Withdrawing from course
If you withdraw, suspend, defer, step off or have a period of absence for 15 calendar days or more, you'll be classed as withdrawn from your course, unless you’re on maternity leave.
This is regardless of whether you intend to return to your study.
Contact us if you've not already informed us of your absence.
Your university must contact us and provide an SWB02 form, to confirm your first and last day of attendance. We’ll then work out if you've been paid the correct amount of bursary.
The dates and information must be provided by your university or college. If you disagree with what they've provided, you must discuss this with them.
If the dates or information given are incorrect, your university or college must send us the correct information.
Your new entitlement will be based on the number of days spent on your course before your withdrawal. We’ll ask you to repay any money you were not entitled to.
If you were entitled to any Childcare Allowance (CCA), we’ll calculate your entitlement using the costs you incurred up to your last date of attendance.
Applied but no longer starting your course
If you're no longer starting your course and have already applied to us for funding, you must contact us.
You must also advise your university or college as soon as possible in case they were including you in their allocation of capped bursary places.
Tuition fees for postgraduate students only
You'll be responsible for paying any tuition fees if your last date of attendance was either before:
- 1 December for academic years starting in September
- 1 March for academic years starting in January
If your last date of attendance was later than this, we’ll pay a contribution towards your tuition fees for the academic year.
Withdrawing due to illness or injury
If you’ve withdrawn from your course due to illness or injury, this may be taken into account when calculating your revised entitlement.
You must upload original medical certificates or sick notes to your MyFunding account when we ask you to. This must cover the day after your last date of attendance at university.
Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to add up to a maximum of 60 days to your new entitlement when calculating if you’ve been overpaid.
Maternity leave
If you've been nominated for an allocated or capped bursary place you may continue to receive bursary payments. This will be for up to a maximum of 12 months from the start date of the agreed maternity leave period, or from the day after the birth date of your child, whichever comes sooner.
You must provide your university or college with medical evidence of your pregnancy before starting maternity leave, such as a MATB1 form. The start date of your maternity leave must be agreed with them in advance.
Your university or college will send an SWB02 withdrawal form to us.
When you resume your course after a period of 12 months maternity leave, you'll keep your allocated or capped bursary place. Your university must provide an SWB03 to confirm your return.
Your university or college cannot reallocate or transfer your allocation to another student.
You will not be eligible for funding during maternity leave if either:
- you were not nominated for an allocated or capped bursary place and only entitled to the Placement Travel Allowance (PTA)
- you’re an EU Fees only postgraduate student