Withdrawing from or deferring (suspending) your course

Please consider carefully whether to enrol on your course

If you enrol and subsequently withdraw or defer (suspend) you will be charged fees irrespective of how early in the academic year you withdraw or defer, however, there is a two week cooling off period for new students. For students studying one course year over a full year fees will be calculated as follows:

If you withdraw or defer at any time in:	Percentage of tuition fee charged
Term 1	25%
Term 2 (or having completed 1 semester)	50%
Term 3	100%

For students studying a particular course year for just one semester (for example if you are repeating with attendance, or undertaking a special timetable) the fees will be calculated as follows:

If you withdraw or defer at any time in:	Percentage of tuition fee charged
Term 1	50%
Term 2 (or having completed that particular course year)	100%

Deferring

If you wish to defer from your course, you must apply through the Registry department. If your deferral is granted, the Finance department will advise you of the fee for which you are liable, based on your last date of attendance at university. Please refer back to the table above for information on how we calculate the fee charged.

On your return to UCB, we will calculate your fees based on what we charged for the academic year during which you deferred (not including any fee waivers). We will deduct from that the fee you were charged when you deferred.

Example: A student begins Year 1 of Foundation Degree Bakery and Confectionery Technology in September 2022. She is charged the maximum tuition fee of £9250 and she has a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan in place. Due to health reasons, she has to stop attending lectures on 9th November. She submits a deferral application form, requesting to defer her studies until September 2023, which is granted. The Finance department write to her to advise her that her tuition fee liability for the 22/23 academic year is £2312.50. When she returns to UCB in September 2023, she will be charged:

£9250 (the 22/23 fee) - £2312.50 (the fee she was charged when she deferred) = £6937.50

When a student defers, the Finance department will notify Student Finance England that the student has ‘suspended’ their study.

Where the student has a maintenance loan in place, the student’s entitlement will be recalculated on a pro-rata basis, based on their last date of attendance.

Where a student’s deferral has been granted for health reasons, their maintenance support will be extended for a total of 60 days. The University will notify Student Finance where this is the case.

If a student defers their studies and intends to return the following academic year, they will need to re-apply for Student Finance for the next year.

Please note that if you defer, the period for which you were in attendance will be classed as a period of study by Student Finance and will therefore have an impact on any future funding. If you are deferring for personal reasons outside of your control, you may wish to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons. This provides you the opportunity to ask Student Finance to disregard the period of study which you deferred.

Withdrawing

If you wish to withdraw from your course, you must speak to your Year Manager. They will complete the appropriate paperwork and the Finance department will advise you of the fee for which you are liable, based on the date that you either informed us of your intention to withdraw, or the date your lecturer withdraws you from the programme. Please refer back to the table above for information on how we calculate the fee charged.

When a student withdraws, the Finance department will notify Student Finance England that the student has withdrawn from their studies.

Please note that if you withdraw from your course, the period for which you were in attendance will be classed as a period of study by Student Finance and will therefore have an impact on any future funding, should you wish to return to Higher Education at a later date. If you have had to withdraw for personal reasons outside of your control, you may wish to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons. This provides you the opportunity to ask Student Finance to disregard the period of study which led to your withdrawal.

Lack of attendance at University may result in you being withdrawn.

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