Singapore Expats

Hello,

I am currently doing an exchange at NTU (one semester). Due to personal reasons I will have to travel home for around 2 weeks and then intend to go back. As I only have 3 classes, which are not strictly mandatory if there is not a test/exam, being absent will only affect the participation grade. Therefore it would not be a problem university-wise to miss 2 of them.
However, I found the following sentence in the ICA regulations concerning the student pass:

You are required to attend class regularly. If you fail to attend classes for a
continuous period of 7 days your Student’s Pass is liable to be cancelled with
effect from the 8th day.

Do they really monitor attendance that strictly at the state universites? So do the instructors immediately report any absence to the ICA? I have read in another post that attendance is only strictly monitored at the private universities. Might it happen that they will not let me in when I come back after 2 weeks?

scorpion123 wrote:Hello,

I am currently doing an exchange at NTU (one semester). Due to personal reasons I will have to travel home for around 2 weeks and then intend to go back. As I only have 3 classes, which are not strictly mandatory if there is not a test/exam, being absent will only affect the participation grade. Therefore it would not be a problem university-wise to miss 2 of them.
However, I found the following sentence in the ICA regulations concerning the student pass:

You are required to attend class regularly. If you fail to attend classes for a
continuous period of 7 days your Student’s Pass is liable to be cancelled with
effect from the 8th day.

Do they really monitor attendance that strictly at the state universites? So do the instructors immediately report any absence to the ICA? I have read in another post that attendance is only strictly monitored at the private universities. Might it happen that they will not let me in when I come back after 2 weeks?

You should consult the Uni.

Yes, ICA doesn't tolerate poor attendance

As far as I know, as long as you inform the uni of your impending absences and that the absences have a good reason, then I think it does not count against the 7 day limit but to be sure about this, you need to contact your uni or ica to inquire.

Thank you for the answers so far. I guess I have to ask the university about it.
So every single class absence is reported to the uni and then ICA? I have not found a single topic here in the forum about problems for students at a state university, just for private universities.

And one more thing: One of the classes is conducted through an online conference, which I can attend from abroad. Wouldn't that "reset" the 7 day counter?

scorpion123 wrote:Thank you for the answers so far. I guess I have to ask the university about it.
So every single class absence is reported to the uni and then ICA? I have not found a single topic here in the forum about problems for students at a state university, just for private universities.

Not ever class, but average attendance is submitted to ICA I believe.

And one more thing: One of the classes is conducted through an online conference, which I can attend from abroad. Wouldn't that "reset" the 7 day counter?

Nice try No, it doesn't work that way.

In any case, ask the student counsellor in the UNi

Not ever class, but average attendance is submitted to ICA I believe.

Well in that case I would be fine, right? I do not have the 90% attendance requirement, as it is only for private universities. But yeah, I will check with the student adviser to be sure.

I would check with the university.

If they don't rigorously take attendance, then they probably aren't reporting it.

However I know that private schools (i.e. Kaplan, MDIS etc.) report attendance on a monthly basis and track un-documented absences (i.e. no doctors note etc.)

.... as long as you have a valid reason for the absence, it's fine.

But why wouldn't you take 10 minutes to check with the school ahead of time? That's the much better option then coming back to this forum in 2 months to ask how to appeal your cancelled student pass because someone did notice you were gone.