Exceptional cases

This page sets out how you can apply exceptional support to pay your tuition fees. In exceptional circumstances you may be entitled to:

• pay in more instalments due to disruption to available funds
• a refund for not taking up a study place due to a personal issue
• a fee waiver if your financial circumstances change over the year.

Read the requirements below and contact the Fee Management team for information on how to apply.

Exceptional instalments

Self-paying students are expected to pay their tuition fees as follows:

• Undergraduates pay in full at or by the start of the academic year.
• Postgraduates might be allowed an instalment plan split by 50% due at enrolment, 30% due at the start of term 2 and 20% due at the start of term 3.

However, in exceptional circumstances you may be entitled to an instalment plan.

In this application you will be asked to provide a reason for your request and supplement it with evidence that demonstrates:

1. You have sufficient funds to be able to pay your fees. This should include evidence of savings or future payments such as wages or payments from other people. Alternatively, evidence that you are asked to self-fund by Student Loan Company (SLC) / Student Finance England (SFE) due to previous study.
2. There is a disruption to the access to those funds. This should include relevant evidence such as bank statements.

Exceptional refunds

Your tuition fee liability is defined in the Student Fees Policy and total amounts can be accessed via your University Student Portal. If you need more information about your student fee calculations contact the University’s Fees team.

Nevertheless, you may be eligible to receive a refund, if you have other exceptional reasons for not taking up your study place including serious illness, bereavement, medical emergency or long-term medical care of a close family member.

You'll be asked to provide a reason for your request and supplement it with evidence that demonstrates exceptional circumstances, such as medical evidence.

Fee waivers

The exceptional fee waiver process can help you when there are both:

• circumstances affecting your ability to pay part or all your tuition fees
• no available standard bursary schemes.

This process is for current students who are enrolled on a pre-degree, degree or postgraduate course. Fee waivers do not cover Short Courses or pre-sessional Language Centre courses

You will be asked to provide a reason for your request and supplement it with evidence that demonstrates an in-year disruption in funds.

The Fee Policy will be followed for re-sits, repeated study, and time out from studies. Therefore, students with exceptional circumstances will not be granted a fee waiver.

Make an application

First, contact the Fee Management team. You'll then need to complete an online application form.

• All evidence submitted must be translated into English.
• Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Once submitted, the panel will review your application and return a decision within 10 working days. If you're unsuccessful, you have the right to appeal, which is reviewed by an independent person.

Contact the Student Advice Service if you require additional assistance with the application or appeal.