Checking in to academic sessions
You need to record your attendance during academic sessions. We use Study Goal to help record your attendance during your academic sessions and other workshops. The staff member running your session (session leader) will provide you with a session code to register your attendance.
Why we need you to check in
It’s important to attend academic sessions. We record your attendance because there’s a strong relationship between attendance and how well you do in your assessments. This isn’t just because of academic work you complete in your sessions – it’s also because the connections you make with staff and other students have a positive impact on your academic performance and your wellbeing.
Certain groups of students who don’t attend academic sessions face more serious consequences that can impact professional accreditation, visas or financial support. This includes international students, overseas sponsored students, degree apprenticeship students (ESFA) and students on programmes that lead to accreditation and statutory bodies (PSRB students).
We use this attendance data alongside other data such as engagement with Blackboard and assessment submissions to identify where some students might need a little extra help from different teams in the University. For example, a student who stops submitting assessments or attending classes altogether may need wellbeing support and we have a duty of care to reach out and check. We also use this data to help us in emergency situations. For example, we can use this data to check that all students in attendance at a session have been evacuated in the event of a fire on campus.
Ultimately, we're trying to make sure you have the best chance to reach your university goals that we can possibly provide.
Do not share session codes with students who aren’t in your session
Sharing a session code with a student who wasn’t in the session is a breach of the Student Code of Conduct. Both you and the student who falsely used the session code will face the Student Misconduct Procedure.
Sharing session codes is a serious issue. We check attendance data regularly and we will also be undertaking random spot checks on all courses. Sharing session codes also has wider negative impacts, particularly in the event of an emergency on campus.
How to check in
You can find a full user guide on our IT Service Portal with step-by-step instructions and images. This picture is showing the dashboard that you will see after you log in via the web app. This is where you can check in to lectures and other events. Simply enter the session code that is given to you in your academic session.
A green pop-up box will display on the screen if you have checked in successfully. Take a look at our FAQs to help troubleshoot if you get a red banner with an error message, or view the full user guide on our IT Service Portal.
Quick tip: If you didn’t see the green pop-up banner but don’t receive an error message, you can check the 'Recent Attendance' section to see if your attendance has been recorded. See the full user guide on our IT Service Portal for a guide to the error messages.
Study Goal FAQs
1. What happens if I share a session code with someone who isn’t in attendance?
You must not share session codes with other students. Sharing a session code is a breach of the Student Code of Conduct and both you and the student who falsely used the code will face the Student Misconduct Procedure.
Sharing session codes is a serious issue. We check attendance data regularly and we will also be undertaking random spot checks on all courses.
2. How do I check in?
- Go to the Study Goal website
- If you have not been signed in automatically through single-sign on, select ‘University of Salford’ from the list of institutions
- Enter the code your session leader has provided
- Press ‘Checkin’
You can find a full user guide on our IT Service Portal with step-by-step instructions and images.
3. I received a red error banner. What is wrong?
This may have happened for a few reasons. Make your way through the list below to work out your next steps.
- You’ve entered the wrong session code. Check the session code you were provided and make sure you have entered it correctly, using no letters, symbols or spaces.
- Your registration. You must have completed the registration process to be able to check in.
- If you are registered but completed the registration process less than 72 hours ago: it can take up to 72 hours (three full days) for your timetable to be created and for you to appear on the list of students attending specific academic sessions.
- If you are registered and you completed the registration process more than three days ago, contact your School Office to let them know you can’t check in and that you completed registration 3+ days ago. You will also need to let your session leader know that you are having trouble checking in during this session so they can mark your attendance.
- If you haven’t registered yet, you must complete the registration process as quickly as possible. Read information on the new students’ registration page or the returning students’ registration page.
- You may be in the wrong academic session. Check your personal timetable (not just your course timetable) to make sure you are in the correct session, checking the time, day and the room. You can find more information about how to access your personal timetable on our Timetable Guidance webpage.
- The session code has expired. Session codes only last for one hour after they have been created. You need to let the session leader know that you have not been able to check in.
- There is a technical error. If none of the options above apply to your situation, there may be another technical error. Let the session leader know that you haven’t been able to check in.
4. I haven't completed registration yet. How do I check in?
As part of the academic regulations and related terms and conditions of registration, you should not attend sessions until you have completed registration. We recognise that you may, on occasion, be offered local advice that contradicts this. However, registration forms a very important part of our approach to health and safety. Please register as soon as possible. Read information on the new students’ registration page or the returning students’ registration page.
5. I forgot to bring my phone or a device to my session or I have run out of battery. How do I check in?
We recommend that you borrow a laptop from the Library so that you have access to a device during your academic session. You can find information about how and where to borrow a laptop on our Library Laptop Loans page. Important: you need to have enabled a back-up method of authentication for your Office365 account so you can log in. Read more on our multi-factor authentication page.
If you aren’t able to borrow a laptop or you’re not able to log in because of authentication issues, please let the session leader know that you are not able to check in.
6. I can see a message that says the 'Check-in code can only contain numbers', but I only put numbers in. What do I do?
- Check the 'Recent Attendance' section in Study Goal to see if your attendance has been registered. If it appears then you don’t need to do anything further as you have been checked in for the session.
- If the session is not showing in your ‘Recent Attendance’ area, double-check the session code with your session leader and try checking in again.
- If the problem persists, let your session leader know.
7. I forgot to check in. What do I do?
- If it is within one hour of your session leader providing the session code, try checking in
- If you are still in the session and it has been more than one hour, let your session leader know so they can check you in
- If you are still in the session and you don’t know the session code, let your session leader know so they can check you in or provide the code again
- If your session has already ended, let your School Office know
8. I am having trouble accessing Study Goal as I have two accounts as both a student and a staff member
We use single sign-on for checking in, so you may have trouble accessing the system while logged in to your staff account. We recommend using an incognito window or a different browser to ensure you are logging in with your student account. You should then be able to check in to your session.
9. I am going to be away and can’t attend my academic session. What do I do?
You are expected to attend your academic sessions. We have strict guidelines around absence in our Student Engagement, Interruption and Withdrawal Policy. You can also find guidance on absences for international students on our ‘during your studies’ page.