learner’s attendance percentage and will result in formal attendance warnings under the College’s Absenteeism & Expulsion Policy.

Learners must not assume that attending part of a session qualifies as attendance for the full session or full day.

Exceptional Circumstances

In the event of a national or local emergency, the College may allow a temporary grace period or flexibility for late arrivals.
Any exception must be approved by the College, communicated to the tutors and learners concerned and recorded in the incident log in the Liffey College Management System (LCMS).
The exception applies only to the approved circumstances and period. It does not establish a permanent grace period or guarantee future exceptions.

Attendance Registers and Procedures

Learners must sign the attendance register for both Part/Session 1 and Part/Session 2 of each class.
Tutors will cross out all unsigned attendance boxes for Part/Session 1. The same procedure must be followed for Part/Session 2.

Tutors are responsible for ensuring that attendance registers are completed accurately and that learners remain in class until the end of each scheduled session for attendance, immigration compliance, educational and safety purposes.

If a learner arrives late the tutor may permit the learner to attend the remainder of the class at their discretion. The learner must not sign a crossed-out attendance box. Instead, the tutor must record the learner’s actual arrival time, for example, 09:10. Late arrival does not qualify the learner for attendance for that part/session.

If a learner leaves early, the tutor must record the departure time and mark the learner absent for the relevant part/session.

Tutors must also record the total number of learners eligible for attendance and initial both parts/sessions of the attendance register. Learners who arrive late or leave before the end of a part/session must not be counted as present for that session.

For emergency evacuation purposes, tutors will take the relevant physical attendance register out of the classroom to assist with roll-call procedures.

Accuracy and Prevention of Fraud

Signing the attendance register on behalf of another learner, falsifying attendance records, making unauthorised alterations, or submitting fraudulent supporting documentation is prohibited. Such conduct may result in disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion, in accordance with the College’s applicable policies and procedures.

Liffey College will conduct regular attendance spot checks to verify the accuracy of attendance records and compliance with this policy.

Taking photographs of attendance registers or accessing another learner’s attendance information without authorisation is prohibited.

Attendance Calculation

Attendance is recorded separately for each part/session. Learners must meet the applicable attendance requirements for both sessions to receive full-day attendance credit.
Attendance is monitored weekly to identify concerns and enable timely intervention.

Morning Classes — Four-Day Week

Under the standard morning timetable, Monday to Thursday, 09:00–13:00:

• Each teaching day represents 25% of the scheduled weekly attendance.
• Each session represents 12.5% of the scheduled weekly attendance.
• Overall course attendance is calculated using the applicable attendance records and the relevant teaching weeks included in the calculation.

Afternoon Classes — Five-Day Week

Under the standard afternoon timetable, Monday to Friday, 13:45–17:00:

• Each teaching day represents 20% of the scheduled weekly attendance.
• Each session represents 10% of the scheduled weekly attendance.
• Overall course attendance is calculated using the applicable attendance records and the relevant teaching weeks included in the calculation.

Where bank holidays or other circumstances affect the normal teaching schedule, attendance will be calculated using the eligible teaching days and sessions in accordance with the applicable College procedures.

Days excluded from the attendance calculation will not be treated as days of absence.

Where multiple public holidays occur in a week, or classes are cancelled due to an emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, the College will apply the appropriate attendance calculation method in accordance with its procedures.

Monitoring Attendance and Disciplinary Action

Learners can monitor their attendance through the Student Portal by following these steps:

1. Log in to the Student Portal.
2. Select Attendance from the menu.
3. Review the displayed attendance percentage and available attendance information.

Learners should check their attendance records regularly and contact the College promptly if they identify an error.
Liffey College monitors attendance and will contact learners whose attendance falls below the required 85% threshold during the weekly/relevant monitoring period.
The College will issue formal warnings in accordance with its Absenteeism & Expulsion Policy.
The College will notify Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) or any other relevant authority of attendance, warnings, non-compliance, expulsion, or other reportable matters where required by applicable legislation.

First Six Weeks of a Programme: Where a learner accumulates 25% or more unjustified absence during the first six weeks of a programme, the College will apply the relevant expulsion procedures, even if the usual sequence of attendance warnings has not been completed. The College will also notify ISD immigration.

Reporting and Justifying an Absence

Learners who are unable to attend class must notify Liffey College on the first day of their absence and continue to provide updates as necessary through the designated College communication channel. To submit supporting documentation through the Student Portal, learners must:

1. Log in to the Student Portal
2. Select “Contact the College”
3. Explain the reason for the absence in the description field
4. Upload the relevant supporting documentation.
5. Click the “Send Message” button at the bottom.

Supporting documentation may include medical certificates, official appointment confirmations, court documentation, or other appropriate evidence.
The College will review the information provided and determine whether the absence qualifies as a Justified Absence (JA) under its procedures. Submitting supporting documentation does not guarantee approval.

Justified Absence

An absence may be classified as a Justified Absence (JA) where appropriate supporting documentation has been submitted and accepted by the College. Examples may include:

• Illness supported by appropriate medical documentation. Please refer to the [Sick Leave Policy] for further details. 
• Immigration appointments or procedures that are mandatory, including those involving the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), where applicable.
• Court appearances or other legal obligations that require attendance.
• Embassy appointments for passport renewal.
• Other exceptional circumstances approved by the College. Please refer to the [Absenteeism & Expulsion Policy] for further details. 

A Justified Absence means that the reason for the absence has been accepted for the purposes of the applicable College procedures. It does not mean that the learner was present, and it does not count as attendance.

Approval of a Justified Absence does not automatically exempt a learner from the minimum attendance requirement of immigration obligations.

Approved Justified Absences will not count towards attendance warnings or expulsion decisions.

Reviewing Attendance Records

Learners who believe their attendance records are incorrect must contact the College within 21 calendar days of the relevant date.

Attendance Records and Data Protection

Attendance records are managed in accordance with data protection laws and the College’s Data Protection Policy. Information may be shared with authorised authorities where legally required or permitted.

Paper attendance registers are kept for 12 months or longer if required by regulations or immigration requirements.

Electronic attendance records are maintained in accordance with the College’s record-keeping and data protection procedures.

Learner Responsibilities

Every learner is responsible for:

• Attending all scheduled classes.
• Arriving on time and remaining in class for the full scheduled tuition period.
• Complying with attendance-register signing requirements.
• Notifying the College promptly of any absence.
• Submitting genuine supporting documentation where required.
• Checking attendance records regularly and reporting any errors within the specified timeframe.
• Complying with the College’s attendance, punctuality, and other applicable policies.

Related Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following Liffey College policies and documents:

• Absenteeism & Expulsion Policy.
• Sick Leave Policy.
• Holidays & Breaks Policy.
• Learner Handbook.
• Complaints & Grievance Policy.
• Data Protection Policy.

Regulatory Framework and Review

This policy is applied in conjunction with applicable Immigration Service Delivery requirements, TrustEd Ireland requirements, QQI quality assurance requirements and other relevant legal and regulatory obligations.

Liffey College reviews this policy periodically and updates it where necessary to reflect changes in applicable requirements and College procedures.

Responsible Department: Operations Department – Haseeb Ahmed – Centre Director Email: info@liffeycollege.ie – Telephone: +353 1 444 444 7

Review Date: 19 October 2026
Review Outcome: Policy reviewed; no changes were required.