Withdrawal
Withdrawal is the process through which student records are updated when a student leaves the University before completing their programme of study.
The University has in place a range of policies, procedures and guidance to support students who are uncertain about whether to continue with their course or who are not engaging adequately with their course. However, the University recognises that some students will decide to leave their course and that some students will demonstrate a level of engagement that is not compatible with continued registration on their chosen course.
Fitness to Study
The Fitness to Study Procedure is governed by Resolution No. 673 of the University Court.
Staff should refer to the University Regulations (see §34.3.4 – §34.3.6) for full details of how a Leave of Absence should be applied, and refer to the FTSL staff guide for information on the implications for students.
Why do we need to withdraw students?
The University needs to maintain accurate records of students who are registered and attending its programmes. Some of the benefits of accurate student records are:
- Improved data quality and more efficient use of resources in support of learning, teaching and research. The quality of student data impacts most important processes, for example, income forecasting and resource allocation, tuition fee collection and timetabling. At a more basic level it ensures that class lists are accurate and that access to university facilities is reserved for those students who are entitled to use them.
- We can fulfil our obligations in terms of accurate record keeping and reporting to statutory bodies, for example, HESA, SFC and UKVI.
- We can minimise the risk complaints and reputational damage caused by inaccurate records.
Withdrawing students who are not attending the University in a timely way is one of the key steps to ensure accurate record keeping.
How do students withdraw?
There are two categories of withdrawal:
1. Withdrawal by a student
To submit a withdrawal request, students must log in to My Glasgow Student Portal. Under 'My Courses & Records' students should select 'Student Homepage'. On the Student Homepage for MyCampus the student will select 'Academics' tile. From here they can select the 'My withdrawal Form' option.
Step by step process:
- Students should login to My Glasgow Student Portal using their GUID and password, utilsiing the below pathway and complete and submit My Withdrawal Form.
My Glasgow Student Portal > Student Homepage > Academics > My withdrawal Form - An acknowledgement will be sent to their student email account to confirm that their withdrawal has been received.
- The relevant office of the Chief Advisor/Graduate School and the Registry will also be informed that the student has submitted a notification that they wish to withdraw from University.
- The withdrawal will then enter a 10 day processing period, during which time the Chief Advisor/Graduate School may wish to contact the student to offer support or discuss their decision to leave the University.
- Should the student then decide not to withdraw, they, or the Adviser/Graduate School should contact Registry at registry-withdrawals@glasgow.ac.uk and their withdrawal will not be processed.
- If no such communication is received with 10 days from submission date, Registry will process the withdrawal. Students will receive confirmation via email to their student email account when the withdrawal has been processed.
Chief Advisors can see a list of their Advisees Withdrawals at the ‘Advisor’ Homepage Tab or the ‘Advisee Student Center’.
The query running is called UOG_SR_WITHDRAWAL_EMAIL_ADV_1. All staff can run this query selecting Advisor GUID and Term.
View the list of Chief Advisor/Graduate School contacts who will receive email notifications when a student submits an on-line withdrawal.
2. Withdrawal by the University (administrative withdrawal)
There may sometimes be circumstances where a student should be withdrawn from University, such as non-attendance, non-registration, non-payment of tuition fees, academic failure, or misconduct.
In these circumstances it is not practical to ask the student to complete a withdrawal form themselves and the withdrawal process is initiated by a member of University of Glasgow staff using an Administrative Withdrawal Form found in the UofG Helpdesk. If necessary, switch to your 'Staff' role to view the form.
If you are sending large amounts of withdrawals (over six forms) we are happy to receive this in a spreadsheet, containing the following fields:
Student Number
Student Name
Program/Plan
Date of last attendance
Reason for leaving
Currently you will need to log this as an Incident in Ivanti in order to attach a spreadsheet.
Academic Units should complete and submit administrative withdrawals as close as possible to the date on which the student was deemed to have withdrawn. This will ensure that student records are kept up to date and that reterospective or backdated withdrawals are avoided. In particular, it is very important that withdrawals are up-to-date by the deadline for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) Early Return on 1 December. In order to enable the processing of withdrawals to be completed by this deadline we request that Academic Units should submit any remaining administrative withdrawals no later that two working weeks before the SFC Early Return deadline.
What are the implications of withdrawal?
After Withdrawal or Administrative Withdrawal an individual is no longer a student of the University and loses registered student status.
All students who are considering leaving the University are strongly advised to consult their Adviser of Studies / Programme Director/ Supervisor in order to consider the implications of withdrawal.
These include such matters such as: access to the University’s facilities, financial aid (scholarships), tuition fees and other charges, Tier 4 visas, exit awards, readmission. Some of these issues are considered in more detail below:
Tuition fees
A student’s tuition fee liability is recalculated as part of the withdrawal process. Depending on the date of withdrawal, and how the student is funding their studies, a student who withdraws may find that they have to pay outstanding tuition fees or other charges, or in some circumstances that their MyCampus account may be in credit. Students should always be advised to speak directly with their funding provider for advice on whether and how withdrawal may affect their funding and any future entitlement to student support. Students must inform their funding provider if they withdraw.
Further information on how withdrawal will affect tuition fees is contained in the Refund Policy.
Maintenance loans, scholarships, bursaries and financial aid
Entitlement to any scholarships, bursaries, loans or financial aid that a person may be receiving as a student will normally cease when they withdraw. They will also be ineligible to apply for/receive any further financial aid from the University. Students should always be advised to speak directly with their funding provider for advice on how withdrawal will affect their funding and any future entitlement to student support. Students must inform their funding provider if they withdraw.
Access to University facilities and services
When a student withdraws they lose their entitlement to access University facilities, including the Library and IT facilities. Students should ensure that they return all library books and any other University property to the relevant unit and copy any files or emails on their student IT account that they wish to keep within 30 days from the date they receive confirmation that their withdrawal has been processed.
Accommodation
Students who live in University student housing will normally be expected to move out of their accommodation if they withdraw. Students to who are considering withdrawal should be advised to refer to their Accommodation Contract or contact Acommodation Services for further information.
International students
International students who have a General Student or Tier 4 visa cannot remain in the UK if they withdraw from the University. Once they have been withdrawn they must make arrangements to leave the UK as soon as possible, regardless of the expiry date on their visa. All international students who are considering withdrawal should be advised to contact the International Student Support Team based on Level 2 of the Fraser Building to ensure that they are fully aware of the implications of withdrawal on their presence in the UK.
US Federal Loans
Students who are in receipt of US federal aid must contact Carol Barnett to discuss the impact of withdrawal.