Interruptions of Study for Students - Guidance for Staff
Interruptions of Study for Students - Guidance for Staff
Version Number 0.2
Effective from 13 March 2017
Author: Information Assistant, Fees and Awards
Student Administration
Contents
1.Introduction
2.General Criteria for an Interruption
3.Recalculating Fees
4.Student Finance
5.Self-Funding Students
6.NHS Students
7.Scholarships, Bursaries and Other Discounts
8.Interruptions for a Future Date
9.Extending an Interruption
10.Backdating an Interruption
11.Student Accommodation
12.Returning to Study
13.Transferring between Programme Intakes
14.Disability and Learner Support
15.International Students
16.‘Thinking of Leaving’ Workshops
17.Useful Contacts
18.Interruption Approval Checklist
19.Suggested Processes for School Administration Teams
20.Frequently Asked Questions
1.Introduction
A student who wishes to interrupt their studies must have their fees recalculated, academic record
amended and relevant third party (e.g. Student Finance, Home Office) informed. A formal letter will be produced by the University and the student and School Office informed. An interruption of study should only be considered in circumstances where a student is unable to continue with academic study for the required period. This period will also be subject to the regulations enclosed in the Academic Regulations for Taught Programmes, the Research Award Regulations and Code of Practice for the Conduct of Postgraduate Research Degrees, available here. An interruption should not be viewed as one of several options, rather as a last resort that is only preferable to a full withdrawal from a programme. It is important that all colleagues involved in counselling a student who is considering an interruption work preventatively by offering support and advice themselves and/or signposting a student to askUS for relevant support and advice that could help a student to continue in their studies and complete in the expected period – an outcome that is preferable for the student and for the University.
At the end of their interruption period, a student will need to re-register onto their programme. This can be problematic for the student if, for example, they need to provide evidence to satisfy the Home Office requirements for their programme (e.g. Academic Technology Approval Scheme). Under a recent change in regulations, Tier 4 students are now compelled to return to their home country and reapply for a visa from there. Depending on their particular circumstances, students may also need to reapply for Student Finance and, if this is not done in time, this can hinder registration.
Interrupted students will not be able to graduate with the cohort they commenced their studies with. Programme completion dates have to be taken into consideration when, for example, examining if a student needs to have a particular qualification by a certain date for employment purposes or complete their study before their visa expires. Alternatively, if a student requires an external qualification to study their programme, this might have an expiry date and the student would need to reapply for it in order to re-register. For instance, some courses require that the student is checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) prior to their acceptance onto the course, and the student will have to pay to be DBS-checked prior to their return.
The points raised above are just a few examples of some of the complexities that we can encounter when processing and approving interruptions. This guide is designed to raise awareness of some of the issues around an interruption of study, outline the factors to take into account for staff who are advising students to interrupt, and highlight some of the opportunities we have available to retain the student on their programme.
2.General Criteria for an Interruption
- Must not be more than four weeks prior to the request without evidence e.g. if the request is submitted on 1 January, the earliest it can be backdated is 1 December. If the request is more than four weeks, supplementary evidence, such as a doctor’s note or similar, must be supplied
- Should not exceed 12 months
- Due to the criteria listed in the introduction, it is not advisable to approve an interruption of less than three months. Postgraduate Research students are only permitted to interrupt for a minimum of three months and for three-month blocks only, in line with the Code of Practice for the Conduct of Postgraduate Research Degrees.
3.Recalculating Fees
Recalculating fees is complex and dependent on how the student is funded, how they study (e.g. full-time, part-time) and level (UG/PG/PGR). Broadly speaking, a student will fall into one of four funding categories: funded by Student Finance; sponsored by their employer; sponsored by the NHS; or self-funding. Scholarships, bursaries and discounts will also have to be recalculated according to the circumstances of the student.
Fees are recalculated on the basis of registered time at the University, not academic work undertaken. Students have to sign the University’s terms and conditions, which includes the tuition fee policy, at the point of registration. These conditions and the fee policy are available on the University websitehere
***IMPORTANT: The University does not recalculate fees based on modules studied. A student that interrupts their study and returns to restart a module will pay the full fee for this module***
4.Student Finance
Tuition Fees
A student who receives their funding from Student Finance is permitted to interrupt their study without incurring any tuition fees up to the end of Academic Week 2. For 2016-17, this week ended on 7 October 2016, with welcome week (week 0)commencing 19 September 2016 and Academic Week 1commencing 26 September 2016.
For students who interrupt after teaching week 2, tuition fees payable are recalculated according to three liability periods. The liability periods broadly reflect the semester dates on the following basis:
- Academic Week 3 (25%)
- Academic Week 13 (25%)
- Academic Week 26 (50%)
As soon as the student reaches the start date of a liability period, they are charged for the whole of that period. The University will notify Student Finance of the dates of interruption and of the revised fee amount.
Example:
Student interrupts their study on 1 November. They are charged 25% (£2250.00). This figure would remain the same up until 11 January. If the student had interrupted on 12 January, they would be charged a further 25% (a total of £4500.00). They would not pay the final 50% of the fee (£4500.00) unless they were registered past 12 April 2016 [on assumption of a £9000.00 fee]
Maintenance (Living Cost) Loans
The University has no involvement in the administration, assessment, payments or repayments of this loan. Payments are made at three points in the year, broadly associated with the semester dates. These loans are recalculated by week up to the interruption start date. If a student interrupts their study, any maintenance payments received during the academic year will not be paid in the same period in the next academic year. Exceptions to this rule can be granted but are very rare and subject to the outcome of an in-depth appeal process made to Student Finance.
As per the above, a student is permitted to study for two weeks before they incur tuition fees. However, many students receive a maintenance payment in their first week of study, and may have to repay this.
Example:
A student has registered but has not been in attendance all of the academic year. They submit their interruption request in May 2016, requesting a back-date to cover the full academic year from September 2015 to September 2016. They have received all three maintenance loan payments. Depending on the circumstances of their non-attendance, Student Finance will ask for the funds back immediately or not pay them at all for the new academic year. In this example it is advisable that this request is not permitted except under the most extreme circumstances.
5.Self-Funding Students
A self-funding taught student is permitted to interrupt their study without incurring tuition fees up to the end of teaching week 2.
Please note that 100% of the fee is charged after Academic Week 20 for taught students and Academic Month 8 for PhD students.
Tuition fees are recalculated on a weekly pro-rata basis for taught students and monthly for PhD students. Students that fund themselves have their fees recalculated according to the time they have been registered.
Example:
A student interrupts their study on 20 January 2016. They are charged for the 14 Academic Weeks* they have been registered, NOT the cost of the semester one modules.
*Fees are recalculated by month for PGR students
6.NHS Students
Some students on nursing or health-related programmes currently have their tuition fees paid by the NHS. Fees for this are dealt with exclusively by the relevant School (Nursing, Midwifery, Social Work and Social Sciences or Health Sciences). No tuition fee will be paid directly to the University. The NHS is notified of the status change, but this is completed by the relevant member of staff in the School. However, some students are also eligible for the maintenance loan from Student Finance so it is advisable to seek guidance.
Some students may also be funded by their individual hospital or NHS Trust. Students funded by the NHS Trust Scheme are charged 100% of the fee as soon as they register. This is due to the arrangement the University has with the NHS Trust and the limited number of places on these programmes. If the student is funded by their hospital or other health-related institution (i.e. anything other than NHS Trust Scheme) they will be treated as self-funding students.
Note: From August 2017 new students on these types of programmes will not have their tuition fees paid by the NHS. Instead, they will have to apply to Student Finance. They will subsequently be subject to the rules governing those students.
7.Scholarships, Bursaries and Other Discounts
For self-funding students, any Scholarships and Bursaries offered directly by the University will be recalculated on the same basis as the tuition fees. If a student is funded by Student Finance and has received a payment of a scholarship or bursary, these are not recalculated and we do not ask for these funds to be repaid.
8.Interruptions for a Future Date
Occasionally a student may request to interrupt their studies from a future date, e.g. if today is 1 January 2016, they may request an interruption start date of 1 February 2016. There is no regulatory issue with this. However, altering the registration status of a student will restrict their access immediately, regardless of the actual start date. It is therefore advised not to forward the request for processing until after the start date has passed.
9.Extending an Interruption
These are treated in the same way as a normal interruption. However, if an interruption extends past 12 months it has to be upon receipt of evidence of extenuating circumstances and should be authorised by the relevant Associate Dean. It may not be possible to extend an interruption if a programme is closing. If an interruption can validly be extended it can only be by up to one further 12 month period; the University’s Academic Regulations for Taught Programmes confirm this, stating that: ‘The period of any approved interruption shall normally be up to one year and exceptionally up to two years.’ (ARTP 6.3.1)
It is also advised that a student does not request to extend their interruption more than one month before their return date. For example, if a student is due to return on 1 September 2016 from a twelve month interruption, a request to extend this interruption period should really only be considered after 1 August 2016 by the Associate Dean. This is to ensure that the issues that warranted the initial interruption are still relevant.
10.Backdating an Interruption
There are occasions whereby a student may backdate their interruption more than the policy-directed four weeks. However, this should only be permitted upon receipt of medical evidence which shows that the student could not engage with their programme due to theirmedical circumstances; it should not be used in the event of ‘wiping the slate clean’ due to failed or non-submitted assessments. Backdating an interruption more than four weeks invariably has ulterior considerations (financial, visa etc) so it is strongly recommended to contact the Fees and Awards team before approving such a request.
11.Student Accommodation
Many students sign a year-long contract for their accommodation, and there is no obligation for Student Accommodation to release a student from their contract if they interrupt their studies. The student will be asked to fill in a formal Request to Leave notice for their accommodation. The fees can be recalculated up to the point of interruption at the discretion of the Accommodation Manager. The student is usually asked to find another person to take over their contract for accommodation. If they cannot find a replacement, or their interruption start date is too far into the academic year, they may be charged the full annual cost.
12.Returning to Study
Student Finance
After the student re-registers onto the programme, the University will send a Resumption of Study notification to Student Finance, which will release any further maintenance and tuition fee payments to the student.
Students on an interruption of less than 12 months are charged the relevant fee for that year, but if they have already received the tuition and maintenance payments from Student Finance their loans may not have the financial wherewithal to cover this.
The Student Loans Company does allow for a ‘gift year’ facility which allows students to receive an additional year of funding and therefore effectively restart the year. However, this depends on whether or not they have already received this; the gift year is awarded entirely at the discretion of Student Finance.
It is therefore not advisable for students to interrupt for less than 12 months
Example:
A student interrupts their study on 10 November 2015, with a return date of 26 September 2016. For 2015-16, they are charged 25% for their first Liability Period, and have received a maintenance payment. They are then charged 100% of the fee upon their return for 2016-17. Student Finance will not provide the tuition fee loan for the first liability period, nor will they provide a maintenance payment, unless they are eligible under the gift year rule. They could therefore be in a position of owing the University £2250.00 directly, and not receive any maintenance until the second payment in January 2017.
Self-Funding Students
Students on a 12 month interruption will pay the relevant recalculated fee for their current year. Upon their return, they will be asked to pay the balance for the fee for the year they return, not the initial fee. If a student is not on an interruption for less than 12 months, they will be asked to pay 100% of the fee applied to their account upon their return.
Example:
Student interrupts their study from 10 November 2015 to 19 September 2016. They are charged for 7 weeks of tuition. Their return date warrants 100% of the fee raising for 2016-17. The student would therefore pay the fee for the first 7 weeks again. If the student had a return date of 10 November 2016 (i.e. the full 12 months), the 7 weeks of tuition already paid would be offset against the new fee.
13.Transferring between Programme Intakes
Students should, where possible, not transfer onto a different intake of their programme in the same academic year. From a financial perspective, any maintenance payments given by Student Finance are stopped at the point of interruption. However, because a different programme intake would still be in the same academic year as their original intake, the student will have to wait until the start of their next year before they receive any further maintenance funds. This could therefore warrant a gap in funds of up to 18 months.
Example:
A September intake UG student with Student Finance funding interrupts their studies from 25 October 2015 to 1 March 2016 with the intention of transferring to the March intake. They have received one maintenance payment. The University is required to advise Student Finance of the programme transfer, but because this is done in the same academic year as the original September application, they will not fund the student again. The next time the student will receive maintenance funding will be from March 2017
14.Disability and Learner Support
The University will notify the Disability and Learner Support (DLS) team of the interruption and cancel any support arrangements in place. Where the student has approved support through Disabled Students Allowance from either the NHS or Student Finance we will also inform them of the interruption.It is advised that the student should also contact them to discuss their options.
If a student has loaned equipment from the DLS team the Student will need to return equipment they have loaned. Where equipment is not returned the University will take action to retrieve any outstanding equipment which is on loan.A student’s support will be suspended whilst they are on interruption. This suspension will naturally include in-class support, but will also include access to any out of class support, e.g. 1-1 study coaches.