You must keep the University informed as soon as possible of any change of local or home address, as we may have to reach you urgently (for example, with examination notices). Student Info gives you the facility to update your addresses on-line . Please note that for reasons of personal privacy, student addresses or telephone numbers will not be given out to anyone other than members of staff.
Council Tax Exemption can now be applied for directly via the City Council Web Site . Any request will be cross-referenced against a list of registered full-time students provided to the Council by the University. If you need an official letter confirming your student status e.g. for immigration purposes, please enquire at the Faculty Office (Room 1.43, Queen’s Building). Please allow at least two days for completion of the letter. You will be required to show your student ID card when collecting the letter. Please note that outstanding debts with the University may prevent the Faculty Office from issuing such letters.
Students are reminded to ask the permission of an individual before using them as a referee and should give them their written permission to provide the reference when requested to do so.
If you wish to transfer to another programme within the University you should first see your personal tutor, who will help you determine whether this is the best course of action for you. You will need to obtain the agreement of any agency that is funding you and find out, from your LA if applicable, whether there will be any financial implications. If you decide to transfer, you will need to sign a Transfer Form (Word, 35KMb), also available from your Department. This must also be signed by your existing department and the new department (if applicable).
All visa-holding students that are considering transferring programme should seek the advice of the International Advice and Support Team before making a final decision in case this change affects their visa.
Students wishing to transfer to a degree programme in a different department must do so before the end of the Autumn Term. Students wishing to transfer to a different degree programme within the same department should complete a transfer form as soon as possible, and no later than Week 14. In some cases, this may be a special ‘internal transfer only’ programme, and may not be recognized by the Engineering Council – students are advised to check before proceeding.
Students in their Second Year are reminded that if they are thinking of transferring from a four-year to a three-year programme they should discuss this with the Programme Director during their Second Year and ensure that a transfer form is completed and signed prior to the start of their Third Year. Only in exceptional circumstances will such transfers be allowed once the Third Year has started.
Withdrawals should be discussed with your tutor and Head of Department and a Withdrawal Form (Word, 40Kb), also available from your Department, completed as soon as possible. If you are thinking of going on to study at a different institution, you should contact your LA to discuss the possible financial implications.
There is no automatic right for a student to suspend their studies for a period of time. Normally a suspension of study will only be granted by the Faculty Board when a student has been prevented from taking full advantage of the year by circumstances outside their control eg medical circumstances, financial hardship etc. A suspension of study will normally be granted for a period of one year in the first instance and re-entry should occur at the start of the academic year. The maximum consecutive period of time allowed for a suspension of study is normally two years.
Leave of absence refers to absence for a full academic year eg to undertake a year working in industry. This must also be approved by the Faculty Board.
Suspensions of study or leave of absence should be discussed with your tutor and Head of Department/Programme Director and a Suspension of Studies Form (Word, 39Kb), also available from your department, completed.
All matters relating to a student's career at the University are strictly confidential and may not be relayed to other parties, including parents, without the express permission of the individual student (i.e. in writing) . The 1998 Data Protection Act reinforces this principle, and although legal exceptions do exist, these are strictly defined and do not extend to disclosure 'in the best interest of the student'.
Students who feel that mitigating factors have affected their performance in examinations or assessed coursework and would like these to be taken into consideration, should provide written evidence of the mitigating circumstances to their department as soon as possible, but in any case before the meetings of the Special Circumstances Committee (i.e. for academic year 2009/2010, before 10th June or before 10th September for resits). In the case of illness on the part of the student, a medical certificate must be provided. In the case of illness on the part of a student’s relative or other personal problems, it is expected that this evidence would be from an appropriate third party.
Students should consider carefully the implications of attending an examination if they feel that their illness will significantly affect their performance. Please note that students must attend an appointment with a doctor whilst they are ill as retrospective diagnoses are not able to be made. The Faculty advises students who feel incapable of taking an examination due to illness to miss the examination and make an immediate appointment with a doctor. In these cases, students must complete the web-based version of the Self-Certification Form so that departments will have a complete electronic record. However, they must also complete the hard copy version of the Self-Certification Form as well as the Medical Certificate Form, and present both forms to their doctor at their appointment. Once this has been done, please follow the instructions from your department on the submission of evidence of mitigating circumstances, so that your department is aware of the situation and can offer advice and help.
Students who have been absent for up to and including 5 term-time days (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) should complete only the web-based version of the Self-Certification Form as soon as possible after the period of absence. A Head of Department reserves the right to require the student to provide a doctor's medical certificate or other third party report, for which the doctor, etc. may charge a fee. Students should be informed by the relevant Department if absences from any activities other than exams automatically require medical notes. If you miss an assessed activity (such as a test, assessed lab etc), it is not sufficient to only fill out a self-certification form: it is your responsibility to contact the member of staff involved to tell him or her of the reason for your absence and to agree what should happen.
Students who have been absent for more than 5 term-time days (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) should attend an appointment with a doctor whilst they are ill in order to obtain a medical certificate. They must complete the web-based version of the Self-Certification Form, the hard copy version of the Self-Certification Form and the Medical Certificate Form, and present both hard copy forms to their doctor at their appointment.
Requests for compassionate leave of absence, e.g. bereavement in the student's immediate family, should be made to the Head of Department or Programme Director. It is also strongly recommended that you should speak to your Personal Tutor.
Written evidence of mitigating circumstances will be copied in confidence to the Departmental Administrator and the Faculty Head of Academic Administration.
A student supplying evidence of mitigating circumstances should normally expect their case to be considered in detail at the appropriate meeting of the Special Circumstances Committee. The Faculty has many years of experience in dealing with such matters sensitively and information is only disclosed as is necessary to ensure that a student’s case is presented fairly. A record of all references to mitigating circumstances will be made at these meetings, but these records will not be circulated with the formal records of the meetings. Students may ask for the details of their mitigating circumstances to be withheld at the Special Circumstances Committee, but should be aware that in doing so their case might not carry the weight it deserves, which might result in less allowance being made on their result or progress.
A brief reference to evidence of mitigating circumstances that has been considered in previous years may be circulated to the Departmental Examination Officer prior to the Special Circumstances Committee meetings.
In cases where mitigating circumstances have affected a student's attendance on a more long-term basis, the period of absence may be passed on to third parties eg LAs, Student Loans Company etc, however detailed information will only be passed on with the student's permission.
If you have a chronic condition or disability that affects your ability to study, such as dyslexia, your department should be informed as soon as possible. Written evidence of the condition will normally be required and in the case of dyslexia this means that you will be expected to provide a copy of an approved Certificate of Dyslexia. If extra time is required in examinations, you must complete an "Alternative Arrangements" form, available from the Examinations Office, before Christmas.
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We assign you as a new undergraduate to a personal tutor, who will act as a human face of the University as well as meeting you regularly and helping you if things go wrong. It is important that you keep your personal tutor informed of any personal or medical problems affecting your ability to study properly.
Personal tutors are used to dealing discreetly with confidential matters and will, if necessary, direct you to more specialist help (such as the Student Counselling Service which exists to offer professional and confidential help to students who have any kind of problem or anxiety, whether related to their studies or to other aspects of their lives, or who simply need to talk to someone).
There is also a useful website called Student Help which aims to provide links and answers to frequently asked questions on all aspects of University life - such as study, personal or practical problems.
Most departments also have a system of Year Tutors, who deal mainly with problems affecting the class as a whole - e.g. clashing of coursework deadlines. If you are not ‘getting on’ with your Personal Tutor, let the Year Tutor or your Head of Department know.
The Faculty of Engineering issues these guidelines, not as any form of contract or undertaking but purely as an indication of some examples of good practice and of the spirit in which we operate our tutoring system. We always do our best for our students, but common sense must be our guide in deciding how we achieve that. Students must also be aware that constraints beyond our control, such as those imposed by our funding bodies, may often prevent us from doing everything we should ideally wish to do.
