Intermission is the name we give to a formal break from your studies, either that you apply for (voluntary intermission), or that we need you to take (compulsory intermission). Voluntary intermission may be taken for a number of reasons, including difficult personal circumstances or health reasons which mean continuing with a course of study would be a significant challenge. Compulsory intermission is usually applied by the University if you are unable to continue with your studies for academic or health reasons. For further details please see Section G of the 2024-25 Student Regulations and Procedures.

Voluntary Intermission is agreed by an application process to the University, details of which are below. Please note that you can’t begin a period of intermission until it has been confirmed by the University.

Applications to intermit are subject to the following deadlines:

• Unless there are very good reasons, we wouldn’t normally consider an application to intermit 10 working days or less before a student is due to hand in work for their unit.
• The ‘cut-off’ points for the University to receive intermission applications in the 2024-25 academic year are as follows:
• For undergraduate and MArch students, the end of the first working day after the student Easter vacation (Monday 28 April 2025).
• For all other postgraduate taught students, the end of the first week of Teaching Block 3 (w/c Monday 2 June 2025).

Tuition Fees

Your tuition fee liability will be dependent upon the following factors: the date on which we receive your intermission application, whether or not you are in receipt of a tuition fee loan, whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student and the date that you joined the University. This is described in more detail in the relevant Student Tuition Fees Payment Policy (see links above).

If you intermit part way through a term, you will be liable for tuition fees for the whole of that term. We would only accept a backdated application to intermit in exceptional circumstances – so if you’re applying for intermission, it’s in your interests to submit the application to us as soon as you can.

It is very important that you discuss the potential financial implications of intermission with a member of staff in the Academic Support Office before submitting your application for intermission, as you may find that you have a higher fee liability than you were anticipating.

Finance will write to you and confirm your tuition fees for both the academic year you intermit and the academic year you are due to resume your studies once your intermission application has been confirmed.

Student Loans and Grants for Living Costs

You are only entitled to receive a loan or grant while you are in attendance at the University. If your intermission is confirmed, we tell Student Finance England or your local authority as appropriate the start and end date of your intermission and they make payments accordingly. If you intermit part-way through a term, you may be required to repay a portion of the money you have received from Student Finance England for that term.

If you are considering voluntary intermission make sure you speak to Student Finance England or your local authority, to establish how much money, if any, you would have to repay and what funding you would be entitled to when you return to study.

Bursaries

If you are eligible for a bursary you will only receive one bursary per year of study. This means that if you are repeating part or all of an academic year and you have already received a bursary payment you will not receive a second bursary payment when you return for your repeated period of study. If you have not yet received a payment for the relevant year of study you will receive a bursary as normal following your return from intermission. For any further information on bursaries please email bursaries@norwichuni.ac.uk.

Students in debt to the University

If you are in debt to the University for any reason when your intermission is confirmed, Finance will contact you about repayment of the money owed at the same time as advising you of your fee liability.

Students receiving benefits

If you are receiving any benefits while you are a student, for example because you have a disability, make sure you speak to Student Support about how taking intermission might affect you.

Please note that you are unlikely to be eligible for certain benefits while on a period of intermission.

Overseas students

If you need a Student Visa to study at the University, you will not be able to remain in the UK during a period of intermission and you will need to apply for a new visa before you return from intermission. See Section G of the 2024-25 Student Regulations and Procedures or speak to a member of staff in the Academic Registry for more information. You can also refer to the UKCISA website (link at the bottom of this page).

University accommodation

If you are living in University accommodation, you would be expected to move out during your period of intermission. Your bill for accommodation would then be calculated according to the terms of your Licence Agreement. If you live in University accommodation, it is important that you contact the Accommodation Officer (accommodation@norwichuni.ac.uk) to inform them that you are taking intermission.

Additional Support

If you have been waiting to start counselling sessions with the Norwich Centre, this support will not be available to you while you are on intermission. To learn about other support options that you can access while on intermission, please contact support@norwichuni.ac.uk. If you have already begun counselling with the Norwich Centre, your counsellor will usually bring your counselling to an end with a final session, once your period of intermission has begun.

You will not be able to access support through Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) during your period of intermission. If you would like to discuss accessing DSA on your return, please contact Julie Birkwood, Disability Officer at disability@norwichuni.ac.uk.

If you believe that you may have a specific learning disability such as dyslexia or dyspraxia and you are in Years 0, 1 or 2 the University can still offer you a free screening appointment while you are on intermission, during term time, until 31 May 2025. Please contact spld@norwichuni.ac.uk to arrange this. These appointments can take place remotely using Microsoft Teams. If you have already been screened and were due to have an external assessment for a specific learning difference you can still go ahead with this but you will need to pay for the assessment yourself when on intermission. The University will refund you any contribution that we had committed to make, once you return to your studies from intermission.

If you wish to discuss intermission, you can speak to any of the following:

• Course Leader
• the Year 0 Pathways Leader
• Postgraduate Coordinator
• Course Administrator
• Academic Support Office
• Student Support
• Finance
• Programme Director

Step 1: Talk to your Course Leader/the Year 0 Pathways Leader (undergraduates) or a member of the course team or Postgraduate Coordinator (postgraduates) about the possibility of taking intermission and discuss the potential financial implications of intermission with a member of staff in the Academic Support Office. We also recommend that you contact Student Finance England to find out how intermission will impact upon any maintenance loan or maintenance grant payments that you may receive.

Step 2: Submit an Application for Intermission at https://our.norwichuni.ac.uk/ by clicking on ‘Academic Support Office Application Form’ and choosing ‘Intermission Application’. Remember that we will ask you to provide evidence in support of your application – this could be a doctor’s letter, for example, or your bank statements, depending on your reasons for applying. Supplying evidence at the same time that you submit your application will help us to process your application more quickly.

Step 3: Make sure you keep attending University until we send you written confirmation of the decision on your application. If your application is successful, we will send you the relevant details in a letter.

Step 4: Finance will then write to you separately about your fees and any other sums of money owed to the University.

Step 5: Contact the relevant authority (eg Student Finance England, your local authority, your Career Development Loan provider) to let them know that you’ve taken intermission.

You are recorded as an intermitting student, rather than a ‘live’ student, once you have started your period of intermission. During intermission, you are not entitled to tutorial support, but you retain access to the campus and to electronic resources, including your email account and the VLE.

You may seek independent advice or support from the Students’ Union for the duration of your intermission. You can contact the Union Mon – Fri 9am to 5pm on 01603 751470 or via email through studentsunion@norwichuni.ac.uk

If you think you need more time away from your studies than originally approved you can apply to extend your intermission. However, intermissions for more than one year are exceptional and require approval by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) and Academic Registrar, on behalf of the Academic Board. See Section G of the 2024-25 Student Regulations and Procedures, part 3 for more information about extended intermission.

Please note that the University may not be able to extend the period of intermission and may advise instead that you be awarded an intermediate qualification (where appropriate).

Around eight weeks before you are due to return, we will write to you and ask you to confirm that you intend to return to study. We will also ask you to provide any information required to fulfil the conditions of your return. For more details please see Section G of the 2024-25 Student Regulations and Procedures, part 6.

If you are coming back and are thinking about applying for a place in University accommodation, make sure you speak to Student Support as soon as possible.

You will also need to reapply for financial support from Student Finance England or your local authority if you have not already done so.

Once you have met any conditions of your return to study you will be sent an information sheet detailing the things you need to do before returning – such as completing online re-enrolment, and the things you need to do once you have returned – such as registering your attendance. Once you are back at the University, your Course Leader or an appropriate member of staff will meet with you for supportive monitoring sessions to help monitor your progress and support your return to study.