ABSTRACT
The importance of monitoring attendance and taking action to support students is a well-understood factor in retaining them in post-16 education (Martinez, 1997, 2000; Martinez and Munday, 1998). Colleges and schools will have various mechanisms to monitor attendance. Some systems rely on subject tutors to inform personal tutors of absence; others
use central records to produce lists that are communicated to tutors using the management information system or displayed in the staffroom. As a result of the clear link between attendance and retention some colleges employ administrators to contact students or their parents within three days of their first absence or if a pattern of absence is emerging, such as a reluctance to attend on Monday mornings.
