Student Information

Your Student Number

You will be allocated a unique six digit University student number which you will keep throughout your academic career at Swansea. This number is used during University enrolment, module selection, transfers of modules, transfer of programmes, accessing academic records, your student identity card, your official email account, etc. It is recommended that you memorise your personal number and it would be useful if you quote the number on any correspondence that might arise during your studies.

In addition, if you have a student loan you will be allocated a unique Student Support Number (SSN) by the Student Loans Company. This number will be used by the Student Loans Company (SLC) Student Finance customer support sites and must be quoted in any correspondence.

E-mail Communication

Formal electronic correspondence from the University will be sent to your University e-mail address and occasionally to your personal e-mail address. It is therefore important that you check your University e-mail account daily and update your personal e-mail on the intranet, particularly before, during and after examination periods.

You should pay particular attention to your academic record when enrolling with the University and check your academic details thoroughly. Final-year Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students, in particular, must check the details of their degree titles and degree nomenclature (e.g. BA, MA) because this information will be used in the production of award certificates, award ceremony booklets, transcript and the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).

Final-year undergraduate students must therefore ensure that the academic details are accurate since the University will not normally allow any transfers of programmes in the final-year of study and certainly not beyond the end of the first two weeks of the Michaelmas Term.

This requirement does not apply to ‘Associate’ and ‘Exchange/Visiting’ students.

The University’s Policy on Personal Tutoring requires that all undergraduate and postgraduate taught students are allocated a Personal Tutor with whom they will come into contact with as members of teaching staff. Your Personal Tutor will provide you with academic guidance, support for personal development and help in identifying advice and guidance on welfare issues. It is, therefore, very important that you keep in touch with your Personal Tutor. You can find out who your Tutor is by accessing the University Intranet. If you have not been allocated a Personal Tutors please contact your Faculty/School Information Office.

In summary, the University expects a Personal Tutor to:

• Provide academic guidance and personal development support and help in identifying advice and guidance on welfare issues including homesickness, bereavement, bullying, and more serious matters such as assault;
• Meet their tutees at the beginning of the academic year and about halfway through;
• Personal Tutors should recognise their own limitations and, in cases of doubt, refer students to specialist sources of advice and support;
• The student-tutor relationship shall remain confidential subject to University Guidelines and appropriate Acts of Parliament and the requirement of professional and statutory bodies;
• Personal Tutors must not disclose information obtained from students to third parties without the prior consent of the student. Exceptions to this involve situations where it is considered that the student is in serious danger of harming others, committing self-harm or where disclosure is required by law. 

Students should:

• Provide Personal Tutors and/or Faculty/School staff who support student welfare with information about absences, performance and medical and other problems which might have the potential to influence academic progress, both at the start of their studies and during other times at University. Tutees are strongly urged to do this to ensure that they receive appropriate support during their time spent at Swansea, and that such circumstances are drawn to the attention of Personal Tutors and, where appropriate, the Faculty/School's Special Circumstances Committee;
• Attend all group and individual meetings with their Personal Tutor and provide satisfactory explanations, in advance, in any instance of unavoidable absence;
• Maintain their own personal development planner and contribute to planning activities arranged within the Personal Tutor meeting;
• Inform their Personal Tutor if charged or cautioned with any criminal offence during their period of enrolment as a student.

During the course of your studies you may wish to pursue issues further with members of staff outside the Faculty/School. In such cases you would be expected to contact staff in the Education Services, Student Services or other administrative departments who might be able to assist you.

Students pursuing a Postgraduate Taught Masters programme will be assigned a Supervisor. Your Supervisor will offer you advice on your directed independent learning. You should have a minimum of three meetings with your Supervisor in the development of your work. The University supplies a standard progress form for this purpose.

The University reserves the right to take appropriate action in relation to students who have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the University as a result of debts relating to Accommodation fees or debts relating to Tuition fees.

In summary, you are expected to pay or to make arrangements for the payment of fees at the beginning of the session. Any additional costs incurred during the course of an academic year, e.g. accommodation charges, should be paid by the agreed dates.

University Tuition Fees

If you fall behind with the payment of University tuition fees and charges the University shall attempt to recover any debt outstanding as soon as possible. This process will involve sending you an initial notification letter.

Unless the debt is cleared following the second notification letter, you may be required to suspend studies. Before suspension is imposed you will be given an opportunity to have any extenuating circumstances considered during the 'appeal against suspension process'. Normally, you will not be allowed to return to study until the next session, even if the debt is subsequently cleared.

If you remain in debt from a previous session you will not be allowed to enrol at the beginning of a new academic year. If you are in the final year of study you must clear your debts to the University by the first day of the examination period at the very latest. Failure to do so will result in the Director of Education Services instructing University Examination Boards not to consider your results. The consequence of such action will be that you will not be considered for an award and will not be invited to the award ceremony for that Session.

University Accommodation Fees

If your debt relates to University accommodation fees you will be referred to Residential Services Debt Management Policy, which is distinct from other University debt recovery procedures. If you are having difficulty paying residence fees by the due date you are advised to contact the Finance Service Co-ordinator in Residential Services as soon as possible (by telephone on +44 (0)1792 295101, or via email to accommodation).

Financial advice is available from Money@CampusLife for students encountering financial difficulty, limited funds may also be available.

Should you decide to change your proposed module choices, a Module Selection Authorisation Slip must be completed, authorised and processed before the deadlines for transferring modules. Instructions will be available from Faculties/Schools at the beginning of the session.

The University’s procedures and regulations are summarised as follows:

Download a Module Selection Authorisation Slip:

Module slip for Undergraduates

Module slip for Postgraduates

You will need to seek approval from the Faculty(ies)/School(s) teaching the module.

You will need to seek approval from the Faculties/Schools Education Lead if a module taught solely during a semester is dropped or added two weeks after it began or if a module taught over two semesters is dropped or added four weeks after it began.

You must take the completed slip either to your Home Faculty/School or for a substitute module* forward the form to the Student Records section of Education Services.

*A substitute module occurs when a student fails a Semester 1 module and with the agreement of the Faculty/School pursues a Semester 2 module in order to complete the required number of credits in the same academic year and the mark must be capped for the purposes of classification. A substitute module must be authorised by the School Education Lead.

General Information for Transfer of Programme

If you are an undergraduate student you may be permitted to transfer your programme of study if, after consultation with the tutor(s) or representative(s) from your Home Faculty/School (normally the Executive Dean), it is felt that the change is in your best interest. It is not normally permitted for postgraduate taught students to transfer programmes, although in exceptional circumstances this may be allowed. If the transfer of programme also entails a transfer of modules, the transfer deadlines as given in specific programme regulations also apply. If the transfer involves pursuing a programme offered by another Faculty/School it is likely that the Chair of the Progression and Awards Board will need to authorise such changes.

The online programme transfer form must be completed by you, authorised by the appropriate member(s) of the academic staff and submitted electronically to the Student Records section of Education Services. This procedure applies to all programme transfers including transfers internal to a Faculty/School.

The University’s procedures and regulations are summarised as follows:

• Seek approval from the admitting Faculty/School and submit electronic transfer request form;
• Seek approval from the releasing Faculty(ies)/School(s) (this is provided electronically);
• Approval of Chair of the Progression and Awards Board is provided electronically;
• Form is submitted electronically to Education Services;
• Transfer is actioned;
• Student and University inform Student Loan Company (SLC)/Local Authority/sponsor.

Specific Programme Transfer Information for Undergraduate Students

Your attention is drawn to the regulations governing transfers of programmes, since failure to meet the specified deadlines might have a significant impact on your Student Finance from the SLC to support you for the duration of the programme.

The regulations state that you must secure the consent of the academic authorities of the University to a programme transfer on or before the FIRST DAY of the second year of the original programme on which you would ordinarily be required to attend.

This means that programme transfers should normally be received before the end of the first year of study or alternatively during the enrolment week of the second year. The implications of the late approval of programme transfers could be serious especially if an extension to the period of study would be necessary as a result of the transfer. If the transfer has been approved beyond the deadline, the Student Finance UK rules state that “he or she may not receive full support for the second course” and would have to meet the additional costs themselves.

Education Services (Student Finance) will notify the SLC of any programme transfers but you are also required to notify the SLC (Student Finance UK) of any transfers. The University may approve late application, particularly if there are no financial implications. These must, however, be approved by the Chair of the Progression and Awards Board.

Specific Programme Transfer Information for Taught Postgraduate Students

Please note that transfers which need approval between 2-4 weeks after the commencement of the programme will need to be approved by the Chair of the Progression and Awards Board. Any transfers thereafter will have to be approved by the Student Cases Board. If you are a sponsored student you are required to notify your sponsor of any transfers.

Specific Programme Transfer Information for Overseas Students

If you are an international non-EU student who wishes to transfer programme you must inform Education Services before proceeding with the transfer application, since it may affect your visa to study.

In the case of International students sponsored by the University, a transfer of programme is conditional upon holding a valid Student Route (previously Tier 4) visa. At the point of transfer, an assessment will be made as to whether the transfer meets current Student Route (previously Tier 4) legislation before it is approved. The assessment will include reference to the level of the new programme, the student’s current period of leave, the current time limits governing Tier 4 study, whether the new programme meets a student’s “genuine career aspirations” and any other requirements specified by the UK Visa and Immigration Service (UKVI). Where the new programme cannot be completed within the period of existing Student Route (previously Tier 4) leave, the student will be required to leave the UK to make an application for further leave to complete the programme. For programmes requiring ATAS Clearance, International students must obtain clearance and provide a copy of the ATAS certificate to the University, before a transfer can be approved.

Transfers Leading to Higher Award

If you are pursuing a Postgraduate Taught programme leading to a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma you may be permitted, with the approval of the Executive Dean, to transfer to a higher award in the same subject area.

Suspension of Studies/Withdrawing from the University

There are specific regulations for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students wishing to suspend their studies or withdraw from the University.

Students who are applying for a replacement certificate should note that Swansea University began issuing its own certificates in 2010. The majority of students who graduated before this date would have had their certificates issued by the University of Wales, and they should contact that institution to obtain a replacement. The University of Wales has an online shop and replacement certificates can be ordered here:

https://shop.wales.ac.uk/

Applications for replacement certificates will be granted in cases where the original certificate has been irretrievably lost. Mislaying a certificate temporarily is not considered sufficient grounds for replacement. The University reserves the right to decline requests for replacement certificates, particularly in the case where one replacement has already been issued. Those applying for replacements are reminded that this application constitutes a declaration that the original certificate has been lost or destroyed.

There is a charge of £30 for a replacement certificate. Please contact MyUniHub on +44 (0)1792 606000 to arrange payment. 

In the case that your certificate has become damaged the certificate should be returned to Swansea University and a new one will be issued free of charge provided that the damaged certificate is returned. The replacement certificate will clearly indicate that the document is a duplicate copy.