also known as intermission, intercalculation or suspension of studies
These terms refer to a temporary and official period of time away from study, which you must apply for in writing to your course leader. Registry and Student Finance England would need to be made aware of the break in your study and your student finance would be put on hold until your return.
Sometimes a situation can be managed on an informal, short-term basis. A short break, such as a weekend away or an afternoon spent doing an activity you enjoy may be just what is needed.
If you do find yourself in a situation where you need a little time off, we recommend keeping in touch with course staff. They can offer you support and advice. If you are behind with your work, they may be able to help you plan how to catch up or other appropriate courses of action, such as how to apply for an extension to deadline.
There is further information on sources of support at Brighton if you are experiencing any of the following;
To intermit you must apply in writing to your course leader and you will need to include the reasons why. You might like to have an informal conversation with them before you do so, as they will be able to advise you on the process, answer your questions and discuss any issues.
Remember that you can speak to any member of staff, including a student advisor at any point during the process for support or guidance.
Intermission is not an automatic student right and applying in writing to your course leader is a formal part of the process. A decision about your application will be made on an individual basis.
Intermission is usually granted to begin at an appropriate stage in the academic calendar, for example at the end of a module, term or semester. The date your intermission will begin can vary and depends upon your individual needs, your course and stage of study. Your course leader may set particular conditions for you to meet before you can rejoin your course.
When it has been agreed that you can intermit, the school office also need to be informed by you or your course leader. The school office will work with registry to ensure that your student record and transcripts are prepared.
Once you are intermitting you cannot sit exams, assessments or hand in work to be marked. If you have submitted all parts of a module for assessment before the date you intermit, these will be marked at the next Examination Board.
The full guidelines regarding ‘intermission' are in your student handbook or in the General Examination & Assessment Regulations (GEAR) Section C.
If you are an international student and intermit - the University will have to report this to the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
The UKBA will then cancel (curtail) your visa, and you will not be able to remain in the UK while you intermit. You will need to apply for a new Tier 4 visa to return to re-start your studies.
If you are an international student and you are thinking about intermitting you are advised to contact the International Student Adviser in the Student Advice Service as soon as possible.
There are various reasons why you might intermitt from your course. They might include;
If you are considering taking time out because financial issues are making it difficult to complete your studies, please contact a student advisor. The student advice service can offer confidential support and information and make sure that you are recieving all the financial support available to you. An advisor can also highlight any further sources of funding that you may be entitled to, such as bursaries and financial support and help you apply for them.
If your application to intermit is granted, you will need to inform Student Finance England, or any other funding provider you receive payments from, as soon as possible.
We recommend that you speak to a student advisor to make sure that you have all the support and advice you need as finance issues can be complex and vary depending on individual circumstances. Usually while you are intermitting from your course, the following can apply
- You will not be eligible to receive further student finance payments
- You will not be required to start repaying your student loan
- You will not be asked to repay any money you were eligible for during the period you attended.
- You will not be liable to pay council tax. Please contact Registry if you require an exemption certificate to send to your Council's Tax department.
In addition:
- The various University of Brighton bursaries have different eligibility criteria, and you may be eligible for one or more instalments providing you are in attendance on a certain date. Therefore, please contact bursaries@brighton.ac.uk to check the eligibility criteria for your specific bursary.
- NHS Student Bursary regulations are complicated so you are advised to check whether your funding will be affected with your course office, or the NHS Student Bursaries Team. The NHS Student bursaries Team can be contacted by telephone on 0300 330 1345 or 0191 279 0570
- If you receive a Training Bursary from the Teaching Agency please contact your course office or the Teaching Development Agency for further information on whether your funding will be affected.
- Students receiving Disabled Students Allowances (DSA) will have this funding withdrawn.
- Contact Student Advice Service to discuss any entitlement to the Access to Learning Fund (ALF).
- If you are a postgraduate students in receipt of funding from one of the research councils or another source, you are advised to inform your funding provider of the intermission.
- You will not generally be entitled to welfare benefits (unless you already have entitlement), as the government considers you to be a full-time student until you complete your course - if you are intermitting on health grounds, see below.
If you intermit on health grounds and are funded by Student Finance England (SFE) you are eligible for an automatic 60 days additional funding. However, in order to receive this you must request it and will need to provide medical evidence to SFE.
If you remain unwell and/or unable to work and require funding beyond the 60 day period you can apply to SFE for discretionary funding. Students should contact the Student Advice Service for advice.
You are advised to check the university has informed SFE you are intermitting on health grounds.
Tuition fee liability
For all students at Brighton
- If you intermitt from your course during term one you will be charged 25% of the annual tuition fee.
- If you intermitt from your course during term two you will be charged 50% of the annual tuition fee.
- If you intermitt from your course during term three you will be charged 100% of the annual tuition fee.
If you recieve a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance England they will pay the university directly. You will be required to repay the money to the Student Loan Company according to the terms and conditions that applied to you when you took out your loan.
Access to university facilities varies across departments.
- You can continue to use support from Student Advice Service, Careers and Nurseries (if you have dependants). Under exceptional circumstances you will be able to access Counselling.
- If you are enrolled you have full Students' Union access (which includes representation, sport, society and voting rites in the UBSU election).
- If you are enrolled you should retain access to the university libraries or studentcentral - if you are not enrolled you can use the library by applying for visitor access for which you will be required to pay a fee. If you need access to computing services - including student central then there is a discretionary fee. This may also be the case if you need to communicate with your supervisor or course leader. Contact Registry for information on this
It is possible that during the time you are away from your studies, changes could be made to your course. Most of the time, these changes affect a small number of students and can be beneficial, such as when a new module of study becomes available.
It is your responsibility to keep up to date with information about your course and your course leader should remind you of this. The best way to stay up to date is to keep in touch with your course leader and ask them if you have concerns about any of the following points.
Changes to modules or assessments
The modules offered or the requirements for assessment or submission can evolve over time. This can sound worrying, but small changes to modules do happen quite frequently and the impact of this is usually small. If there are specific modules you are interesting in studying when you return, discuss this with your course leader as they are best placed to advise you on the contents of your course. You will not be able to take or retake a module that is not currrent when you return from intermission.
Changes to course titles or awards
Occasionally a course might change name or award. If this happens, you will usually be awarded your assessment inline with the scheme in place at the time that you are finally assessed. However, exceptions can sometimes be made.
Registration Periods
All courses have a period of maximum registration. This is the maximum time in which a course can be completed, which is longer than the standard length of a course. A full time 3 year course might have a registration period of 6 years. You should check the details for your own course with your course leader.
Usually intermission would not be permitted where this would prevent you from gaining the final qualification in within the registration period, however it may be granted in exceptional circumstances.
Your School will contact you confirming your end of year results and give you details of your re-enrolement and how to re-access your computer account.
You will need to activate your computer account, which in turn will give you access to student central, from there you will be able to re-enrol.
You will need to inform Student Finance England when you return to your course. Your student finance payments should continue as usual from this point.