Extensions to time limit of study
Undergraduate students
Extensions to time limit cannot be processed for undergraduate students. The only exception to this is for students in the School of Nursing and Midwifery; where there is a need to notify an extended completion date (and an extension to NHS bursary entitlement) for a particular student, please report this using a Change of Status (COS) Form, by inserting the student details in section 1, the new completion date in section 2A, and giving further details in the space for departmental comments in section 5.
Taught Postgraduate students
If due to extenuating circumstances (medical or personal) a taught postgraduate student is unable to complete all modules/units, including the dissertation, required for the degree they are registered for within the normal period of registration (full-time or part-time), a request for an extension to time limit may be made. Requests for extensions to time limit must be made via a Change of Status (COS) Form. In particular, sections 1, 3A and 3B (on the reverse of the form) must be completed to indicate the length of extension requested and the timetable of work to be completed within the extended period. Extensions must be approved by the department and the relevant Faculty (completed COS Forms must be submitted to the Taught Programmes Office). Where approval is granted for an extension to time limit a continuation fee will be payable by the student.
Where an extension to time limit is requested on medical grounds, a department may require that a medical certificate is obtained as background evidence for the initial request. Where an extension to time limit is requested on employment grounds (e.g. a part-time or distance learning student experiencing an extraordinary workload at their normal place of employment) a department may require a letter from the line manager or equivalent confirming the situation is provided as background evidence.
Students should be advised as soon as possible to think carefully about whether it would be more appropriate to apply for a leave of absence at an earlier stage during their normal period of registration when it becomes apparent that problems are being experienced, rather than attempting to continue on and then having to apply for an extension to time limit after the normal period of registration is completed.
Departments are reminded, however, that where a PGT student has failed their dissertation and is required to resubmit it in the following year, this should not be processed via a Change of Status (COS) Form to request an extension to time limit. The correct procedure is that the student should be told to register online to be re-assessed/re-examined. The webpage to register to be re-examined and to pay the re-examination fee online is available from the link on the right.
PGT Extensions to Time Limit - Access to Information Commons
The Information Commons requires a student to have a valid UCard in order to access the building through the turnstile barriers (and the doors out of hours). Thus once the official end date on a student's record (and shown on their UCard) is past, they can no longer gain entry to the Information Commons. During September a number of students will not have completed their programme of study, generally because they have not finished their dissertation. Such students will often request an extension to time from their departments to allow them to complete.
Therefore, where a PGT student requests an extension and indicates they will definitely require continued access to the Information Commons, it will now be necessary for the student to complete a Change of Status (COS) Form to request a formal extension to time limit, however short the period of time (including just a few days) beyond the official end date of their programme of study. The department will need to approve and sign off the Change of Status (COS) Form in the usual way, and ensure that it is forwarded to the Taught Programmes Office. Taught Programmes Office will then amend the end date on the student's CIS record. The student will then be able to go to the UCard/Registration Desk in CICS and obtain a new UCard with the new extended date on it, and thus be able to access and borrow books from the Information Commons. It should be noted that a Continuation Fee will be payable pro-rata for the period of the extension.
Where PGT students request short extensions to time and definitely do not require access to the Information Commons, then departments may continue to deal with these requests internally. In this case, students may be able to gain access to other University libraries, but will not be able to borrow books.
Where PGT students request longer extension (e.g. 3-4 weeks or more after their official end date) the usual procedure must be followed, i.e. a Change of Status (COS) Form must be completed, signed off and submitted to the Taught Programmes Office in all such cases.