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Withdrawal from University

There can be a number of reasons why a university student has been either asked to leave a course or been excluded from one. Universities must have a certain procedure to follow when excluding a student, if you have been excluded it may be to do with requirements of your course, maybe you have failed an examination or a part of the course, or it could be to do with your behaviour as a student. If a student feels they have been unfairly withdrawn from a course, they have the right to appeal the decision and present their case to the university.

Common examples of this include when a student has been withdrawn from their course as a result of waiting on their PhD supervisor for information. PhD students have a lot at stake when dealing with these kinds of cases because they have come to the point where they have decided on a career choice and put considerable financial investment into their studies. If the reason for exclusion is out of the student’s control, for example if they are waiting on information they need to complete their research from their supervisor, a claim can be made.

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Causes of being withdrawn

Other causes of being withdrawn from course can be if you have failed to submit coursework or assessment or if you have repetitively missed or failed an exam for good reason. In these types of cases the student must provide good evidence to suggest they had a legitimate reason for doing so or give evidence to show the circumstances that prevented them from doing their work in the set time limit. If they can show this then they are likely to be reinstated as a student.

Most of the time students will appeal through internal procedures to try and resolve the issue face to face with the university, however in cases where the student feels that they have already been let down or not receiving the services they were promised, students may want to pursue a compensation claim based on a Breach of Contract by the university.

Here at Stephensons we have a specialist team of lawyers that are dedicated to helping students in further or higher education. They are able to advise students on the best course of action when progressing in each stage of their case.

Contact us on 01616 966 229 to speak to a member of our education law team, alternatively complete our online enquiry form and we will contact you directly.

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