Handout distributed at UAS Conference 14 September 2010
Session: W18 Students and Visas: Roles and responsibilities explained
Reporting Unexpected Absence of International Students
Summary
1.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) requires universities to sponsor non-EEA/Swiss
students who enter the UK with a Tier 4 (Student) Visa. Once sponsored, the student
is issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number which
associates the student with his or her sponsoring university. The University is legally
obliged to report a sponsored student to the UKBA if that student does not
enrol, withdraws from a course, suspends studies, changes course, or is
unexpectedly absent.
Background
Points-Based Immigration and reporting requirements
2.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) introduced a points-based immigration regime for
students in April 2009. Under this regime, any non-EEA/Swiss student who comes into
the UK to study at Oxford for more than six months has to be ‘sponsored’ by the
University for immigration purposes, and needs to apply for a Tier 4 (Student) Visa.
3.
For any new students, and any students wishing to extend their visa, the University
must provide information to the UKBA on the student’s personal details and previous
academic qualifications, the programme to be followed at Oxford, and the fees for this
programme. These data are collated at Oxford through the Student Visa System
(SVS). This preloads data from the Oracle Student System (OSS), and departments
and colleges must provide additional information. Once the UKBA has received this
information, the University is provided with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies
(CAS) number, which it then sends to the student by email. The student needs the
CAS number along with several other documents for his or her visa application.
4.
Students are issued their visa on the basis that they are studying. The University has a
duty under its licence to:
(a)
Report non-enrolments within 10 days of the close of Registration;
(b)
Report any students who formally withdraw or change course within 10 days of
their doing so;
(c)
Devise three evenly-spaced contact or census points per academic year to
determine whether students are still on course/studying and are not
unexpectedly absent.
5.
From Michaelmas 2010 onwards all new non EEA/Swiss students and those extending
existing visas will be subject to such reporting.
6.
The UKBA does not want new procedures to be invented to meet the reporting
requirements, and advises that the University use existing mechanisms in order to
ensure that students are present.
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Identifying International students who fall under the reporting requirements
7.
Students fall under reporting requirements if they are non-EEA/Swiss nationals and
have been issued a CAS. Reporting requirements are the same regardless of which
particular nationality a student has within the non-EEA/Swiss group of nationalities. No
assumptions about the level or nature of reporting are made on the grounds of a
student’s apparent race or ethnicity. Appendix A outlines how this sits with the Race
Relations Act.
8.
Nationality is identified in OSS and feeds through into the Student Visa System, which
also records the student’s CAS number. The University can therefore accurately
identify those students who fall under the reporting requirements, whatever their
nationality, by using reports obtained from the SVS. Departments and colleges have
direct access via the SVS to lists of students who have been issued a CAS.
9.
Students sponsored by the University for a Tier 4 (Student) Visa are alerted to the
requirements and conditions of their visa and the consequences of non-attendance
when they are issued a CAS and start studying. A further communication exercise will
take place during TT10 and MT10 to explain the process to the students concerned.
Reporting undertaken directly by the SIAS
10.
The Student Information and Advisory Service (SIAS) acts as the central point of
contact in the University for the UK Border Agency. The Service oversees the
exchange of data with the UKBA that leads to the issuing of CAS numbers, and also
supports colleges and departments if they need advice about the Student Visa System
or any broader advice on student visas.
11.
Withdrawals and suspensions are counted as ‘expected’ absences and need to be
reported to the UKBA, as the student is no longer studying. Changes in course also
need to be reported to the UKBA. The SIAS will track changes in status by running
regular queries on OSS, and report these changes to the UKBA as a matter of course.
12.
New students who have entered the UK on a Tier 4 Visa sponsored by the University,
but who do not register, will also be reported once the registration window has closed.
(Please note, however, that registration does not form one of the three census points
defined in this paper for the identification of unexpected absence).
Reporting responsibilities of colleges and departments
13.
The University has a duty under its licence to devise three evenly spaced contact or
census points per academic year to determine whether students are still on
course/studying and are not unexpectedly absent. The University currently has Highly
Trusted Sponsor Status. This was introduced in April 2010, and reduced the number of
census points that the University needs to have in place from 10 to 3 (10 is the number
which ordinary sponsors in the UK education sector still have to devise).
14.
Across the Collegiate University there will be a diverse range of contact available
depending upon programme type, subject area and the level of study. The process of
identifying unexpected absence is one that can only be accurately undertaken by
those administrators closest to students. This will ensure that reporting is an accurate
reflection of the student’s situation, and that a final report to the UKBA is made only
after strenuous efforts to locate the student in question. International students studying
at Oxford are highly motivated; the University has low drop-out rates, and problems
that do occur may be due to welfare or personal reasons. Every effort will be made to
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determine the reasons for non-study or non-attendance and every effort made to
contact the student through existing means across the University.
15.
Close consultation with the four divisional graduate co-coordinators and a selection of
Senior Tutors and College administrators has taken place regarding the practicalities
of the process, its ownership, workload, and implementation.
Colleges
16.
The proposal is that academic administrators in colleges (as Information Custodians
for use of the Oracle Student System) take responsibility for identifying the unexpected
absences of Undergraduate and Visiting Students.
Contact points
17.
The College would identify the three contact or census points. A student’s end-of-term
collection (i.e. academic progress review) with college tutors and/or the Head of
House/Senior Tutor probably provides the most natural census point, and it is relatively
straightforward for a college administrator to establish attendance at these by the
relevant students (students with a Tier 4 Visa are generally a relatively small
percentage of the Undergraduate body in any one college). However, the contact does
not have to be face-to-face, and the termly tutorial reports on OxCORT, which can be
viewed by a college’s Academic Administrators, can also provide a useful tool to
identify if a student is still studying and has been in contact with his/her tutor(s).
18.
Colleges may wish to identify other census points than end-of-term collections or
submitted OxCORT reports. It is recommended that these be towards the end of each
term and be evenly spaced. Where Visiting Students are administered separately
and/or do not appear on OxCORT, it will be appropriate to devise three other census
points locally. If colleges do devise other census points, whether for Undergraduate
Students or Visiting Students, it is important that the Student Information and Advisory
Service (SIAS) be informed of the method and the timing of these, so that it is aware of
variations in practice. UKBA guidance would point to alternatives such as:

attendance at any lesson, lecture, tutorial or seminar relevant to the level of study;

attendance at any test, examination or assessment board;

submission of assessed or un-assessed coursework.
Identifying and investigating unexpected absences
19.
The Academic Administrators would use a list of students initially provided by the
SIAS, but also available to them via the Student Visa System. If a student is reported
absent from end-of-term collections or (if the method used is the checking of OxCORT
reports) is not reported by the end of term on OxCORT as having attended tutorials or
classes in the previous term, Academic Administrators should raise concerns and
consult colleagues locally before referring the matter to the SIAS. Minor student
absences noted within OxCORT reports are not a serious concern as far as this
process is concerned. Absences which are due to sickness or holiday also do not
count as ‘unexpected’ absences.
20.
If investigations do confirm that the student has consistently missed contacts for a
significant recent period up to and including the contact point, and no satisfactory
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explanation can be found, then the Academic Administrator would inform the SIAS,
which in turn would inform the UKBA. The recommended process for Undergraduate
Students is outlined in Appendix B.
Departments/Faculties
Contact points
21.
The proposal is that departmental/faculty administrators take responsibility for
identifying the unexpected absences of Graduate and Recognised Students. As noted
above, the contact required in the contact or census points does not have to be faceto-face. A list of forms of contact is given below, but this is not exhaustive. It is
recommended that the point at which activity is checked be towards Week 8 or 9 of
each Term. A mixture of appropriate contacts from the list could be used. Each
divisional graduate studies coordinator has already liaised accordingly with their
departments, raised awareness of workload, and discussed which local contact points
are most convenient.
Postgraduate Taught Students

reporting mechanisms such as the Graduate Supervision System (GSS)

attendance at any lesson, lecture, tutorial or seminar relevant to the level of study

attendance at any test, examination or assessment board

submission of assessed or un-assessed coursework
Postgraduate Research Students

reporting mechanisms such as the Graduate Supervision System (GSS)

submission of interim dissertation/coursework/reports

attendance at any meeting with a supervisor or personal tutor

attendance at any research methods training course, research panel meetings, writing
up seminars, doctoral workshops

attendance at a viva
Identifying and investigating unexpected absences
22.
The departmental/faculty administrator would use a list of students initially provided by
the SIAS, but also available to them via the Student Visa System. If there has been no
activity and the student has consistently missed contacts for a significant recent period
up to and including the contact point, concerns should be raised. Long reporting
windows and minor student absences within the reports are not a serious concern for
this process. Absences which are due to sickness or holiday do not count as
‘unexpected’ absences. Concerns should be raised with the department, DGS and
college, and if there are still concerns then escalated to the Divisional Graduate
Studies Officer.
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23.
Again, if investigations do confirm that the student has consistently missed contacts
for a significant recent period up to and including the contact point, and no satisfactory
explanation can be found, then the departmental/faculty administrator would inform the
SIAS, which in turn would inform the UKBA.
24.
The recommended process for Graduate Students is outlined in Appendix C.
Consulting across the Collegiate University
25.
Departments have reporting responsibilities for Graduate and Recognised Students
and College administrators have reporting responsibilities for Undergraduate and
Visiting Students. Nonetheless, if a there is a problem concerning either a graduate or
undergraduate student departments and colleges will need to liaise with each other to
gain a clearer picture of the student’s situation and share information before taking
action.
If a student is reported to the UKBA
26.
Before the student is reported to the UKBA, the SIAS will advise the student when this
will happen via their last known correspondence address. Once a student is reported,
the Border Agency will write to the student informing them that their leave to remain
has been curtailed (this will vary depending on how long the visa is still valid for) and
usually they will be required to leave the country within 60 days. Only if the student has
committed a crime will the Border Agency need further assistance or information from
the University.
Further information:
Anne Jacobs March 2009
anne.jacobs@admin.ox.ac.uk
Student Information and Advisory Service
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Appendix A: The Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended) (the “RRA”):
(This advice has been provided by the Legal Services Office)
The Race Relations Act 1976 provides that it is unlawful, in relation to specified educational
establishments to discriminate against a person by excluding him from the establishment or
subjecting him to any other detriment. Requiring overseas students both to obtain visas
before registering as students of the University and to report on their attendance when other
UK/EU students are not treated in an equivalent manner are likely to be unlawful acts
contrary to section 17 of the RRA. The RRA provides some exceptions to the position above.
Of particular relevance in this scenario is section 41 of the RRA, which provides that acts
which prima facie would otherwise constitute unlawful discrimination are not rendered
unlawful if they are done pursuant to statutory authority.
If the University was subject to a challenge of unlawful race discrimination, then it follows
that it is complying with a condition or requirement imposed on it by the Home Secretary;
that is to say, section 41(2)(d) or (e) of the RRA. The steps taken to report on student
absence must not therefore exceed the action required by the UKBA.
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Appendix B: Reporting Unexpected Absence using OxCort for Undergraduates
Student Information via
the SVS provides list of
those who fall under the
reporting requirements
3
contact
points
required
per year
1
End of MT:
End of MT
Check
Review
collection
activities on
attendance,
or OxCort
review
activities on
OxCort
Report to Border
Agency
Y
College
College
Information
Information
Custodian keeps
Custodian keeps
list to facilitate
list to facilitate
review of OxCort
checking of
Activities
collection
2
End of HT:
Check
End of HT
collection
Review
attendance,
activities on
or OxCort
review
activities on
OxCort
Activity?
N
attendance /
review of
activities on
OxCort
College
Information
Custodian
consults
colleagues
identifies/
solves
problem
Resolved?
Y
3
End of TT:
Check
End of TT
collection
Review
attendance,
activities on
or OxCort
review
activities on
OxCort
Y
7
N
Consult Student
information
Absence
Confirm
confirmed
problem
?
N
No further action
Appendix C: Reporting Unexpected Graduate Absence
Student Information via
the SVS provides list of
those who fall under the
reporting requirements
3
contact
points
required
per year
1
Report to Border
Agency
End of MT
Review
activities
Y
Departmental
contact keeps list
to facilitate review
2
End of HT
Review
activities
Activity?
N
Resolved?
Y
Y
3
Dept contact
colleagues/
DGS/College
contacts etc
identifies/
solves
problem
End of TT
Review
activities
N
Divisional
Graduate Studies
Officer consults
Student
Information
Absence
Confirm
confirmed
problem
?
N
No further action
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