Deferring, withdrawing or taking leave

Holiday breaks 

After each exam period, diploma students get some time off with holiday leave. This type of leave is not permitted during the semester.

For UTS Foundation Studies, students enjoy a break after completing each semester of study.

For English language students who have completed 20 weeks of continuous study, you may apply for 5 weeks of leave. The leave you take will be for one 5 week period and it needs to coincide with the start of a 5 week English Language Teaching (ELT) term. You must request permission to take this leave.

Check out the Important dates page for holiday break dates.

Homestay

If you are an under 18 years of age student living in a UTS approved accommodation and wish to travel during the recognised holiday periods, please discuss your plans with the UTS College Accommodation Team.

Working during the holidays

For international students, you are not permitted to work until you have started your program. You are then entitled to work up to 40 hours every two weeks while your program is in session. You can work unlimited hours during scheduled program breaks.

Leave of absence

If you are a full-time English language student, you may take a Leave of Absence. This may be because you need to return to your home country or may have an issue where you need a break from your studies.

Eligibility

Only full-time English language students who have completed 20 weeks of continuous study are eligible for a Leave of Absence.

An approved leave request will only be considered if:

• overall and during the current term, your attendance has been over 80%
• you are on track to reach the required level of English for their further diploma or degree studies, and
• a break is deemed to be in you best interests. 

How to apply, deadlines

To apply for Leave of Absence, please contact your English program Study Success Adviser for assistance or email AdvisersEnglishLanguage@utscollege.edu.au. You will need to complete an Application for Leave for English Students form.

Leave application form for English students.

Student visa impact

Depending on how long your break is, your student visa may be impacted. You must seek advice from the Department of Home Affairs on the potential impact on your visa if you take leave.

Deferral is when you postpone enrolment or re-enrolment in your program for one semester. There is a variety of reasons why you might need to defer or suspend your studies.

Eligibility

The option to defer your program for a semester or term is available to all students. You must apply before Census Day which is Friday of week 4 of each semester.

How to defer, deadlines

If for any reason you feel the need to defer your studies, you must first contact a Study Success Adviser before submitting an Application to Defer form to Student Centre. Your form should be submitted two weeks before you wish to start your leave. Students may apply to defer their studies on the grounds of compassionate or compelling circumstances. 

Grounds for deferral or suspension:
Students may apply to defer or suspend their studies on the grounds of compassionate or compelling circumstances.

Compassionate or compelling’ circumstances are generally those beyond your control and which have an impact on your course progress or wellbeing. These could include, but are not limited to:

• serious illness or injury, where a medical certificate states that you were unable to attend classes;
• bereavement of close family members such as parents or grandparents (where possible a death certificate should be provided);
• major political upheaval or natural disaster in your home country requiring emergency travel and this has impacted on your studies;
• a traumatic experience, which could include:                                                                                                                                             • involvement in, or witnessing of a serious accident; or                                                                                                                   • witnessing or being the victim of a serious crime, and this has impacted on you (these cases should be                            supported by police or psychologists’ reports); or
• where the registered provider was unable to offer a pre-requisite unit, or you have failed a prerequisite unit and therefore face a shortage of relevant units in which you are eligible to enrol.   

UTS College can also defer or suspend your studies. Reasons include but are not limited to:
*compassionate or compelling circumstances (as above)
*you refuse to maintain approved care arrangements, if you are under 18 years of age;
* you are missing;
*you have medical concerns, severe depression or psychological issues which lead the provider to fear for your wellbeing;
* you have engaged or threaten to engage in behaviour that is reasonably believed to endanger yourself or others; or
* you are at risk of committing a criminal offence.
*you are found to have committed academic or non-academic misconduct
*you have failed to pay the required fees

It is important that you only interrupt your studies when approved to do so. If you take leave without approval your name will appear on the class list and you will be marked absent for the period you are away. For international students, this will have an impact on your attendance, student visa and fees. Scholarship holders will require written permission from their government before a leave application can be considered. Please refer to Department of Home Affair regulations for further information on your visa conditions. Depending how long your break is, your visa may be cancelled. If this is the case, you will need to reapply for a new visa.

Student visa impact 

If you hold a student visa, you will  need to extend it to cover your deferral or suspension. You must seek advice from the Department of Home Affairs on the potential impact on your visa if your enrolment has been deferred.

Grounds for Withdrawal

Grounds for withdrawal : 
You are an international student and  
*you are no longer interested in studying or your personal and/or financial circumstances mean that you cannot continue with your studies so have decided to return overseas
*you have been granted a release by your principal education provider to transfer to a course offered by another education provider
*you are a domestic student and you have decided to leave the course because of personal or financial reasons or you wish to enrol in a course offered by another education provider.

If you change your mind about the program you have selected and no longer wish to study it, you will need to withdraw. Some students decide to withdraw from their studies at UTS College to return back to their home country or to study with another educational provider in Withdraw or Transfer (Full-Time-English) Application Australia. 

How to withdraw 

All students wishing to withdraw are subject to the UTS College terms and conditions contained in your offer letter. For further information, please contact the Student Centre. 

Withdrawing students will need to return their student card, pay library fine, if any and return all library resources to the library.

Domestic students  

As a domestic student you will need to complete an Application to Withdraw (Domestic Student) form. Whether you’re using FEE-HELP or not, you can withdraw from your studies by notifying the Student Centre in writing on or before the census date. If you withdraw after the census date, academic and financial penalties will apply to the subjects you have enrolled into for the semester.

International students withdrawing to return home  

You will first need to contact a Study Success Adviser before submitting the Application to Withdraw (International Students) form. If you are a full-time English student, you will need to complete the Application to Withdraw / Transfer (Full Time English Courses) form. You must seek advice from the Department of Home Affairs on the potential impact on your visa if your enrolment has been suspended or cancelled.

International students withdrawing to study with another educational provider in Australia

You will need to apply for Release with valid offer letter from the new provider. Please contact Student Centre before submitting the Application to Transfer to Another Provider (International Students) form.

International students are bound by the Department of Home Affairs regulations whereby UTS College approval is required if you are intending to enrol at another institution after withdrawing from UTS College. For further details on Regulation 8206 Change of Provider please access the Department of Home Affairs website. 

Department of Home Affairs regulations will not normally permit you to change to a program of a lower Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level. Failure to comply with immigration rules will lead to cancellation of your student visa which may result in you returning overseas.

In some situations international students may be required to return overseas after withdrawing. Where approval to withdraw is granted, UTS College is required to advise the Department of Home Affairs of this change in your enrolment status. If you hold a UTS package visa you will also need to contact the UTS International Office (Level 3A of the UTS Tower Building) to advise them of the changes to your study plans.

Cancellation of enrolment

Grounds for Cancellation of your enrolment:
These include:
*if your deferral or suspension is for reasons other than compassionate and compelling circumstances 
* due to the compassionate or compelling circumstances which warranted the deferral or suspension
of studies cease to exist;
* fraudulent documents provided to UTS College.
*you are found to have committed serious academic or non-academic misconduct.
 
If you are an international student your visa may be cancelled  if any of the above circumstances apply.
 

Refunds, release policies

In some situations, UTS College will refund tuition fees. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions attached to your offer letter. For further details please check the Refund Policy. 

UTS College will not consider requests to transfer to another institution if you have outstanding fees. For further details see the International Student Transfer Request Assessment Policy.

Student visa impact 

If you withdraw from UTS College, then the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) attached to your Student Visa will be cancelled. You must seek advice from the Department of Home Affairs on the potential impact on your visa if you withdraw.

In the first instance please contact a Study Success Adviser.