Need to Withdraw or Suspend

SUSPEND - Suspending your studies means taking time out or putting your studies ‘on hold’, usually for personal reasons. This is normally done with a view to resuming the course at a later date (usually the next academic year).  When you suspend, your student finance is usually also considered ‘on hold’ for the remainder of the academic year but it can have a major impact on what you will be entitled to in future years.

WITHDRAW - Withdrawal is the complete termination of your registration on your programme of study and all units associated with it.  Your student finance will be stopped for the remainder of the year and any years studied will be considered as previous study if you return in future.

Your first step is to speak to your Academic Tutor or College about your situation. This will give you an opportunity to discuss your situation and seek guidance as to which option is best, and you can also get extra support if required.

Once you have made your decision, you will need to attend a Change of Enrolment Status consultation in the MyUni Hub.  During the consultation, you will discuss your options and any implications that may arise from changing your enrolment status.

All eligible students are entitled to tuition fee and maintenance funding for the length of their course, +1 extra year. You can use this additional year of funding if you suspend part way through the academic year or if you have to repeat a year of your course.

E.g. 3 year course + 1 extra year = 4 years of funding

The number of years taken into account by your funding provider is based on your enrolment at University, not whether you have completed a full year of study or taken out student finance e.g. being enrolled for a few weeks will count as one full year of previous study.

Typically, maintenance loans are unaffected by previous years of study.

If you do not have enough funding entitlement to cover the full duration of your course you will be required to self-fund your tuition fees*. (This will apply in the earlier years of your course as your funding entitlement will be applied to the last year of your new course and worked backwards.)

*If you are a Welsh-Domiciled student in receipt of a Tuition Fee Grant, you would still be required to self-fund the full Tuition Fee amount, as both Tuition Fee Loans and Grants are affected by previous years of study. 

*EU students can also apply for additional years of funding based on compelling personal reasons (CPR) if applicable.

When suspending or withdrawing from the University, they will be required to report your last date of engagement (lectures, seminars, exams or Canvas) to the Student Loans Company. Depending on when you actually complete the relevant documents, this date can make a large difference to the tuition fees you are charged and maintenance loan you are entitled to, and could result in an overpayment that will need to be repaid (see financial implications for info).

If you are planning to make a repayment of your student loan, we would advise waiting until after you have received your letter confirming whether you have had an overpayment from Student Finance. If a payment is made before receiving this letter, the amount will not be deducted from your total overpayment amount. 

Tuition Fees

If you suspend or withdraw from your course, the amount of tuition fees you pay will depend on your last date of engagement. As a general rule, tuition fee liability is split up as follows:

TERM 1 - 25%                 TERM 2 - 50%                    TERM 3 - 100%

*Tuition fee funding is limited to the length of your course plus one extra year.  Please refer to the +1 Rule drop down to check how much of your allocation you have used.

Maintenance Funding

The amount of maintenance funding you are entitled to during an incomplete year is calculated on a pro rata basis using your last date of engagement.  For example, if you have received £1000 maintenance funding for a term and your last date of attendance is exactly mid-way through the term, your overspend will be £500.  

If a student is informed that they have had an overpayment and are unable to repay, it is advised that they do the following, depending on their circumstances:

Withdrawal – Speak with student finance to arrange an affordable monthly repayment (or to put a hold on the account until this is possible)

Suspension – As above, but suspended students need to be aware that any outstanding overpayment that has not been repaid by the time they return to their studies, will be taken from any future funding entitlements.

If you are suspending your studies because of medical reasons that have affected your ability to study, then you will need to provide medical evidence to the University so that they can record the suspension as medical grounds.

In this scenario you could be granted to keep up to an additional 60 days of funding from your last date of engagement by the Student Loans Company, but it is recommended that you contact your funding provider to check that this has been applied.

If you feel that something out of your control had a significantly detrimental effect on your academic performance or ability to study and you had to suspend studies or repeat the year, you are able to apply for additional funding on the grounds of CPR.

CPR can include health-related issues, disability, family problems or bereavement but this list is not exhaustive.

If you think that this applies to you and would like to submit a case to Student Fianance for CPR, please read our comprehensive guide to support you through the process: 

CPR Guide

If you need any further advice or guidance, you can get in touch with us at money.campuslife@swansea.ac.uk

*There is no guarantee additional funding will be provided, as this is at the discretion of your funding provider.

CASE STUDY 1

David decides to withdraw from his course mid-way through the first term of his second year due to not enjoying his course. 

PREVIOUS STUDY - David has no previous study before this course at HE level.  As David completed year one and enrolled onto year 2, he has used two years of study.  If David decides to return to HE study in the future, these two years will be deducted from his full entitlement.  For example, if David returned to study a three year course, he would be entitled to 4 years' funding (3 years course + one gift year) but would only receive 2 years' of funding (4 years - 2 years previous study = 2 years).  These years of funding will be alloctaed to the latter part of the course.  This means David would need to self-fund the first year of his new course as his third year and second year would be covered.  Typically maintenance loans are unaffected by previous study.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS - David will owe 25% of fees for this academic year, which he will pay back when he is earning over the earning threshold.    

David has received his maintenance funding for the first term.  As he is leaving mid-way through the term, David will have an overpayment that is worked out on a pro-rata basis from his last date of engagement.  For example, if David received £1000 for the term and his last date of engagement was exactly halfway through, David's overpayment would be £500.  As David is withdrawing, this overpayment would need be paid back immediately.  However, David can contact the Student Loans Company to arrange a payment plan.

CASE STUDY 2

Sam needs to suspend due to medical reasons in the third term of year 1.   

PREVIOUS STUDY - Sam has no previous study before this course at HE level.  Sam has used one year of funding entitlement - this would be classed as using her plus one year of funding.  Therefore Sam would still have funding for the remainder of her course.  If Sam needed to use another year in the future due to, for example, repeat or suspension, Sam could apply for discretionary funding on the grounds of compelling personal reasons as medical reasons caused her to have to suspend.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS - Sam will owe 100% of fees for this academic year, which she will pay back when she is earning over the earning threshold.

Sam has received her maintenance funding for her third term.  As Sam is suspending on medical grounds, she will be granted to keep up to 60 extra days funding from the her last date of engagement.  Therefore Sam's overpayment will be worked out from the date that follows 60 days from last date of attendance.  If there is still an overpayment after the 60 days, that amount will be deducted from Sam's maintenance funding in the academic year she returns.