Policies

In order to maintain eligibility for financial aid with the qualitative standard, a student must maintain the academic standing necessary to remain at the University of Edinburgh.

Scholarships and Student Funding Services staff will conduct a review at the end of each academic session to determine the student’s successful progress toward obtaining a degree by comparing cumulative grade average to hours earned. In order to remain enrolled in the programme or to continue receiving aid, a student must satisfy the requirements in the degree regulations and taught assessment regulations for progression. In order to graduate a student must satisfy the requirements for award and, where relevant, classification. Please see below document for more information

Change of Programme or Degree

• Students who decide to change their degree or program objective will be evaluated similarly to Transfer Students with the exception that the grades previously earned at the University of Edinburgh will be used to measure the qualitative requirements.

Concurrent Degrees

• Although it is unlikely to occur, students may pursue two graduate degrees concurrently, if College approval has been obtained. They are charged the tuition for each programme and the Cost of Attendance for one degree will be adjusted to reflect the two tuition charges. Students must meet the Satisfactory Progress requirements for both programs to retain eligibility. The two sets of courses will be viewed as one programme. Loans will be processed to the maximum yearly eligibility for graduate students.

Additional Degrees

• Students who have completed a graduate degree program and wish to pursue another degree must apply for admission to that programme as would any other applicant and meet the admission requirements for the new programme. Federal loan eligibility will be limited to the aggregate program maximums under Federal Regulations.

• The law specifies how the University must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance (Direct Loans) that students earn if they withdraw or interrupt.
• Scholarships and Student Funding Services is responsible for calculating R2T4 and the Finance Office is responsible for transferring the funds. Scholarships and Student Funding Services uses worksheets provided by the US Department of Education to calculate the R2T4 funds. All funds must be returned to the lender within 45 days of the date of when the University determined that a student withdrew. If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, students can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web.

Student Aid on the Web

• When a student withdraws during a payment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that has been earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. The date of withdrawal is determined by the Personal Tutor/Supervisor/School and will be the last day the student attended. If the student received (or the University received on the student’s behalf) less assistance than the amount that is earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than was earned, the excess funds must be returned by the University and/or the student. The University is not required to take attendance although many professors may require a student to attend in order to receive a passing grade. Students who are not in attendance are reported to Student Administration/Student Systems, who will consult with the student’s Department/School to determine if the student attended classes or to verify the last date of attendance. The University will use the last date of attendance to compute the R2T4 formula.
• In the case where a student notifies the Personal Tutor/Programme Director or a member of staff that he or she intends to withdraw, the student must be informed of the need to inform the College in writing, citing the reason for withdrawal in writing and the effective date. The College will share that information with Student Administration/Student Systems. Should the student fail to write or there is a lag between the notification and the student’s written confirmation, the earlier date of notification will be used in calculating the R2T4 formula. In the event a student receives all failing grades for a semester, the Personal Tutor/Programme Director will contact academic staff to determine if the failing grades were earned or represent a lack of attendance. In the event it is determined that those grades were the result of lack of attendance, the Personal Tutor/Programme Director will attempt to determine the last day of attendance and use that date in the R2T4 calculations. If the exact date cannot be determined, the University will assume a 50% attendance, and use that date as the last date of attendance. Students who do not attend even one class, are ineligible for Title IV funds and all of the loan proceeds will be returned to the lender.
• The amount of assistance earned is determined on a pro rata basis. The payment period is the semester for which the loan was certified and the per cent of attendance is calculated by dividing the number of days attended by the total number of days in the payment period. For example, if the student completes 30% of the payment period or period of enrolment, the student has earned 30% of the assistance they were originally scheduled to receive. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrolment, all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that period is considered to have been earned. If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned, he or she may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student may choose to decline the loan funds so that additional debt is not incurred. Scholarships and Student Funding Services will use the R2T4 worksheets as provided by the US Department of Education to determine how much of the loan may be retained and how much must be returned.
• The University may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if the student accepts them) for tuition, fees, and accommodation. For all other University charges, the University needs the student's permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. If the student does not give permission the student will not be offered the funds. However, it may be in one' s best interest to allow the University to keep the funds to reduce the debt at the University.
• There are some Title IV funds that students are scheduled to receive that cannot be earned once a student withdraws because of other eligibility requirements.. If the student receives (or the University receives on behalf of the student) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, the University must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

               - The institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the funds, or

               - The entire amount of excess funds.

• The University must return this amount even if it didn't keep this amount of the Title IV program funds. If the University is not required to return all of the excess funds, the student must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that must be returned, the student must repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, scheduled payments are made to the holder of the loan over a period of time. Students who have received a refund of their loan proceeds before withdrawing may be required to return part or all of those funds to the lender.

Title IV funds will be returned in the following order:

The University will return its unearned percentage within 30 days of identifying the withdrawal by completing a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation and return any unearned loan funds to the US Department of Education in the following order:

1.  Unsubsidized Federal Direct loans
2. Subsidized Federal Direct loans
3. PLUS Loan Funds

The requirements for Title IV program funds when students withdraw are separate from any refund policy that the University may have. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the University to cover unpaid institutional charges. The University may also attempt to collect from the student any Title IV program funds that the University was required to return.

At the same time, the University will send the student a copy of the R2T4 calculation showing the value returned by the school and against which loans it has been returned, and notification of the value to be returned by the student and the value to be repaid in the normal way.

Within the same 30 days, the school will also inform NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) of the withdrawal which will trigger all loans going into repayment.

If there is a credit balance owing to the student, the University will disburse the funds to the student as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the calculation of the R2T4.

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web.

Student Aid on the Web

Post Withdrawal Disbursement Process:

If the value disbursed to the University or student before withdrawal is less than the earned value, we would contact the student and arrange for a post-withdrawal disbursement to be made by bank transfer in pounds sterling to the student. The following regulations would apply;

• University will provide written notification within 30 days of date of determination of withdrawal
• Student (or parent) confirmation is required within 14 days of written notification
• Funds disbursed directly to student - as soon as possible, but no later than 45 calendar days after date of determination
• Disbursed as credit to account – within 180 days after date of determination

The University may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if the student accepts them) for tuition fees. For all other University charges, the University needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. The decision on if the funds will be accepted will be determined by the student or parent before the money is posted to the student’s account. The student will be notified by e-mail and will have 14 days to respond.

• The University's tuition fee policy is applied independently of the R2T4 policy described above. Please refer to the link below.

Tuition Fee Policy

• For information on the University's withdrawal policy please refer to the link below.

  Document

  Withdrawal and Exclusion from Studies Procedure (171.18 KB / PDF)

• Periods of interruption are not eligible for US loan funding and will have to be reported to the National Student Loan Data System.
• Normally, if an interruption is less than 180 days, your next scheduled disbursement will be pushed back by the length of the interruption.
• Normally, if an interruption is for a period of more than 180 days, it has to be reported as a withdrawal and there may be funds to pay back to the US Department of Education from the most recent disbursement, alongside any outstanding Tuition Fees.
• Please note, any action taken will be dependent on what is formally recorded on your Student Record.

Definitions:

Approved Leave of Absence or Interruption of studies

• A Leave of Absence/Interruption of Studies is a temporary withdrawal in a student's programme of study. It refers to the specific time period during a programme when a student is not in attendance. This is a temporary period of time which the student has requested with the intention to return and complete their programme. Students returning from an Interruption of Studies are not required to re-apply for admission.

Official Withdrawal

• A “withdrawal” refers to a student’s intent to permanently terminate studies at the University with no expectation of return.

Unofficial Withdrawal

• An unofficial withdrawal is one where the University has not received notice from the student that the student has ceased or will cease attending the University.

Admissions Policies and Procedures

The link below provides an overview of the University of Edinburgh's general admissions policies.

Admissions Policies and Procedures

Completion/Graduation and Transfer Out Rates

Information on the University’s completion and transfer-out rates is available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Due to the very low non-continuation rate, the University is unable to supply a breakdown of completion or transfer-out rates by gender, ethnicity or recipients of need-based Subsidised loans, as this may reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student, which would break the Data Protection Act.

For the latest rates please refer to the links below. In tables where information is available at an institutional level you will find data for the University of Edinburgh in the Total Scotland section.

Higher Education Statistics Agency

HESA Non-Continuation Rates

Completion/Graduation and Transfer Out Rates for Students Receiving Athletically Related Student Aid

There are extremely few scholarships linked to athletic sports and therefore the University will not disclose data about the recipients’ ethnicities, gender, transfer-out rate or completion rate.

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Students found guilty within the legal jurisdiction of the UK during their period of study, will lose their eligibility for Federal Direct Loans.

The University regards the following as misconduct - "Possessing, using or supplying a controlled drug as defined by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as amended from time to time)"

Code of Student Conduct

Financial Assistance Available

The Scholarships and Financial Support team provides information on a wide variety of funding sources.

US Student Loans

Student Funding - scholarships and other financial support

Fire Safety Policies and Statistics

Please refer to the Fire Safety Unit information below.

Fire Safety Policies and Statistics

Freedom of Information Act (US FERPA and Safeguarding Customer Information)

Please refer to the Records Management information below.

The University of Edinburgh Data Protection Policy

Freedom of Information

Gainful Employment

The University of Edinburgh is approved only to provide Federal lending for students on a degree programme. Therefore there are no Gainful Employment Disclosures to report.

Ineligible Programmes:

Health Services

Please refer to the information below on accessing NHS healthcare as a student, disability support or insurance coverage.

Health Services

Loan Disclosures

1. For information about US loans, please visit our dedicated US Loans pages

2. Code of Conduct for Educational Loans

In order to prohibit a conflict of interest with the responsibilities of an agent with respect to Private Education Loans, staff at the University with responsibility for Federal and Private Education Loans from the United States are prohibited from the following:

• Revenue sharing arrangements with lenders
• Receiving gifts from a lender or loan servicer
• Obtaining financial benefits from lenders or loan servicers
• Providing a preferred list of lenders.
• Offers of funds for private loans

3. Preferred Lenders List

The University does not have a preferred Lenders List but will, where possible, work with whichever private lender a prospective borrower decides to use. Students should be aware that the majority of private lenders choose not to offer loans when borrowers are studying outside the USA. This is why, on our US Loans information the only loans we list as being accessible are the US Federal Direct Stafford and PLUS loans or private loans such as Sallie Mae, Earnest or VSAC.

Misrepresentation

The University is approved by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and The Scottish Further & Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) to deliver education to the required standards.

The University is responsible for its academic standards and the quality of the student learning experience.  It is committed to reflecting on and systematically reviewing its provision and taking action to enhance it.  The Quality Framework supports the management of academic standards and the student experience across the University’s academic provision and student services and aligns with external body requirements, including the Scottish Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF).   

Scottish Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF)

View the latest QAA report on the University of Edinburgh -

Enhancement Led Institutional Review - November 2015 & Follow Up Report March 2017

Textbook Information

Information about any required and recommended textbooks for your course will be provided to you by your department. Should you require specific information about textbooks, please contact the relevant department for advice.

Colleges & Schools

You may also wish to consult with the University Library Services.

University of Edinburgh Library

Find Out More

Cost of Living

University Accommodation