Changes to policy and curriculum

Changing your studies: Deferral and Withdrawal Policy

Warning: the content within this page reflects the information available to students in the 2016/17 academic year. As such, this information may no longer be factually accurate.

In September 2016 an amended version of the Deferral and Withdrawal Policy was published. The amended version of this policy is differentiated from the previous version by the addition of ‘2016/17’ in the title and the previous version has been re-designated as Deferral and Withdrawal Policy 2012/13 to 2015/16.

The changes detailed below will affect all students who start a module in or after August 2016 and decide part way through that they wish to take a break in their studies or to change their study plans. The Policy is designed to be used in conjunction with the 2016/17 Fee Rules and 2016/17 Assessment Banking Rules.

The changes made

1. The term ‘deferral’ has been redefined to distinguish it from ‘withdrawal’ (from studying a module).
2. The meaning of the term ‘study break’ has been clarified. A study break is a standard academic year in which a student does not commence study on any new module(s).
3. Details of the differences between ‘approved’ and unapproved’ study breaks have been clarified. Please see sections 7.2 and 7.3 of the Deferral and Withdrawal Policy 2016/17.
4. The requirements for notification of withdrawal from studies have been clarified.
5. A number of minor format changes have been implemented to reduce repetition and the length of the document.
6. Contact details have been added.

Please talk to your Student Support Team if you need any further information. You can find out how to contact them on Contact the OU.