Record your attendance
Record your attendance in lectures, seminars, labs or any other classes using the University of Bristol app.
On this page
Who should record their attendance
All taught students should be recording attendance unless you are told by your school or faculty not to.
Students with a Study Support Plan
Students with a Study Support Plan (SSP) must also record their attendance.
Contact your school if you:
- have a disability that means you cannot use the app
- are worried about how your disability may impact your attendance.
Visa sponsored students
If you are a visa sponsored student, you must attend and record your attendance during your on-campus classes to keep your visa sponsorship.
Find out what to do if you are unable to record your attendance because of an app issue.
How to record your attendance
You can record your attendance from 10 minutes before your class starts. To do this, you need to:
- Download the University of Bristol app from:
- Make sure your device's location is switched on (for both, your device and the Bristol app) and showing your current location.
- Open the Bristol app.
- Select ‘record your attendance’ tile.
- Find your current class. If it’s not showing, refresh the page and wait for it to load.
- Select ‘record’.
A green tick will confirm attendance has been recorded. - Select ‘finish’.
You cannot record your attendance for a class after it has ended. Your attendance data cannot be added or changed by either your School or IT Services.
Web version
If you are having problems with the app, you can use the web browser version.
On a Windows 11 laptop
- Select 'settings' > 'privacy and security' > 'location', turn on location services
- turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app by selecting 'let apps access your location' section.
On a Mac
- In 'system settings' > 'privacy and security', turn on location services
- turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app.
View history of recordings
You can view a 4 week history of your attendance recording in the app. This will show attempts that have been recorded as successfully validated or where attendance was recorded with an error message.
If it was not possible to record your attendance, then this will not be visible in your history.
Forgotten to record attendance
If you forgot to record your attendance, make sure you do it for the rest of your classes. If you are not recording your attendance, you will be contacted to understand the reasons for this, and support will be offered.
Get a reminder to record attendance
The app can send you a reminder to record your attendance 5 minutes before each class is due to start. To switch this function on:
- On iOS (Apple) devices, open the app and select 'settings' at the bottom of the screen.
- On Android devices, go to device’s 'settings' > 'apps' > 'University of Bristol'> 'Notifications' menu.
Your phone settings override the app settings. Make sure your notifications settings are enabled for both, your device and the Bristol app.
Resolving common issues
If you try to record your attendance, and your result is invalid or unvalidated, we will see your attempt. However, this will not confirm your attendance. You will need to resolve the issue for future classes.
The most common reasons for a failed recording are:
Location mismatch
The location recorded by your device did not match the location where your class was meant to take place.
Solution: before recording your location, make sure you are where your class is timetabled to take place and your device is showing your location accurately. To do this, select 'maps' and then the 'my location' icon before trying to check-in.
Location services may not work if your device:
- has very low battery
- is in power saver mode
Permission problems
You did not have location services turned on, or the University of Bristol app or web browser did not have permission to use them.
Solution: turn on your location in device settings and give permission to the app.
Missed the window
You did not tap "Check-in" during the check-in window.
Solution: The check-in window opens 10 minutes before your class starts and closes when your class ends. You must check-in during this period.
No internet connection
You do not need internet to record your attendance.
Solution: If your GPS location is accurate, and you log on to an internet connection before midnight on the day of your class, your attendance will be recorded successfully.
App is not working: iOS (Apple) devices
- Turn on location settings for the device by selecting 'settings, > 'privacy and security'. Location must be on.
- Turn on location permissions for the University of Bristol app by selecting 'settings' > 'University of Bristol' (towards the bottom of the screen).
Location should be set to 'always'. - If you are using a web browser to record your attendance (e.g. Google Chrome) turn on location services for the web browser app.
- Log out and log back in again: select 'settings' at the bottom of the screen and then 'logout'. When you log back in, check your login details are correct as previous errors can be copied over.
- Uninstall and re-install the app.
App is not working: Android devices
- Turn on location settings for the device by selecting 'settings'> 'location'. 'Use location' must be on.
- Turn on location permissions for the University of Bristol by selecting 'settings' > 'location' > 'app location permissions'. 'Location permission' must be set to 'always allow' or 'allow while using the app'.
- If you are using a web browser to record your attendance (e.g. Google Chrome) turn on location services for the web browser app.
- Log out and log back in again: select the three dots in the top right and then 'settings'. The sign out button (shaped like a key) is next to the three dots. When you log back in, check your login details are correct as previous errors can be copied over.
- Uninstall and re-install the app.
Using web browser version
If you are having problems with the app, you can use the web browser version.
On a Windows 11 laptop
- Select 'settings' > 'privacy and security' > 'location', turn on location services
- turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app by selecting 'let apps access your location' section.
On a Mac
- In 'system settings' > 'privacy and security', turn on location services
- turn on location for your web browser to access the University of Bristol app.
If you are still having problems with the app, contact the IT Service Desk for support.
You must give them:
- time, locations and names of 2 or 3 of the classes affected
- the device you are using
- details of what happened
- any messages displayed.
How we use location services
We do not make your data accessible to third parties.
The device’s location is only recorded when the "record your attendance" button is selected. It uses this to confirm your attendance at that session. It is not recorded at other times.
Feedback
Give us your feedback on using University of Bristol app so we can keep improving the student experience.