Withdrawals
Departments are required to `confirm´ all student withdrawals, so as to ensure that students considering withdrawal make contact with their department and have the opportunity to consider alternative options. As well as consulting with their personal tutor or other departmental staff, University central services (such as the Careers Service) might also be able to support students in coming to a final decision; in some cases students may find that a change of degree programme or a period of leave of absence is a better course of action.
In order to confirm the withdrawal (it is clearly not appropriate to refer to `approval´ in the context of withdrawals), please complete the departmental signature section in part 5 of the Change of Status (COS) Form. It would also be very helpful if you could check that a `last date of attendance´ has been supplied on the Form.
Once withdrawals are confirmed, it is important that departments ensure the completed Change of Status (COS) Form is forwarded to the Taught Programmes Office straightaway. The Taught Programmes Office will record the details on the student's record and report promptly, in the case of undergraduate students, to the Student Loans Company or other funding/sponsoring agencies. In the case of overseas students with a Tier 4 study visa, the Taught Programmes Office is also required to report the withdrawal promptly (within 10 working days) to the UK Border Agency.
The accuracy of withdrawal records is also important in the context of the University´s internal management information reports and the annual return of data to the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA), which results in the collation of statistical indicators on withdrawal and `wastage´ rates etc. We very much appreciate the co-operation of academic departments in assisting to maintain the accuracy of such records, and you are asked to let the Taught Programmes Office know of any withdrawals of which you become aware within your department, but which have not been formally notified, by completing a Change of Status (COS) Form on the student´s behalf and forwarding this to the Taught Programmes Office as soon as possible with any relevant correspondence attached. Please indicate the reason for the withdrawal (where this is either known or can be inferred from correspondence from the student) by ticking the appropriate box in section 4 of the Form.
Where students have apparently left without giving any notification, departments should report these as soon as possible to the Taught Programmes Office as `deemed withdrawn´ by completing and returning a Change of Status (COS) Form (ticking the appropriate box in section 4 of the Form). Depending on the circumstances, we may then attempt to contact the student on a final occasion before their student record is terminated.