Repeat Teaching

Repeat Teaching may be granted if you have attempts remaining at outstanding assessments and you were unable to fully engage with your teaching due to circumstances outside of your control.

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What is Repeat Teaching?

The School acknowledges that in some exceptional circumstances there may be a case to be made for having teaching a second time because you were not able to engage fully with the teaching in the previous year.This is known as Repeat Teaching.

Repeat teaching is the exception and not the norm. It is not guaranteed even if your department approves it. Repeat teaching is more common an undergraduate level and is an exception at postgraduate lavel.

 

What is Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching?

If you successfully meet the requirements to continue to the next year of your programme but have assessments outstanding in up to one full unit from the previous year, you can apply to receive teaching in the outstanding unit for a second time alongside the units from your next year of study. This is known as Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching. However, you should discuss with your department whether this is the right option for you because of the additional academic burden.

Important Information for International Students on Student Visas

  • To be able to remain sponsored for repeat teaching, a Student visa holder must have at least a minimum of two full units of repeat teaching granted across the whole academic year. This can be full units or a combination of full and half units but there must be teaching in both Autumn and Winter Terms. 
  • If you have requested less than two full units that do not cover the full academic year, your application will be rejected by  the Repeat Teaching Panel.
  • If you have requested repeat teaching and this teaching will take you beyond the five year cap on Undergraduate level studies (six years for students on a degree of four years), your application will be rejected. You must speak to a specialist visa adviser about repeat teaching or your application will be rejected.

Is Repeat Teaching the right option for me?

Is there a cost for Repeat Teaching?

If you progress to your next year of study and are awarded Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching in up to one additional unit, you will be charged the usual fee for that year of study without an increase for the Repeat Teaching unit. 

If you do not progress and are therefore adding an additional Repeat Teaching year to your programme you will be charged as shown below. The applicable fee will be confirmed to you in your outcome email and will appear on your account in due course.

Undergraduate Fees:

Repeat Teaching fees are currently £562.50 per half unit equivalent for a full year of teaching. A full year of Repeat Teaching in all units currently costs £4500. Full details can be found in the Table of Fees. Please refer to the table for the academic year in which you would take Repeat Teaching. Repeat Teaching fees are paid in the same way as normal programme fees and any questions about how to pay should be directed to the Fees Office.

Postgraduate Fees:

Repeat Teaching fees are currently the usual yearly fee for the programme which you are studying, pro-rated based on the number of units you are taking. Repeat Teaching fees are paid in the same way as normal programme fees and any questions about how to pay should be directed to the Fees Office.

If you are in receipt of a Disabled Student's Allowance, you should speak to the Student Wellbeing Service to see if your allowance will be affected by the number of units you are requesting to repeat.

Can I apply for Student Finance to cover my repeat teaching year?

If you are paying Home fees and have previously received funding from Student Finance or want to apply for funding for your repeat year, you should contact Student Finance directly. 

In order to be eligible for continued funding from Student Finance you will need to be enrolled for teaching. If you are going to be enrolled for fewer than four units, Student Finance still considers you to be engaged on a full-time programme; so do not complete a part-time Student Finance application.

If you have already applied for funding through Student Finance before you realised that you had not progressed into your next year of study, they will need to be notified of the change. Student Services will notify Student Finance of your circumstances and confirm that you need access to funding as a student registered for Repeat Teaching. They will also confirm the change of fee, as applicable.

If you have any questions you should speak to Student Finance directly.

An approval of Repeat Teaching is not a guarantee of funding. You must satisfy the usual criteria. 

Can I receive Repeat Teaching for a passed course?

No, if you have passed a course, you cannot attempt any element of assessment again and you are not eligible to receive Repeat Teaching for this unit.

If I am granted Repeat Teaching, can I resit a component of assessment I've already passed?

No, if you have previously passed any assessment component(s) for a course you are granted Repeat Teaching in, these marks will be banked and you cannot reattempt them. You can only attempt any assessments you have previously deferred or failed, provided you have attempts remaining.

Does receiving Repeat Teaching remove capping for failed courses?

No, if you receive Repeat Teaching for a course you have previously failed, the numerical mark you obtain will show on your transcript, however the course will be capped at a pass for classification purposes.

Can I apply for Repeat Teaching in just some of my outstanding units? 

To be eligible for Repeat Teaching you must demonstrate long-term extenuating circumstances that impacted you during the academic year and prevented you from engaging with the teaching.  We would expect that these circumstances would have affected all of your units and generally advise that you receive Repeat Teaching in all outstanding units.  If you do not wish to, you should explain clearly on your request why you don’t need Repeat Teaching for all units. The only exception to this is applications made in the Spring Break application period, where the expectation is that you apply for repeat teaching in all courses.

As a minimum:

  • Non-Student visa holders must apply for a minimum of one full unit of repeat teaching across the whole academic year - this can be either one full unit or two half units.
  • Student visa holders must apply for a minimum of two units of repeat teaching across the whole academic year.  This can be a combination of either full or half units.
  • It is not possible to request Winter Term only repeat teaching and remain enrolled throughout the whole academic year.

What resources can I access if I do not apply for Repeat Teaching in all of my failed/deferred courses?

If you choose not to apply for Repeat Teaching in all of your failed/deferred courses, you will not be able to access the same amount of support.

  • You will be considered as a 'Resit without Tuition' student for courses which you have failed/deferred but do not have repeat teaching granted for. This means you are still registered at the School, but you are not enrolled for teaching in these courses.
  • You will not be able to attend teaching for any courses that you do not have repeat teaching granted for, even if you have failed/deferred them.
  • You are unlikely to have Moodle access for courses that you do not have repeat teaching granted for.

You are automatically re-entered for all your outstanding assessments, even if you are not granted Repeat Teaching in all outstanding units. Full details regarding this process are available on the re-entry webpage. 

Will my Council Tax Exemption be affected if I apply for Repeat Teaching?

Depending on the number of units of repeat teaching you take, you may not be considered eligible for Council Tax Exemption as you are usually required to be undertaking at least 21 hours of full time teaching. We recommend that you check this with your local borough council.

When can I apply for repeat teaching?

There are set points in the academic year when you can apply for repeat teaching. We will not accept late applications, so if you believe that repeat teaching will be the right option for you, you should discuss this with your Departmental Tutor as soon as possible.

The periods of application have been set to give you the best start to the next academic year and so that you do not lose assessment attempts which may affect your ability to progress or be awarded your degree.

Spring Break Application Period 

If you have not engaged with your studies as expected and have missed the deadline to apply for an interruption of studies, you can apply for repeat teaching by Friday 12 April 2024 at 11:59 pm. We can accept applications before this date and you will receive an earlier decision. You will receive an outcome from the Repeat Teaching Panel by the end of the first week of the Spring Term.

It is important to note that if your repeat teaching is granted at this point in time, you will be automatically deferred out of your Spring Term assessments (and IRDAP where applicable) because you are stating that your lack of engagement means you need the teaching again to be in a position to pass your assessments. Therefore, it is not intended to be used as a way to split your assessments and guarantee repeat teaching for the following year.  This application period is intended for students who should have interrupted and therefore will be requesting repeat teaching in all units.

July Results Application Period

If you have not engaged with your studies as expected, but have attempted your assessments in the Spring Term, you can apply for repeat teaching after the July results release.  The deadline for applications is Friday 19 July 2024 at 11:59pm. You should receive an outcome from the Repeat Teaching Panel by 2 August 2024, unless your case is complex.

It is important to note that if you are an undergraduate student whose repeat teaching is granted at this point in time, you will automatically be deferred from IRDAP because you are stating that you need the teaching again to be in a position to pass your assessments.

Repeat teaching applications following exam bars

If you are required to apply for repeat teaching due to an exam bar being imposed, you should apply in the July results application period.  You will lose an attempt from being barred from the Spring Term exam, but will automatically be deferred from IRDAP, so that you do not lose more than one attempt.

Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching

The deadline to apply for Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching is Thursday 26 September 2024 at 11:59pm. We plan to get Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching applications decided as soon as possible with an aim to get decisions to everyone by the end of Week One of Autumn Term.

 

How do I apply?

Applications for Repeat Teaching

Applications for repeat teaching must be submitted using the PDF form. If you require an accessible version, please let us know.

Repeat Teaching Application Form

Applications for Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching

We are currently updating the Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching application form.

Who considers my application? 

Repeat Teaching applications are first considered by your Departmental Tutor (UGs) or Programme Director (PGs) and then submitted to the Repeat Teaching Panel for a final decision.  

The Panel ensures equity across the School for all applications and reserve the right to reject applications. Your application is not final until you have received the outcome from the Repeat Teaching Panel, so you should not assume that you do not need to prepare for assessments if you are only at the departmental approval stage of the process process.

How will my application be considered?

When reviewing your Repeat Teaching request your department and the Repeat Teaching panel will consider;

For Repeat Teaching;

  • Whether your Departmental Tutor/Programme Director has approved your application.
  • Whether you have completed all the required information, including a signature from a specialist visa adviser where applicable.
  • Your attendance at classes as an initial measure of how much you engaged with your teaching over the academic year.
  • Your circumstances and your explanation (and evidence, if provided) about how these affected your ability to engage with your teaching.
  • Whether you have requested Repeat Teaching in a previous year.
  • Whether you have attempts remaining in the outstanding assessments. 
  • Whether your requested courses are running in 2024/5.
  • If you have requested a course change, whether you have already passed any component of assessment (if so, you will not be permitted to change courses). 
  • If you are requesting Repeat Teaching for Autumn Term  following a Winter Term interruption, whether your circumstances have changed sufficiently to allow you to return from interruption early.

For Fifth Unit Repeat Teaching;

All of the above and

  • Your academic performance in other courses and the potential impact of permitting an additional unit of teaching alongside your normal teaching load.

Outcomes

Approved Applications

You and your Departmental Tutor (UGs) or Programme Director (PGs) will be notified by email if your Repeat Teaching application is approved.

Please be aware that when your application is approved it does not definitively mean you will be able to take Repeat Teaching. You will need to meet all applicable fee and visa requirements.

If you have been approved for Repeat Teaching and are a Student visa holder you must contact the Student Advice and Engagement Team in the Student Services Centre to access detailed advice on visa applications, caps and extensions. An approval of Repeat Teaching is not an absolute guarantee that you can take the teaching; you must satisfy visa compliance. 

If you do meet all relevant requirements you will then need to register and enrol for the new academic year.

Rejected Applications

You and your Departmental Tutor (UGs) or Programme Director (PGs) will be notified by email if your Repeat Teaching application is denied.

If you wish to appeal, you can submit an enquiry  to ask why your application has been rejected. Further to this you may submit a statement to the Repeat Teaching Panel explaining the reasons for appeal, and including more or new evidence as appropriate. You will also be required to obtain an updated recommendation from your Departmental Tutor (UGs) or Programme Director (PGs).

You must submit this recommendation along with a letter of appeal via this enquiry form. The deadline for submitting your appeal will be included in your initial outcome email.

You may be asked to appear at a Panel meeting to discuss your appeal. 

If you do not make a successful Repeat Teaching application or subsequent appeal, you will automatically be re-entered to take your outstanding assessments as an unregistered student during the applicable assessment period the following academic year. Further information about assessment re-entry can be found on the entry webpage

Standards of evidence

Wherever possible you should provide evidence of the circumstances you mention on your Repeat Teaching application. This will help your department and the Repeat Teaching Panel understand the reasons for your request. 

The School’s Standards of Evidence policy is available online.

After your Repeat Teaching has been granted

Can I change courses as part of my Repeat Teaching application? 

You may be eligible to request a course change when you apply for Repeat Teaching, particularly if your current course has been suspended or withdrawn. This will be subject to your programme regulations and you should discuss this with your Department Tutor or Programme Director in the first instance. Please ensure that the information on your form is accurate with regards to courses that are no longer running.

You cannot request to change a course via repeat teaching if you have already passed any of the assessment components of the course (such as a Winter Term exam or a summative essay).

The Repeat Teaching Panel will make the final decision about whether the Repeat Teaching course change can be approved.

How do I select my courses?

You do not select your courses. They are input for you based on the courses listed and approved on your Repeat Teaching application. Course selections will begin to be entered on your student record at the end of August, and only after your Repeat Teaching has been officially approved.

If you wish to make any changes to the courses you have already had approved you must email your Departmental Tutor or Programme Director to gain permission for the change. The Repeat Teaching Panel will also need to approve any course change requests. Course changes will only be made in exceptional cases and only whilst the course selection window is open. Once the course selection window closes, no changes will be made. It is not possible to change courses if you have previously passed any of the assessment components of the course (such as a Winter Term exam or a summative essay).

Can my Repeat Teaching be withdrawn?

As with all students, your engagement will be monitored throughout the academic year.  If you do not engage with your approved repeat teaching, it is at the discretion of the Repeat Teaching Panel to revoke your status. If you are unable to engage with your repeat teaching, we strongly recommend that you discuss your situation  with the Student Advice and Engagement Team. We will liaise with your department to find the best alternate option for you at that time.