Interruptions, Transfers and Withdrawals

If you receive your funding from Student Finance England, you are permitted to interrupt your study without incurring any tuition fees up to the end of Academic Week 2. If you interrupt after Academic Week 2, tuition fees payable are recalculated according to three liability periods. At each period a percentage of the tuition fee is paid by the Student Loans Company to the University on the following basis:

• Second week of October (25%)
• Second week of January (50%)
• Second week of April (100%)

As soon as you reach a liability period you will be charged for the whole of that period. For example, if you interrupt your study on 30 October, you will incur 25% of the fee (this will apply to all students who interrupt before the second liability is reached in January, when the fee incurred  will  be  50%). The University will notify Student Finance of the dates of interruption and of the revised fee amount.

Maintenance loans and other grants awarded by Student Finance England are also recalculated up to your agreed last date of attendance. However, the University has no involvement in the administration, repayment or reassessment of these payments or calculations. It is strongly advised that you contact Student Finance  England to discuss the financial implications before submitting an interruption request.

If you are a self-funding taught student, you are permitted to interrupt your study without incurring tuition fees up to the end of Academic Week 2. Tuition fees are recalculated on a weekly pro-rata basis for taught students and monthly for Postgraduate Research students according to the following formula:

Weekly Charges

Fee divided by 30 (i.e. standard number of weeks in an academic year) multiplied by the number of weeks registered on course. e.g. Student paying £6,000 annual fee interrupts in Academic Week 10: (£6,000/30) x 10 = £2,000 fee incurred.

Monthly Charges

Fee divided by 12 multiplied by number of months (or partial months) registered. e.g. Student paying £6,000 fee interrupts in Academic Month 3: (£6,000/12) x 3 = £1,500 fee incurred

If you are interrupting and receive sponsorship for your studies, your fees will be recalculated the same way as for self-funding students. The sponsor will be notified of any outstanding credit or debit balances.

Any discounts offered directly by the University will be recalculated pro-rata on the same basis as the tuition fees up to the agreed last date of attendance.

When returning from an interruption of study you will need to re-register and will be subject to payment of any outstanding fees at the point of your return. You will also be charged fees for any study to be repeated. Any scholarships, bursaries and other discounts will be reapplied commensurate with the fees.

If you are funded by Student Finance, we will send a notification advising you that you are re-registered. Any part of an academic year attended counts as a full year of funding, however, funded students are generally entitled to one year of funding in addition to the length of their course e.g. if  studying a regular 3-year undergraduate degree, you may be entitled to a fourth year of funding. This is dependent on you not having had prior study and is given entirely at the discretion of Student Finance. It is recommended that you contact Student Finance to discuss your eligibility for this additional year of funding.

Depending on your course of study, UK legislation allows different amounts of total time to study at different levels:

• Below degree level: 2 years
• Undergraduate degree and Masters combined: 5 years 11 months (including wrap up time)
• Postgraduate Research: 8 years

Interruptions and Withdrawals Policy

Research interruptions process 

The UK legislation and University of Salford regulations for interruptions are summarised in the following table:

1In exceptional circumstances such as where you or your dependent is unable to travel due to health reasons you (and if applicable, your dependent) would have to apply to the Home Office for an alternative visa such as Further Leave to Remain. If you are unable to travel, we advise you make contact with the Home Office Compliance Team. This will enable us to discuss your options with you and help you to protect your immigration status. In these circumstances you may wish to speak to a specialist Immigration Solicitor, these can be found through Search for an Immigration Advisor.

Once you have considered the above and you have taken an interruption, you will be expected to leave the UK as soon as possible (unless option A above applies). You will receive an email from the Home Office Compliance Team informing you that you should leave the UK within 28 days and provide evidence of your exit.This can be:

• An E-ticket/reservation/booking confirmation and

• • An entry stamp from when you arrive in your home Country or an e-gate receipt; or
  • The boarding card or screen shot of your digital boarding pass; or
  • A Luggage tag from your checked baggage

Send the above to the Home Office Compliance Team: homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk

When you are ready to return from Interruption you will need to complete the following actions. Please note you will only be able to do this after you have provided evidence that you have left the UK.

• Request a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number. The CAS request form will be sent to you on receipt of your exit evidence.  CAS requests can take up to five working days to process on receipt of all the required information from you.
• Apply for your visa after receiving your CAS
• Return to the UK to re-register for your course