Last date of engagement

Where a student interrupts, repeats, transfers their course, or decides to withdraw from the University, and stops engaging before their scheduled learning ends their last date of engagement will be required.

What does this mean and why is it important?

Accurately recording the last date of engagement is essential as it is used by the University to:

• calculate tuition fee liability for the academic session
• postpone/cancel any Department for Education ITT training bursaries the student may be in receipt of
• report to any external agencies such as: UK Visas and Immigration, Student Loans Company, Scottish Awards Agency for Scotland, NHS Business Services Authority, Department for Education, Island Government and HESA

The last date of engagement also determines student entitlement to financial support:

• Where students are in receipt of the NHS Learning Support Fund, the University will notify the NHS Business Services Authority and an assessment will be made on the account
• The University will also inform the Student Loans Company who will calculate the student’s maintenance loan entitlement on a pro rata basis, according to the last date of engagement provided. This means that if the last date of engagement is halfway through a term, students will be in overpayment by 50% of their maintenance instalment for the term. Students who interrupt usually have their overpayment amount deducted from their student finance payments when they return to study, but for students who withdraw the Student Loans Company will seek immediate repayment of any overpayment. For postgraduate taught and research students, the next scheduled instalment of postgraduate masters or doctoral loan will be postponed or cancelled.

Students are advised to contact the Fees and Bursaries Team to find out the financial implications of making a change to their study plans.

Informing your department

Departments are responsible for confirming the student’s last date of engagement. We recommend students discuss and agree their last date of engagement with their department before submitting any change requests. This will enable students to seek accurate information in relation to the financial implications.

The last date of engagement is defined as the date that the University can confirm the student last engaged with their academic studies. This includes:

• classroom based study, lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical or studio-based sessions, workshops, group work, presentations, or occasional sessions where visiting speakers are invited to present supervision/mentoring
• submission of coursework and/or attendance at an examination
• academic engagement with the virtual learning environment, including accessing Lecture Capture
• meeting or communicating with a member of staff on a course related matter
• for research students, normally any course related contact with the Director of Studies
• attendance at clinical, sandwich, professional practice, or work placements
• studying overseas as part of an Erasmus exchange or study abroad programme
• representing the Students’ Union at a course board or similar meeting

To comply with Home Office UKVI Sponsor Licence requirements, the last date of attendance/engagement for international students is normally recorded as the date the student submits their withdrawal form.

For students who interrupt their studies and subsequently withdraws, the date they interrupted will be recorded as the last date of engagement.