A summary of the information provided in the "Regulations" and "Attendance Requirements & Absence Procedures" sections are available as induction presentions ("Laboratory" and "L4 Lab") which are available on the Presentations & Videos page.

Attendance

One of the requirements to pass lab courses is that you attend all your lab sessions, unless the absence has been validated. Failure of a lab course due to attendance will result in a REPEAT YEAR.

Absence

If you know well in advance that you will need to miss a lab session (for a valid reason), you must contact the relevant Laboratory Manager as soon as possible, so that alternative arrangements can be made. Note: A laboratory session clash with a holiday you have booked or a social event is not a valid reason for an absence.

In all other cases, if you miss (or know you are going to miss) one of your laboratory sessions, you must inform the relevant staff (using inform-chem@lists.soton.ac.uk) as soon as possible. As soon as you return you must contact the Lab Manager who will:

1. Try and find an alternative lab session date which does not clash with any other activity on your timetable.
2. If rescheduling the session is not possible, will issue you with an alternative assignment which must be completed/submitted within one week. This work will be assessed and this assessment will count towards your final mark (in place of the missed lab report).

IMPORTANT: Before you will be permitted to (1) attend the rescheduled session or (2) submit an alternative assignment, you must return to the Laboratory Manager a completed Laboratory Absence Form. THE COMPLETED LABORATORY ABSENCE FORM MUST HAVE BEEN RECEIVED WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF YOUR RETURN AFTER THE ABSENCE - Otherwise the absence may not be validated.

Laboratory Absence Form

A copy of the Laboratory Absence Form can be downloaded here.

To complete it you must:

• Fill in the section titled "To be completed by the Student".
  
  If you wish to keep the reasons for your absence confidential then discuss the situation with your personal tutor and submit any supporting documents to the Director of UG Studies (Chemistry) or the Head of Education (Chemistry) - If you do this then in the "Reason for Absence" box you should not include the reason for the absence but should instead state who you have discussed your reasons for absence with and who the supporting documents have been supplied to.

• Either:
  
  
  1. If you have supporting documentation (e.g. doctors certificate) - Return the Laboratory Absence Form with the supporting documentation to the Laboratory Manager.
     
     
  2. If you have supporting documentation but wish to keep the reasons for you absence confidential - Take the Laboratory Absence Form to whomever you submitted the documents and have them sign and date the form which you should then immediately pass on to the Laboratory Manager.
     
     
  3. If you do not have supporting documentation - Take the Laboratory Absence Form to your personal tutor, Director of UG Studies (Chemistry) or the Head of Education (Chemistry) and discuss the reason for your absence with them. If they are satisfied that you have a valid reason for your absence, have them sign and date the form which you should then immediately pass on to the Laboratory Manager.

Note that if your absence has affected your work in both the Teaching Laboratories (e.g. absent for a lab session in one of the labs and missed a submission deadline for the other), then you will need to submit a copy of the Laboratory Absence Form (and any associated additional paperwork) to both Laboratory Managers.

What do I do if...?

Clicking on the "What do I do if..." section title above will take you to a page detailing the procedure you should follow for the following scenarios:

• I know well in advance, that for a valid reason, I am going to miss a lab session?
  
  
• I know well in advance that I am going to be away on the day when my lab report is due for submission?
  
  
• It's immediately prior to (i.e. that day or the day before) my lab session and I realise that I am not going to be able to attend?
  
  
• I have missed a lab session and have not yet informed the relevant parties of the reason for my absence?
  
  
• I have missed (or will miss) a submission deadline due to an absence/illness between performing the practical and the deadline?