Student Policy and Regulations

Our aim is to encourage and support you throughout your time at University to achieve your full potential by providing a supportive learning environment. One indicator of your likely success is good engagement with all aspect of your studies, including attendance at timetabled classes. We have extensive evidence that shows us that students with high levels of attendance at timetabled classes get the best marks.

To support this activity we will monitor your attendance at all programme related course activity. This includes activities such as; timetabled teaching events, research supervision sessions, placements and personal tutorials. The key driver for this is to support students to succeed by identifying at an early stage any student who is starting to disengage with their studies. Our Student Engagement Officers located in your Faculty are on hand to provide you with help, guidance and support on any aspect that is preventing you from attending your studies.

We will contact you via email if we are worried about you not attending classes to check if everything is ok. If you continue not to attend classes, we will ask you to come into University and meet with either your Personal Tutor or Programme Leader. We hope that we will be able to support you to catch up with any content that you have missed and that you and that you successfully re-engage with your programme.

Don’t forget, we’re here to help and support you, all you need to do is ask.

Please see full details of the University Student Attendance Policy.

Liverpool John Moores University is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to study and provides academic and support services to facilitate the achievement of your target award. However, we recognise that from time to time students may wish to raise issues regarding the academic, administrative, support or other services provided by the University.

LJMU is committed to managing complaints in a way that:

• Is timely and efficient, to facilitate a speedy resolution
• Is fair and transparent to all parties
• Promotes informal conciliation such as mediation, where appropriate
• Promotes feedback and best practice to inform services, facilities and the student experience

Often, complaints can be quickly resolved if they are raised promptly with the service directly involved or with the relevant staff member. Students are expected to try and resolve any complaints locally with the relevant Faculty, School, Registry Services or Department, in the first instance.

This is open to all students of Liverpool John Moores University undertaking a validated programme of study. LJMU students studying at Collaborative Partner institutions are expected to access their local institution’s Complaints Procedure in the first instance.

Full details of the complaints procedure are available on the Student Governance website.

Liverpool John Moores University operates a leave of absence policy, often referred to as periods of suspension, intermission or intercalation that allows students a temporary and official period of time away from their studies.  A leave of absence from a programme of study may be requested by a student for a variety of reasons including medical, financial and personal. 

It is recommended that all students considering making a request for a leave of absence seek advice and guidance from both their Programme Leader and Student Advice and Wellbeing Services. In certain circumstances academic staff, for example a Programme Leader or a Personal Tutor may raise the possibility of a leave of absence with a student.

Students wanting to take a leave of absence can find and submit a ‘Leave of Absence Request Form’ via MyLJMU.

Granting of a leave of absence is not an automatic right and the decision will be made on an individual basis by the Programme Leader in conjunction with the Faculty Registrar.  Where approved a copy of the signed ‘Leave of Absence Request Form’ is forwarded to registry services for action.

Leave of absence is usually only permitted for a period of up to one year. Agreement relating to the period of leave of absence, and a suitable date to resume studies, should be agreed by both the student and the academic team once the decision has been made.

Leave of absence is only permitted to commence at appropriate stages in the academic calendar. The date the absence will begin can vary, and depends upon a student’s individual needs and course of study. However, the University will look at a student’s overall engagement when determining the start date for the leave of absence and not just the last date of attendance at a lecture.

Students will be contacted one month before they are due to resume studies advising them of registration requirements. For some programmes of study and for some types of student, additional requirements will need to be met prior to a student’s return. Students will be advised of any additional requirements when the leave of absence is agreed.

International students studying on a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) visa, should note that any Leave of Absence will be reported to the UKVI. Students should also advise the UKVI that they are returning home. International students will have to apply for a new visa prior to returning to the University to resume their studies.

This policy is primarily designed for use by the staff responsible for issuing CAS's for applicants and current students at LJMU.  All staff involved in issuing CAS's must ensure that the policy is adhered to accordingly.

Responsibility for the management and implementation of this policy lies with Academic Registry. 

View this policy

In the context of Extenuating Circumstances, LJMU defines the term “Personal Circumstances” to describe serious and exceptional factors outside a student’s control, which adversely affected their performance during their study and not already taken into account by an Individual Student Learning Plan (ISLP). These factors may, for example:

• Require an extension to a deadline to allow the student to submit an assessment;
• Have prevented the student from attending examinations or other timed assessments (e.g. presentation, in class test);
• Have severely impacted the ability of students to complete a timed assessment (e.g. the student was taken ill during the event and was unable to complete the assessment); and/or
• Have caused the student to miss assessment submission deadlines.

Students are advised to read the policy before submitting their application.

• Personal Circumstances form
• Personal Circumstances policy

As a student you have certain rights, and you should expect LJMU and its employees to honour those rights. However, these rights are conditional. They are conditional upon you recognising the legitimate rights of others and on you fulfilling the responsibilities placed upon you by the University's rules and regulations.

The Student Regulations explain these rules, policies and regulations and highlights where your specific rights and responsibilities lie. You'll also find links to supplementary information and guidance from different departments across the University.

Why do I need the Student Regulations? 

LJMU is a big institution and sometimes finding the information and support you need to succeed in your studies and really get the most out of being at university can be difficult. The Student Regulations outline the facilities and support services that are available across the University and how you can access these. If you have any queries about any of the topics or issues covered in the Regulations please contact Registry Services.

Full details of the Student Regulations

View this policy

Further details relating to withdrawal are available from Registry Services.

If a student withdraws from their academic programme, or goes on a period of ‘leave of absence’, their tuition fees will be recalculated on the following basis:

All Undergraduate, PGCE, PGDE and M Arch Architecture students

Fees will be charged on a 25%, 25%, 50% basis, based on the start date of a programme, and the related liability point as recognised by the Student Loans Company.  For confirmation of the liability point dates please contact Registry Services.

Postgraduate students

Students will be charged on a weekly basis for the proportion of the programme completed from the programme start date to the formal date of withdrawal, based on a 45 week academic year.

The fee for a research student ‘writing up’ is not reduced should the student withdraw.

CPD’s or programmes less than 15 weeks in length

There is no fee reduction for short programmes if a student withdraws.

The University administrative charge (the minimum fee required for student registration) is not reduced should the student withdraw.

The University re-registration charge (the fee for an exceptional second referral) is not reduced should the student withdraw.

If the student withdrawal date is disputed, then the last recorded date on which University resources or facilities were used will be taken as the date of withdrawal.

View further details about this policy or contact any registry services.

View this policy

If a student takes leave of absence or withdraws from their programme before completion, they may be entitled to a refund of tuition fees if they have paid all (or a proportion) of the fee themselves.

When a student leaves their programme, expected tuition fees will be recalculated dependent on the type of programme the student was attending, and the formal date the student left the course.

See Student withdrawal policy – charges (above) for details.

Students should request refunds in writing, and ensure they have returned their university ID card.

Refunds will only be made to the same payee or account as the original payment, and usually by the same payment method.

Sponsored students (excluding Student Loans Company)

Refunds are only made to sponsors at the request of the sponsor, and are calculated in identical fashion to a student refund.

Where a sponsor has contributed a proportion of the fee, any refund will be made to the student in the first instance (until the refund exceeds the student’s personal payment) unless the sponsor has specified that they will pay a percentage of any fees due.