About 4 months before your return to study date, you’ll receive an email from a Student Support Adviser (SSA) asking you to confirm you’ll be returning, as planned. The email will be sent to your Hallam email so be sure to check it regularly. It’s important to respond to the email by the given deadline or you risk being withdrawn from your course.

Confirming your return to study isn’t just about making sure you’re ready to re-engage with learning activities. We want to make sure you’re able to make the most of your whole student experience. When you confirm you’ll be returning to study, you’ll be invited you to book an appointment with a SSA to talk through your return. Following your meeting you’ll be asked to complete a Return to Study Form to help us start the process of reactivating your student record and preparing for you coming back.

If you decide not to return to study, you can find out more information in the withdrawal and further break section of this page.

As with preparing to take a break in study, there are lots of things to consider when returning from a break. Guidance on this page will help prepare yourself in the lead up to your return.

On this page

Academic • Enrolment • Placement • Professional requirements • Student visas • Tuition fees and funding • Withdrawal, further break and course transfers • Planning your return

Academic

When returning to study, you’ll be assigned an Academic Adviser (AA) to support your academic journey and help you achieve your goals. Your AA is your first point of contact for any questions about your studies. You can see who your AA is by logging into Blackboard.

You can also contact your Student Support Adviser (SSA) via Hallam Help at any time during your studies, whether it’s to discuss ongoing support options or ask advice on other specialist services.

 If there have been any changes to your course or associated academic regulations, your SSA will let you know in your meeting before your start studying again. You can also view your Assessment Statement on My Student Record for any assessment changes that may have been introduced during your Break in Study. We’d also advise you familiarise yourself with the current University Rules and Regulations.

 You’ll be scheduled to take the same modules you were enrolled on before breaking from study, where possible. If, for any reason, it’s not possible, we’ll discuss alternative options with you before you re-join your studies.

Enrolment

The week before you return to study, you’ll receive an email to your Hallam and personal email addresses inviting you to re-enrol online. Re-enrolment is the process where your re-confirm your membership to Hallam. You must complete re-enrolment by the given deadline to continue with your studies.

Delays in re-enrolment could impact your access university resources and maintenance loan payments, if you have secured funding from Student Finance England (SFE). For more information read the Tuition fees and funding section.

If you haven’t received your re-enrolment invite the week before your return, or you have any enrolment questions, contact Hallam Help.

Placement

BSc Nursing, BSc Midwifery, and MSc Nursing (Adult/Mental Health/Child) courses only

If you’re due to complete a placement as part of your Return to Study, the location of your placement may not be the same as before you went on break. If you’ve been on break for health reasons and continue to experience difficulties, your Student Support Adviser might recommend an Occupational Health assessment. As a result, placement adjustments can be recommended to support with ongoing health challenges. 

When returning to study, you’ll join a new cohort. Your placement dates will align with the course plan for your new cohort. On occasion, you may be given bespoke placement dates. Your Student Support Adviser will provide you with more information at your return to study appointment, if this applies to you.

Before you go on placement, check your uniforms and get in touch if you need a replacement. We’ll need to order new uniforms from our supplier so be sure to tell us in good time.

Professional requirements

Teaching courses only

Health declaration and Occupational Health

All students who took a Break in Study for health-related reasons are required to complete a health declaration before Returning to Study. If your break was for health-related reasons, you’ll be asked to undertake an Occupational Health referral and be passed as ‘fit’ or ‘fit with adjustments’ before returning to study. We’ll contact you separately about making an Occupational Health referral if this applies to you. You should be aware that if you don’t engage with the health compliance process, you could be withdrawn from your course.

You can find out more information on our Professional Requirements blog. 

Health courses only (excluding Post-Registration courses)

Occupational Health

All students who took a Break in Study for health-related reasons will need to be passed as ‘fit’ before they can Return to Study. We will contact you separately about making an Occupational Health referral. Please note that failure to comply with organising an occupational health assessment will result in being withdrawn from your course.

Student visas

If you had a Student visa before taking a break in study, you must apply for a new Student visa before you can return to study. To apply for a new Student visa, you’ll need a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) certificate. To request a CAS certificate, email hallamhelp@shu.ac.uk and confirm if you are applying from the UK or your home country. We’ll assess your eligibility before issuing you with a new CAS. If you’ve been on a break in study for more than two years, you may need another English Language test certificate before a new CAS can be issued. We’ll let you know if this applies to you.

If you have a Student visa which is still within its expiry date, do not use it to travel to the UK. We advised UKVI when you took a break in study and your visa is no longer valid. 

You can find visa information on the International Experience Team page and on the UKCISA website. You can also visit Hallam Help to make an appointment with our International Experience Team for more advice.

Before returning to study, the UKVI Compliance Team need to verify your new right to study documents. Depending on whether you return to study at the start of the academic year, or part way through the academic year, you will either be asked to email a colour copy of your documents to StudentImmigrationCompliance@shu.ac.uk, or be invited to attend a verification event. Your Student Support Advisor will confirm which applies to you at your return to study appointment. If you have a visa that is not a Student Visa, your right to study documents will still need verifying.

You will not be re-enrolled until your documents have been verified by the University. Don’t worry, you’ll still have access to your timetable, Blackboard and other learning resources. Once your new visa has been verified by the UKVI Compliance Team, you’ll be invited to re-enrol online.

You should be aware that if you don’t provide your new visa documents by your expected return date at the latest, you could be withdrawn from your course.

Tuition fees and funding

You’ll be asked to re-enrol online before you begin studying. As part of re-enrolment, you’ll be advised your tuition fees and asked to accept them. If you have any outstanding tuition fees, you’ll need to pay them in full before you re-enrol. If you’re paying your fees yourself, you’ll be invoiced shortly after re-enrolling. If you are paying your fees through a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance England (SFE) you should confirm with them that you will be eligible for the fee loan when you return to study. 

Before returning to study, you’ll need to make sure you have the necessary finance in place. You are responsible for speaking to Student Finance England (SFE) (or other award agency), to understand your entitlement to Student Finance when you start studying again. 

Once you have re-enrolled and started learning activities, the University will notify SFE, where applicable.

Students receiving undergraduate student finance

If you are eligible for a maintenance loan, SFE will only process your payment after your eligibility has been reassessed and you’ve re-enrolled onto your course. This can take up to a few weeks after you’ve re-enrolled,

Students receiving postgraduate student loan

We’ll notify SFE when you’ve re-enrolled, which will release any maintenance payments you’re eligible for. SFE will not pay the masters loan for any periods of repeat study. So, if you are returning to the same course year that you took a break in, your remaining funding will depend on what you received before you took a break. If you have received all loan payments for that course year, you will not receive any more payments until you progress to the next course year, where applicable.

For advice on your specific circumstances and eligibility, contact Student Finance England (SFE) on 0300 100 0607.

Withdrawal, further break and course transfers

If, at the end of your break in study, you feel you need more time away from the University, your Student Support Adviser (SSA) will talk to you about your options at your return to study appointment.

If you find yourself thinking of leaving your course, it’s important to speak to your SSA. Withdrawing from your course is a big decision and we’re here to help make sure it’s the right one for you. We may be able to arrange more support, a further break or a transfer to a different course that better suits your interests.

Conditions of your return to study are that you re-enrol by the given deadline and satisfy any requirements, such as professional checks and right to study document verification, where this applies to you. Your SSA will confirm what you need to do in your return to study meeting. It’s important you understand, if you don’t fulfil the conditions of your return, you may be withdrawn from you course by the University.

Planning your return

To make your transition back to university live as smooth as possible, you’ll also need to consider the areas below.

Accommodation

If you’re planning to live in Sheffield when you return to study, you can either live in University halls or private housing.

If you decide to live in university halls and think carefully about which accommodation suits your own needs and budget and apply as soon as you confirm you’ll be returning to study. You contact the Hallam’s Accommodation Services for more information.

There are lots of options when it comes to private student accommodation. You can share with other housemates or live in your own student property.

We recommend that you use our Studentpad to search for private houses, flats and rooms. You can also find local agencies online to make enquiries.

Whatever accommodation you choose, we advise you not to sign a tenancy agreement until you are sure that it is right for you, and you have funding to pay your rent. 

Council Tax, housing benefits and Universal Credit

If taking a break in study had an effect on your eligibility for Council Tax exemption, housing benefits or Universal Credit, visit the Hallam Union Advice Centre for guidance on how returning to study could impact your entitlement.

Disabled Student Services

When returning to study, your Student Support Adviser (SSA) will discuss support options from Student Services. This could be because you already have a Learning Contract and want review support and any additional provisions that could be put in place for you. Or, it could be you don’t have a Learning Contract and would like to speak to Disabled Student Services Team about putting one in place. The Disabled Student Services Team will get in touch with you before you return to study.

If you were receiving Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) before going on a break and will paying your fees through a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance England (SFE), your DSA payments will automatically resume after you have re-enrolled onto your course. If you are a post graduate student or studying part-time, you may need to re-apply for DSA. The Disabled Student Services Team will advise you if you are unsure.

For advice on DSA or support available to you, contact Disabled Student Support.

Online access and resources

When it’s time to start studying again and you have re-enrolled, check you have access to your learning resources. Visit MyHallam for links to your timetable, Assessment Statement and other resources.

Policy and procedure

It’s important you read the Break in Study Policy and Procedure as it explains the process of returning to study.

Student wellbeing

When returning to study, your Student Support Adviser (SSA) will talk to you about support options. If your SSA recognises you need extra support settling back into study, our Student Wellbeing Services Team will contact you to talk about your options.

In the meantime, our Student Wellbeing Service pages offer support and guidance on a range of subjects you might find helpful.