Registration status & funding implicationsVoluntary Suspension for personal reasons
Voluntary Suspension for personal reasons may be taken for:
- a whole academic year
- Semester 1 only
- Semester 2 only
- across two consecutive academic years, i.e. Semester 2 of a session and Semester 1 of the next session
Whilst you're in Voluntary Suspension (personal) you're not eligible for funding (maintenance loan, bursary, and grants) from your funding body. When your funding will stop depends on when your Voluntary Suspension (personal) is reported to your funding body, and what your last date of attendance is.
When your registration status changes to Voluntary Suspension (Personal), we report this to your funding body, we give them your last date of attendance and they use this date to recalculate your funding entitlement. Funding includes:
- tuition fees
- maintenance loan
- bursary
- living cost grants
What happens next and the level of funding available will depend on the policy of your funding body.
SAAS (Student Awards Agency Scotland)
Maintenance Loan, bursary & living cost grants
When you go into Voluntary Suspension, we report this to SAAS, and we give them your last data of attendance. SAAS will stop any future payments and use the last date of attendance to work out the funding you're entitled to. This is because you're only entitled to funding for when you were studying.
SAAS will send you a letter telling you if the amount of maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants you're entitled to has changed. If it's gone down, they'll let you know how much you owe them.
You'll have to either:
- repay it straight away
- set up a payment plan
Tuition fees
If your last date of attendance is:
- before 1 December - SAAS will not pay any tuition fees to us
- after 1 December - SAAS will pay us up to £1,820 for an undergraduate student or £5,500 for a postgraduate student
Example scenarios of funding implications
- Voluntary Suspension for the whole academic year (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll not be eligible to a maintenance loan, bursary or living cost grants. SAAS will not pay anything towards your tuition fees.
- Voluntary Suspension for Semester 1 (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll not receive a maintenance loan, bursary or living cost grants whilst in suspension. These will start when you return in Semester 2. Because you'll not be in attendance on 1 December SAAS will not pay anything towards your tuition fees.
- Voluntary Suspension for Semester 2 (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll receive a maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants for Semester 1, but it will stop for Semester 2 whilst in suspension. Because you were in attendance on the 1 December SAAS will pay your tuition fee award.
- Voluntary Suspension across two consecutive academic years i.e., Semester 2 of the current academic year and Semester 1 of the following academic year:
SAAS will pay your tuition fee award (if your last date of attendance is after 1 December), maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants for Semester 1 of the first of the 2 years.
In Semester 1 of the second year you'll not be paid a maintenance loan, bursary or living cost grants. These will start when you return in Semester 2. In that second year SAAS will not pay your tuition fee award because you'll not be in attendance on 1 December of that academic year.
Contact us
If you're still unsure of the impact to your funding, you can email financial-support
In your email, please tell us what your registration status is/will be and if applicable the duration, and if you have previously had funding for a repeat year or Voluntary Suspension for medical reasons.
Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales & Student Finance Northern Ireland
Maintenance loan, bursary & living cost grants
When you go into Voluntary Suspension, we report this to your funding body and give them your last data of attendance. Your funding body will stop any future payments and use the last date of attendance to work out how much of this funding you're entitled to.
This is because you're only entitled to funding for when you were studying.
Your funding body will send you a letter telling you if the amount of maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants you're entitled to has changed. If it's gone down, they'll let you know how much you owe them. You'll have too either:
- repay it straight away
- set up a payment plan
Tuition fee loan
Below is a table showing the tuition fee loan amount your funding body will pay us depending on what term your last date of attendance is in.
| Term you leave | Tuition fee loan they will pay |
|---|---|
| 1 | £2,312.50 |
| 2 | £4,625 |
| 3 | £9,250 |
Example scenarios of funding implications
- Voluntary Suspension for the whole academic year (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll not be eligible to a maintenance loan, bursary, and grants. Your funding body will not pay anything towards your tuition fees.
- Voluntary Suspension for Semester 1 (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll not receive a maintenance loan, bursary, and grants whilst in suspension. These will start when you return in Semester 2. Because your last date of attendance was in Term 1, your funding body will pay us up to £2,312.50 in a tuition fee loan.
- Voluntary Suspension for Semester 2 (either applied for in advance or retrospectively):
You'll receive a maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants for Semester 1 but it will stop for Semester 2 whilst in suspension. Because your last date of attendance was in Term 1, your funding body will pay us up to £2,312.50 in a tuition fee loan.
- Voluntary Suspension across two consecutive academic years i.e., Semester 2 of a session and Semester 1 of the next session:
In the first session you are going to be in VS your funding body will pay you a maintenance Loan, bursary and living cost grants in semester 1, and they will pay us up to £2,312.50 in tuition fee loan. These will then stop for semester 2 of that session.
Semester 1 of the second session you will not receive a maintenance loan, bursary and living cost grants. These will start when you return in Semester 2 and they will pay us up to £4,625 in a tuition fee loan.
Contact us
If you're still unsure of the impact to your funding, you can email financial-support
In your email, please tell us what your registration status is/will be and if applicable the duration, and if you have previously had funding for a repeat year or Voluntary Suspension for medical reasons.