This is the essential legal information for all applicants, including important terms and conditions and requirements that the University of Bath will apply and rely on in its future relationship with you.

You should read these pages carefully.

1. General regulations and documentation

1.1 The following documentation and legislation provides a framework through which the University and its students work together to create a positive environment for learning and academic achievement:

• The prospectuses
• The offer letter
• The University’s Royal Charter, statutes, ordinances and regulations; together called ‘the University Legislation’
• Codes of practice and related information on admission to the University of Bath
• The University Rules
• Programme and Doctoral Handbooks
• Faculty, subject and course brochures
• Registration documentation

This documentation establishes the basis of an agreement between the University and its students as to the rights, roles and responsibilities of both parties.

1.2 Admission to the University is subject to the requirement that the applicant will comply with both the University’s registration procedure and these terms and conditions. The documentation listed in 1.1 (except for the offer letter and registration documentation) is available on the University website and may be subject to revision from time to time. You will be asked to agree to any changes when you register at the start of your course of study and on registration for each subsequent academic session until completion of your course.

1.3 General guidance and regulations

All members of the University which includes registered students are required to comply with the following:

• Health and safety policies and guidance
• General conditions of use of computing and network facilities
• Statement of Equality Objectives and Dignity and Respect Policy
• Data protection policy

2. Application and admission to the University: information and requirements

It is essential that you provide accurate and complete information in your application form. If you fail to do so the University can withdraw the offer of a place. Undergraduate admissions terms and conditions and Postgraduate admissions terms and conditions.

3. Course entry requirements

The typical course requirements for admission are set out in the relevant section of the online prospectus. Please consider these carefully to ensure you that are eligible for your chosen subject.

4. Accommodation

If you apply to the University to live in University accommodation this is dependent on you continuing to study at the University. There are separate terms and conditions which apply to your occupation of University accommodation.

5. Undergraduate deferred entry

Applicants who wish to apply for deferred entry should enter this against the University of Bath choice on their UCAS form. Applicants wishing to defer entry must meet all the conditions of the deadline specified in your offer letter before taking up a place. The University of Bath will consider requests to defer at later stages in the application cycle, but will only allow an applicant to defer for more than one year where there are very strong mitigating circumstances supported by appropriate evidence (e.g. ill health).

6. Fees and payment

6.1 It is your responsibility to make sure that your tuition fees and all other expenses relating to your course are paid in a timely manner. When you register online, you will be required to indicate how your fees will be paid. You can pay tuition fees in one or two instalments and you must indicate how you intend to pay when registering. You must pay at least 50% of your tuition fee, or sign up to the University direct debit scheme, to complete registration each year. Further details of payment methods and current fees are available on the Student Finance website. Separate fee arrangements and conditions apply for online degrees.

6.2 As a member of the University you will be bound by the University’s regulations on the payment of fees. Failure to make payment of tuition fees in accordance with the regulations may ultimately result in exclusion from the University. The regulations are set out on the University’s website. If you are a sponsored student and your sponsor fails to pay your tuition fees, you will become responsible for payment. Whether you will pay fees as a Home or Overseas student will be indicated in your offer letter or in a separate communication at the outcome of a fee assessment process. If you feel this classification to be incorrect it is your responsibility to contact Admissions. Unless stated otherwise, the course fees do not include any charges for residential accommodation, examination resits, extensions to the designated period of study, travelling expenses, or other miscellaneous expenses which may be related to your course.

6.3 Tuition fees increase annually for all of the University of Bath’s students. The fees stated are for your first year only.

• Home undergraduate fees are regulated by the UK Government and are liable to increase annually by an inflationary amount for both new and continuing students. We expect to charge the maximum fee permitted by the UK Government’s regulations in each year of your study at the University.
• Overseas undergraduate fees and all postgraduate fees are set by the University. Once you have started your studies, you should budget for an increase of up to 5% each year for every further year of study; we will not increase your fees each year by more than this percentage and the amount will be set out on our fee page in December for the following academic year. If you defer your entry, you will pay the fees for the year that you start your course and these may be more than 5% higher than the previous year.
  

A change to the length of courses for new entrants may affect the annual fees charged and this fee would be advertised and communicated before the offer of such course and any student enrolment.

7. Scholarships/Financial hardship

The University has a range of student scholarship and bursary schemes which recognise both excellence, widening participation factors and the financial situation of our students. In addition to the scholarship schemes, the University has a fund to provide financial assistance to students who suffer financial hardship during their studies. Full details of the schemes are available at: for Undergraduates, for Postgraduates and generally.

8. Courses and units

8.1 The University may have to vary the method of delivery of your course, and in some cases the syllabus may be altered or updated. The units described in the online prospectus or on our website are provided as an illustration and may be subject to change. In the unlikely event that the University discontinues your course or changes it significantly, whether before you start your course or once you have begun, we will tell you at the earliest possible opportunity. If this happens before you start your course, you may wish to withdraw your application; if you do so, the University will provide you with support and guidance in finding an alternative course either at the University or at another UK university.

8.2 Subject always to the previous paragraph, the University will make all reasonable efforts to deliver your course as described in the University’s online prospectus. There may be occasions where due to unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances it becomes necessary to make significant changes to a course or to withdraw it or part of it, e.g. a particular unit/module. Such action could become necessary if for example the following were to occur:

• a member of staff leaves the University and we are unable to find a suitable replacement (e.g. with the requisite academic knowledge/experience);
• a professional body or regulator/accreditor requires changes to be made to a course or withdraws their accreditation of a course;
• changes have to be made to reflect legislative changes/requirements;
  
• changes have to be made to reflect changes in standards set by relevant regulators and/or in keeping with best practice or developments related to the particular discipline/subject area;
• student feedback clearly indicates that immediate changes be made to a course or unit; or
• unexpected low recruitment to a course or unit/module means it is simply no longer viable or practical to run it ; or
• changes have to be made to deliver a course or unit in a way that is safe for staff and students, for example following public health advice from a relevant government or agency.
• For Doctoral study, the University may also need to make changes related to supervision and your research project if, for example, a supervisor leaves the University and we are unable to find a suitable replacement with the requisite academic knowledge/experience.
  

9. Conduct

9.1 Students are required to regularly attend such lectures, tutorials, examinations, research supervision meetings and other activities as form part of their course.

9.2 This includes the requirement to submit theses, dissertations and coursework on time. Students must also be aware of and observe the University’s discipline regulations, Fitness to Study policy and codes of conduct (which include the University’s right to suspend or exclude a student in exceptional circumstances on disciplinary grounds), which can be seen here. You may also be subject to the University’s policy on Fitness to Practise.

10. Equality and Diversity

The University prides itself on being a diverse community. Our commitment to equality and diversity is to ensure that the University remains an inclusive environment where equality of opportunity and tolerance for all are fostered and promoted.

11. Immigration Permission

We have a legal requirement to comply with UK immigration rules including monitoring academic engagement. You must ensure that you hold valid immigration permission to study throughout your whole period of study at the University. You will only be allowed to register on your course provided that you hold valid immigration permission to study and an ATAS clearance certificate if this is required based on your nationality, your course and the type of visa immigration permission you hold.

12. Health requirements

The University and bodies such as the General Medical Council and the Department for Education require applicants for certain courses to provide information regarding their physical and mental health. Applicants may also be required to undergo a health check and to provide evidence of immunisation against certain diseases. The offer of a place for such purposes is conditional on such requirements being met.

13. Disabilities

If you have study support needs related to a disability, including dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, mental health conditions, or other health conditions, the University will seek to support you with reasonable adjustments. If you have not yet disclosed that disability, we would encourage you to do so at the earliest opportunity to assist us in putting in place the appropriate support in good time. We would normally document the support to be provided. Even if you have already disclosed a disability, please make sure you contact Student Support before you accept any offer of a place, in order to establish what support is available at the University and the information we need to ensure this can be arranged. You should be aware that if you choose not to disclose your disability, or to limit that disclosure, while we will do our best to support you, you may be limiting your access to the full range of support available. Student Support can be contacted by telephone on 01225 383838 or by email at studentsupport@bath.ac.uk. Further information is also available from Student Support.

14. Criminal convictions

As part of the process of applying to the University, you must disclose any unspent (not exempt from disclosure under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) and/or pending criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings for offenses in areas specified by the University. Courses with professional practice elements will require the disclosure of all convictions, reprimands and warnings whether they are spent or unspent. The University will consider whether such convictions are compatible with being a student at the University and a place on a particular course. If you receive a relevant conviction, caution, reprimand or warning after you have completed the relevant disclosure you must notify the relevant Director responsible for Admissions.

15. Data protection and disclosure of personal information

15.1 The application procedure, registration and your academic progress will provide the University with a range of information about you. It will use this to support you on your course and for the administration and management of the University, including statistical analysis.

15.2 Some of your personal information may be disclosed outside the University, either at your request, with your consent or in your interest or as required or permitted by law. The information is collected from a number of sources including your application, registration forms and references, and from carrying out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks or health checks (if necessary). We may disclose information relating to your academic progress to your sponsor, studentship provider or industrial partner (if you have one). Medical information disclosed to the University’s Medical Centre or the Student Support will be treated as confidential and disclosed only in accordance with their normal procedures. Information arising from DBS checks will be used only in accordance with the DBS’s code of practice.

15.3 We will also ask for emergency contact details and by providing them, you confirm that these individuals have consented to the processing of their personal data by the University. All information will be kept for a reasonable period in accordance with legal requirements and for administration purposes.

16. Termination

16.1 Subject to the completion of any internal appeals procedures, you may be required to leave the University if:

• Your academic performance is not satisfactory;
• Action is taken against you in accordance with the University’s disciplinary , criminal conviction or Fitness to Practise/Fitness to Study procedures;
• You fail to pay your tuition fees in accordance with the University’s regulations on payment of fees;
• You are expelled or dismissed from any other organisation which you are required to attend or be a member of as part of your course;
• You do not have or continue to hold an appropriate immigration permission where needed or fail to comply with any legal obligations of your immigration permission (where you may be suspended immediately); or
• In the reasonable opinion of the University, you have failed to provide the University with all relevant information, or have supplied false or misleading information, relating to your application for your course.

16.2 Provided the action taken to terminate the agreement is in accordance with the University’s procedures, the University will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result. Depending on the circumstances the University may also be entitled to take legal action against you (for example to recover an outstanding debt). Neither the student nor the University shall be liable to each other for any failure or delay in performing obligations, if the failure or delay is due to any cause beyond that party’s reasonable control, for example fire, flood or industrial dispute.

17. Intellectual property

17.1 You are subject to the University regulations regarding exploitable new inventions and intellectual property arising while you are a student of the University.

17.2 Students generally own their own intellectual property. The University only claims ownership of the intellectual property where it has a right to do so, and if it is exploited, it passes a substantial benefit from the net profits back to the student or staff member. However, if you have any questions or concerns regarding these provisions please discuss them with your supervisor or Dean.

18. General matters

18.1 The agreement is between the University and the student and only these two parties can enforce the agreement between them. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply. The agreement between the student and the University is governed by English law.

18.2 If you have any questions please contact the relevant admissions team. During a student’s period of registration, or between the offer of a place and first registration, the University may make changes to the University legislation and Codes of Practice which governs the relationship between the University and its students.

19. Further information

If you need any clarification regarding the accuracy or fairness of this document, it should be addressed to the Director of Recruitment Admissions, who will investigate the matter and reply, in writing, within 28 days of receiving the letter.

Version Information

Owner: Catherine Baldwin, Director of Student Recruitment & Admissions
Approval date: December 2020
Approved by: University Executive Board
Date of last review: August 2022

Previous versions of these important terms and conditions can be found at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.