Overview

Overview

A leave of absence allows a student to take an authorised break in their studies for a maximum of one calendar year in the first instance. If a student wishes to take a leave of absence they must apply in advance for permission to do so. A student can apply for a leave of absence from their studies for a documented medical or personal reason. Any student can apply for a leave of absence, however, approval for a period of interruption is not guaranteed.

Leave of absence is also granted for students transferring from one programme to another and re-starting their studies the following academic year (this should be marked on the transfer form) and for students entitled under departmental regulations to re-sit failed examinations ‘out of residence’ during the forthcoming academic year.

Leave of absence that is entirely retrospective will not be considered or approved.

If possible the Leave of Absence Form (with evidence) should be submitted before the leave of absence proposed start date, as the leave of absence may not always be approved. In all cases leave of absence recommendations should be submitted no more than one month later than the proposed start date.

If a student has never attended any part of the programme, the student should be deferred or asked to reapply to a programme of study. A request for leave of absence should NOT be made. Please inform Student Services (student-records@york.ac.uk) so the current student record can be updated and if a deferral is made also inform the relevant admissions department.

These pages do not apply to York Online students taking 100% online part-time Masters programmes. Students who are studying on a York Online programme should refer to the York Online Registration, Absence and Engagement Policy for information on taking a Leave of Absence, and to the York Online Repeat Study Policy to learn when York Online students are eligible to repeat modules. If you require further guidance please contact york-online-loa@york.ac.uk.

Repeat study

Guidance on repeating study is available, setting out the different mechanisms by which students can repeat part of their programme:  

Considerations

Considerations

Student Visa Holders

If a Student Visa holder wants to request an interruption of studies, they must consult with an Immigration Adviser before the leave of absence can be approved.  Where a leave of absence is 60 days or less, the student’s sponsorship will continue but a leave of absence of 61 days or more will result in the Student Visa being cancelled.  The student will then have 60 days in which to leave the UK and will need to make a new visa application from outside the UK if and when they wish to resume their studies in the UK.

Where a Student Visa holder requests to repeat Year 1 of their studies, this will be considered by the Visa Compliance team who will take into account the student’s academic engagement record.  If the request is approved, the student will be required to request a new CAS within five weeks of accepting the offer to repeat study. A new visa application to cover the duration of the course must then be made immediately and evidence of application sent to the Visa Compliance team. 

Should the student wish to transfer to a new course rather than repeat the same one, the student will be required to leave the UK to make a new visa application.  If the student is considering this as an option, they must discuss this with an Immigration Advisor as soon as possible. 

Funding

Please ensure that it is stated on the Leave of Absence Request whether the student receives any funding from an external source: foreign loans, sponsors, studentships, scholarships, charities, etc. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the proposed leave is compatible with the regulations of any granting agency from which funding would normally be received during the leave period, and that such agencies are informed of the proposed leave.

For candidates in receipt of University studentships or UK Research Council studentships paid through the University, departmental administrators/finance officers should arrange for payment of the stipend to be suspended for the duration of the proposed leave of absence. An exception should be made in the case of maternity, where paid maternity leave up to six months may be taken on top of the normal duration of the stipend or short term illness.

Leave of absence and repeat study can impact bursary eligibility. A student will be still eligible for a bursary for up to one year of repeat study. Please consult the Bursary webpages. 

Students should seek advice from the Student Hub about the financial implications of repeat study. 

Student Loans From UK Government 

If a student has financial support from Student Finance England, Registry Services will inform Student Finance England of the period of leave of absence and the total amount of tuition fees for the period the student attended prior to their leave of absence. A student will not receive any payments from Student Finance England during their period of leave of absence.

A student will not normally be eligible for maintenance loan support if they are on a leave of absence, as they are not in active study during this time. However, depending on the date of the leave of absence and when students receive their student finance, a student may have an overpayment and be required to repay immediately, or have the overpayment deducted from future instalments. There can also be some exceptions, e.g. if a student is on an LOA for health reasons, or if a student is in financial hardship. Students rejoining a programme following a leave of absence also need to check they have sufficient student finance entitlement to cover an additional year's study. Please consult Leave of Absence and LOA FAQ pages. Students can seek further guidance from Student Advisers in the Student Hub.

US loans: Students with US loans must meet the criteria required by US regulations relating to Federal Aid in order to take a leave of absence. A student must apply in advance to interrupt their studies unless unforeseen circumstances prevent the student from doing so. The total period of leave of absence must not exceed a total of 180 days in any 12-month period and this includes weekends and scheduled breaks. Find further information about US loans.

Accommodation

Students taking a leave of absence are not eligible to remain in University Accommodation and they must complete a request to vacate form and give notice to vacate their room. Students must have written approval from the University before they can terminate their residence contract. Students will need to give four weeks' notice to Accommodation Services. Find out more about requesting to vacate.

The accommodation office is unable to terminate a student’s contract until the University has approved the change in circumstance. Academic departments must allow time for processing to be undertaken on the SITS Student Record system in order to expedite this process. All decisions should therefore be communicated to Registry Services as soon as they are known.

Find further information on Accommodation Services.

If a student is returning from a period of leave of absence or placement, they are not eligible for University accommodation unless they have a medical condition or other special circumstance that requires them to live on campus.

Library access

A student’s access to University library facilities will remain active for the period of Leave of Absence. 

Independent Students 

The implications of a period of leave of absence may be exacerbated for independent students who do not have another home to move to during a break in their studies.

As noted above students are not eligible to remain on campus during a leave of absence. This can lead to many independent students being faced with homelessness.

Taking a leave of absence also has an implication on the bursary that independent students receive.

Independent Students are strongly encouraged to seek further advice from the University’s dedicated contact for independent students - contact details can be found on the webpages for  Estranged Students and Care Experienced Students.

Academic Work

Except where an academic condition is set, a student may not do work which contributes to their period of study or research during the Leave of Absence.

Students’ Union Sabbatical Positions

A student may take a leave of absence at any time during their study to take up a sabbatical position with the Student’s Union. For those undertaking postgraduate study, this will normally mean delaying the summer semester project module for 12 months.

Applying

How to apply

Requests for leave of absence must be submitted on the appropriate form.

A leave of absence must be for a period agreed by the student and the department. Any leave of absence of less than one month should be dealt with within the department.

A Leave of Absence and evidence (where required) should be submitted no more than one month later than the start of leave of absence. Leave of absence that is entirely retrospective will not be considered or approved.

UK Visas and Immigration – sponsorship compliance:

Changes must be notified to UKVI within 10 days of the University approving the change in circumstance. Academic Departments must allow time for processing to be undertaken on the SITS Student Record system within this 10 day reporting window. All decisions should therefore be communicated to Student and Academic Administration as soon as they are known.

Evidence

Students on medical leave of absence (types 7-11) must provide medical evidence with the leave application. Medical evidence should be a medical certificate or a letter from a doctor or  certified/accredited medical professional, such as a clinical psychologist. Open Door team evidence can be used to support leave on compassionate grounds, but is not considered ‘medical’ evidence for these purposes. 

Evidence is required for all types of LoA except codes 02, 03, 12, 16, 17. Repeat study is not permitted for periods of leave of absence on motivational grounds. 

No evidence will be required to enable return to study, except where a student is subject to a Support to Study enforced suspension of registration.

If a Maternity LOA request refers to pregnancy related health issues, this should be processed as ‘09 Heath (physical)’ to ensure the student receives all SLC funding they are entitled to. They will not be required to provide medical evidence in order to return.

Academic conditions

Departments should specify on the form any academic condition (eg, submission of outstanding assignments, exam, etc) that must be met before the candidate is permitted to resume enrolment. For Academic conditions please include the following information:

• State in detail what is required of the student
• Reason why student must complete the academic condition
• The exact date the condition must be meet by

For example, if the student is required to complete an outstanding assessment prior to return please state the name of the assessment and the date, time and place of submission.

Unless a condition is set, the student must not participate in any work, study or research related to their enrolment during their leave of absence period. 

Repeat study

Repeating a period of study allows a student two attempts at the same material, which could place a student at an academic advantage relative to their peers. As a result, students will only be permitted to repeat a period of study where there is medical evidence which demonstrates that they were unable to benefit from teaching the first time and also unable to take appropriate action (such as a leave of absence) at the appropriate time (i.e. when the circumstances began). 

Repeat study is not permitted for periods of leave of absence on motivational grounds. 

The evidence should provide direct confirmation of the student’s circumstances and their impact on the student’s ability to benefit from teaching and request a period of leave of absence at the time those circumstances occurred. This evidence should be a medical certificate or a letter from a doctor or  certified/accredited medical professional, such as a clinical psychologist. Engagement information, further information from the student and/or supporting statements may be used to support a request for repeat study, but there must also be medical evidence. 

A student who is permitted to repeat a period of study due to exceptional circumstances will be liable for all repeat study fees associated with that period of repeat study. 

Leave of absence and repeat study can impact bursary eligibility. A student will be still eligible for a bursary for up to one year of repeat study. Please consult the Bursary webpages. 

Students should seek advice from the Student Hub about the financial implications of repeat study. 

The only other circumstance in which repeat study will be approved is where the repeat is necessitated solely by an action of the University, for example, significant changes to a programme of study.

Repeat study may be permitted on the basis of a programme relying heavily on group work, meaning that a student cannot rejoin the programme part-way through, but no fee waiver will be permitted for this repeat study.

Repeat study will not be permitted on the basis of a student being away from their programme of study for a long period of time.

Tuition fee waivers

The University will only waive tuition fees for repeat study where the period of repeat is solely a result of an action of the University. 

The University will not waive repeat tuition fees on the basis of a student’s individual circumstances, irrespective of how difficult they may be. If a student is facing financial difficulty, there is information available on sources of support on the Student Webpages. 

The Special Cases team is able to make fee waiver recommendations to the Academic Registrar. The decision of the Academic Registrar is final, and the student does not have the right to appeal this decision.

Exams

For Exams please include the following information:

• List all exams a student is required to take prior to or upon immediate return (this may or may not be included in the academic conditions)
• List module codes and titles of exams students are expected to sit

Exam dates and times should not be included as these will not been known at the time the form is completed, and are scheduled by the Exams Office.

Please note: the exact text used on the leave of absence form will appear in the approval email/letter sent to the student.

Application

If a student wishes to apply for a leave of absence, they should first approach their supervisor and discuss their options. Chair of Board of Studies can permit an absence of up to four weeks during any one semester without the student being required to take formal leave of absence. If the supervisor agrees the student should go on a longer leave of absence, the student should then complete Part A of the Leave of Absence Form and forward it to their supervisor. 

Forms

Leave of Absence form

The leave of absence application form has multiple sections: 

• Part A should be completed by the student. 
• Part B should be completed by the department. 
• Part C should be completed by the Chair of the Board of Studies or their nominee.
• Part D explains the process of submitting the form. 
• Part E is for Special Cases team use only.

Please ensure that the relevant form is completed fully and accurately, with all necessary supporting evidence before it is submitted to Special Cases or Student Records. This will save time for both Student Services and academic departments and ensure faster processing of the request.

Before the form is submitted please ensure that:

1. The student details are accurate
2. The correct reason and code has been selected 
3. That the correct start date has been provided for the leave of absence (see 4.4.1)
4. That the correct end date has been entered for the leave of absence (see 4.4.2)
5. That a new programme end date has been provided 
6. The correct repeat study dates have been entered (see 4.4.3)
7. Relevant evidence has been attached in PDF format (see evidence section) 
8. Details of any outside funding has been provided (ie Research councils, foreign student loans, etc.)
9. Any academic conditions of return, repeat study, exams required to sit prior to or immediately upon return, or any other conditions required, have been listed 
10. "Electronic" signature confirmation of the Chair of the Board of Studies or their nominee has been provided.

LoA Application Form (MS Word , 33kb)

Approval process

A request for leave of absence will require Special Cases approval where any of the following criteria is met: 

1. The start date of the Leave of Absence requested is more than 1 semester prior to the date the form is received by Student Records/Special Cases.
2. The student has requested to repeat more than 10 teaching weeks.
3. More than twelve consecutive months of Leave of Absence is requested at one time. 
4. Appropriate supporting evidence has not been provided. 
5. A fee waiver has been requested.
6. For undergraduate students, where the total period of Leave of Absence exceeds 4 years, or for postgraduate taught students, where the total period of Leave of Absence exceeds 2 years.

In cases where departments are concerned about an extended period of LoA that may impact a student's likelihood of program completion, they can seek advice from Special Cases. Special Cases can be asked to make a decision in such cases.

Submitting the leave of absence recommendation

If Special Cases consideration is required, the completed form and supporting evidence should be emailed from the Chair Board of Studies/Executive Committee email address (or the Chair Board of Studies must be copied into the email address for the leave of absence to be processed) to scc@york.ac.uk.

If the leave of absence does not require Special Cases consideration, the completed form and evidence should be sent directly to Student Records - the completed form and evidence should be emailed from the Chair Board of Studies/Executive Committee email address (or the Chair Board of Studies must be copied into the email address for the leave of absence to be processed) to student-records@york.ac.uk.

After a Leave of Absence has been approved, the student and department will receive a leave of absence email, confirming approval dates of the leave of absence and any conditions of return.

Conditions

During the period of leave of absence the following conditions will apply unless specific permission for a variation has been given by Special Cases:

1. students are expected to spend their time away from the University
2. students are expected to leave University accommodation and should complete a ‘Request to Vacate' form available from Accommodation Services
3. students are permitted full borrowing rights from the University Library
4. students are not permitted to use University resources (attend lectures, seminars, supervision meetings, or work in a laboratory) during a leave of absence
5. students are permitted to access IT Services facilities.

Return

Return to study

A student will only be able to re-enrol once they have fulfilled the conditions of their return from a leave of absence. The department should inform Student Services once all the conditions have been met. If the student does not meet the required conditions a department can then request that the student’s registration be terminated.

Conditions of return from Leave of Absence

With some types of leave of absence, students may have certain conditions they have to meet to be permitted to return from leave of absence. These are known as conditions of return.

Departments should indicate whether there are any academic conditions of return requested as part of the leave of absence application. This would include any assessments which are outstanding and required to progress to the next stage of study.

No medical evidence will be required to enable return to study, except where a student is subject to a Support to Study enforced suspension of registration, where there are fitness to study requirements, or apprenticeships or professional programmes which may require evidence of fitness to return to satisfy PSRB requirements (PGCE, Health Sciences, Hull York Medical School and Social Work).

If a student does NOT return from leave of absence please inform Student Services as soon as possible by emailing student-records@york.ac.uk. Failure to inform us that a student intends to return from a leave of absence may result in assumed withdrawal.

If a student is unable to return from their current leave of absence they can request a further leave of absence by submitting another application but new up-to-date evidence will need to be provided.

Contact

Who to contact

For information on leave of absence cases not requiring Special Cases consideration - student-records@york.ac.uk

For information on leave of absence cases requiring Special Cases consideration - scc@york.ac.uk

For information on financial and funding implications of leave of absence, please complete the self referral form to speak with an adviser which can be found on the Student Hub homepage.

Office hours: 9am to 5pm (Monday to Friday)

If a student wishes to know the progress of their request for leave of absence, they should contact their academic department(s) about this in the first instance.

For further information please see the Special Cases Progress Case Policy.