Suspension of studies

Policy

A Suspension of Studies is when a student wishes the interrupt their studies due to personal reasons. This is usually because of a ‘long term’ disruption, defined as over 20 working days by the University. It is not a student right and you will need approval from your department.

Please note, a  suspension of studies is not a student right; it would need to be approved by your Head of Department.

What does suspension consist of?

• For a full time student this means that they are suspended from all units on the programme for (usually) one academic year.
• For a part time student it may not be all units
• For a postgrad student it will be suspension for all incomplete units and studies will resume from where they were left

A suspension of studies cannot last longer than one year

Procedure

Students should talk to the University Student Finance Centre and Student Finance England because any changes can have implication regarding fees.

Students may also need to discuss accommodation with the relevant people (i.e. Halls of Residence staff or Landlords). If you are in Halls you will usually have to leave whilst you have suspended. You will still be registered as a student so should not need to pay council tax.

To contact Student Halls, please see their website here, alternatively you can contact them:

• Telephone: 02392 84 3214
• Email: student.housing@port.ac.uk

If you are in Halls of Residence you can also contact the Residential Life Team, please see their webpage here. 

If following discussions you still wish to suspend your studies you will need to take the following action:

• Submit a request in writing, including your reasons to support this request
• The request must be addressed to the Head of Department responsible for your programme of study 
• The request must state when you would like your suspension to end  
• A period of suspension cannot last longer than one year without a further request being necessary, any further suspension requests will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances 

The Advice Service can help by aiding in the understanding of what suspension of studies may do, contacting relevant departments and people i.e. personal tutor, and offer any additional support that a student may feel they require.