Thinking of interrupting your studies or leaving BU?

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Thinking of interrupting your studies or leaving BU?

International students: check how this may affect your visa

If you are thinking about interrupting your course, changing your mode of study, or leaving BU we can provide advice and guidance for you. This can be a difficult decision, and it is important to make the right choice.

There are different reasons why you might wish to interrupt your studies for a period of time or withdraw from university completely. This could be due to academic, emotional and family/relationship issues or financial and medical concerns, or it could be that university is not for you or that the course is not what you expected.

First steps

Your Personal Tutor helps you think about your academic progress and study goals, so they are a good first point of contact when thinking about whether to interrupt or withdraw from your studies. You can also talk to your Programme Leader (PL) or Programme Support Officer (PSO). These staff members can discuss the implications of interrupting or withdrawing from your studies and the impact of your decision.

You can contact your Personal Tutor or your Programme Leader directly to make an appointment to speak with them. If you are not sure how to contact them, get in touch with AskBU, who can give you the relevant names and contact details.

Once you have made a decision you will need to submit a form indicating your intention to withdraw or to interrupt your studies.

International students

If you are in the UK on a Student visa, BU is required to report to the Home Office if you interrupt or withdraw from your course. For more information on how this will affect your visa please read our immigration compliance page.

Important to note

Interruption usually needs to be done at certain points in the academic year, and we need to discuss and agree the timeline with you. You can withdraw at any time. Interrupting or withdrawing can have a number of implications, for example in relation to accommodation arrangements, future student funding and student visa status. This is why we advise you to speak to us first before taking decisions on either interruption or withdrawal.

Please also consider the financial and accommodation implications

Tuition fee liability and funding

If you are a new student and have just started the first year of your course and you are still within the first 14 days of the academic year, you can withdraw without financial penalty. Day one is your official start date at BU, which may also cover your induction period. If you have been enrolled for more than 14 days then you will be liable for the tuition fees as listed below:

Start	Withdrawal Dates	Liability*	Refund**
Autumn (September & October)	- First 14 calendar days from official start date - From calendar day 15 of start date until 31 December - 1 January until 31 March - On or after the 1 April	0% 25% 50% 100%	100% 75% 50% 0%
Winter (January & February)	- First 14 calendar days from official start date - From calendar day 15 of start date until 31 March - 1 April until 30 June - On or after the 1 July	0% 25% 50% 100%	100% 75% 50% 0%
Other Start Dates (August, November, December, March, April, May, June & July)	- 1 - 14 calendar days - 15 - 90 calendar days - 91 - 180 calendar days - 181 calendar days or more	0% 25% 50% 100%	100% 75% 50% 0%

* Student liability in percentage terms of full fee.
** This is the maximum potential refund that will be given; the actual refund will depend on how much has been paid. Deposits will not be refunded other than in exceptional circumstances.

Full information is provided in the Fees Policy on the Important Information page along with the 14 Day Cancellation Form for new students.

Student funding

If you’re receiving funding from Student Finance England, please read the information on their web page on withdrawing or suspending your studies. This covers what actions you need to take with Student Finance England and what happens with overpayments and return to study.

If you receive funding from any provider other than Student Finance England, you should contact them directly, to understand how interrupting/withdrawing from study is impacted.

If you need to further discuss the implications of interrupting or withdrawing on your funding, please contact AskBU.

Accommodation

If you are living in student accommodation, you should check the terms of the contract that you signed to see what impact leaving or interrupting your studies will have. If you need any help reviewing your contract then SUBU Advice will be happy to help and can be contacted on 01202 965779 or by email at [email protected].

You should not leave your accommodation before contacting your landlord or managing agent to discuss this matter and see what your options are.

University accommodation

If you are living in, Dorchester House, Student Village or Unilet and you have withdrawn or interrupted your studies, you will no longer have a ‘Live enrolment status’ and under the terms of your Licence, you are not permitted to remain in the accommodation. You will need to complete an Accommodation Withdrawal Form and can download this from our useful information and forms page.

If you are withdrawing from BU then:

Up to the Spring break, there will be a maximum charge of four weeks’ rent unless you can find someone to replace you straight away.
After the Spring break you will be liable for the full rent, unless you can find someone to replace you straight away

For full details of the BU Licence see our Contracts and Codes of Practice webpage.

If you are remaining a student at BU and just wish to terminate your contract then you will remain liable until you find someone to replace you.

For further information or to discuss your specific situation call 01202 961671 or email [email protected].

If you are living in BU accommodation where the landlord is one of our private accommodation partners then you should contact your landlord direct to discuss your specific situation. 

Campus Living Villages

Lyme Regis House: email [email protected] or call 01202 319247
Chesil House: email [email protected] or call 01202 319618
Okeford House: email [email protected] or call 01202 519252
Cranborne House: email [email protected] or call 01202 037700

Student Housing Company

Bailey Point: email [email protected] or call 01202 941315

Student Roost

Corfe House: email [email protected] or call 01202 649670

Unite Students

Purbeck House: email [email protected] or call 01202 589581

Private rented accommodation

If you are living in private rented accommodation you will need to check your contract for the conditions of withdrawing as the accommodation contract is a legally binding document. SUBU Advice can help you check your contract and advise on the implications, as they have expertise in housing legislation.

Additional support

Before you make a final decision, you may wish to consider any additional support that the university can offer to help you stay on your course. This could be academic or study support, financial or welfare support. Information about all of BU support services is on our webpages. If you are unsure of who to contact  AskBU will be able to signpost you towards the appropriate support.

Careers support

Council tax exemption

Keep in mind that you are only exempt from paying council tax until the end date of your current academic year. If you are withdrawing from one course, for example at the end of June, and starting a new course in September, your Council Tax Exemption Certificate will not cover the period between. Further guidance can be found on the BCP website - under the 'Evidence you need to provide' section.

I have considered all my options and I would still like to interrupt/withdraw. What do I do next?

You will need to submit a form confirming your decision to interrupt or withdraw. This will then be processed by the university and your student status will be changed.

If you receive funding through Student Finance England (SFE), BU will notify SFE of your new status and they will contact you with any changes to your financial support.

Your access to university systems and support will also change as follows:

Brightspace

If you are interrupted from study, you will continue to be able to access Brightspace for any units that you are already enrolled to but will not be able to access any new units until you resume studies with a live enrolment status.

If you withdraw from your course your IT account will be disabled, meaning you will no longer be able to access log-in services including email, Brightspace and MyHub.

Student support

All BU students may access our CareersBU Team for advice during their time at BU and after they leave, however access to other student support is only for students with a current enrolment. SUBU Advice are still happy to support interrupted or withdrawn students for a period of time after they are no longer currently enrolled for certain issues related to their studies (e.g. an academic appeal).

I want to return to BU in the future

If you have interrupted your course due to health or personal reasons, you may need a Return to Study meeting. This is to allow the university to ensure that you are able to engage with your studies and to discuss any adjustments that we may want to put in place for you.

If you have withdrawn from your course and would like to reapply for another course at any point in the future, please remember that your application would need to demonstrate that you are committed to whichever programme you are applying for.

SUBU Advice

Free independent and confidential advice on housing, money and personal matters offered by BU Students' Union.

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