A pastoral staff member will complete a referral form outlining what they think your difficulties are and their concerns. The Student Resolution Service (SRS) will then arrange a meeting, usually within three weeks of the referral being made.

You will be given a copy of the referral form before the meeting so you will know what is likely to be discussed.

You should then read through the concerns and think about whether you agree with them and what impact they might be having on your or your studies.

The meeting will typically involve three staff members: your senior tutor, a Faculty representative, and someone from Wellbeing Services or the Residential Life Service.

You can bring a friend, family member, or an SU adviser for support. While they can't speak on your behalf, their presence can be reassuring.

This meeting is an opportunity to discuss your situation and explore possible support options. It's a two-way conversation where you can share your perspective and address any concerns raised.

Before the meeting you could think about:

• Any existing support or steps you have taken.
• What additional support might be helpful moving forward.
• Whether you agree with the concerns in the referral form.
• If there is anything else affecting, you or the situation.

You'll receive an action plan within a week via email, summarising what was discussed and agreed in the meeting.

You're expected to then follow the plan and take the recommended steps.

A follow-up meeting or review date may be arranged to assess your progress. A suspension of your studies isn't an immediate outcome of the meeting but may be considered if the situation doesn't improve.

If the action plan is successful, then nothing more will happen, and the Support to Study process is ended.

If the plan doesn’t work or if you need more support, you should speak to someone as soon as possible. They can talk to you about adjusting the action plan or alternative options for you. That might include suspending your studies so that you have time to recover or resolve the issues affecting you.

If the situation gets worse you may be referred to stage two of the process, which is Fitness to Study.

You are unable to appeal a Support to Study outcome.

If a member of staff is concerned about you, they will write a referral with the issues they think you're facing.

The process is then managed centrally by the University Secretary's Office who will be your main point of contact during the process. They will explain the steps and give you important email updates, please make sure to regularly check your email inbox during this time. .

You will need to have an assessment before the panel can take place, usually with either a psychiatrist or an occupational health therapist. The aim of this assessment is to look at if you are currently Fit to Study.

All assessments are done by an independent professional, so they are objective and separate from the University. The University will pay for the assessment, but you must arrange the appointment and regularly check your emails during this process.

They will assess your mental or physical health, depending on your situation, and write a report that is sent to you and the University. The report will make a recommendation on your Fitness to Study.

You will likely be sent a copy of the report, if you do not receive one you can ask the Secretary's Office for an update.

A panel meeting will be arranged around three weeks after the assessment takes place. It will most likely take place online via Teams.

You will be sent a copy of the assessment report and the referral form, there may also be other information or records about your situation that the University hold sent to you in a collection of documents, called a 'bundle'.

Read though the bundle and make a list of points that you either disagree with or that you want to clarify in the meeting. This can also include information that has not previously been introduced.

You can also submit documents to be considered by the panel. These will need to be sent before the meeting, you should check with the Secretary's Office when the deadline is.

You can write a statement about your situation and in response to the report or referral. This is optional, as you can discuss everything in the panel itself - but the statement gives you the opportunity to make sure everything is included and can be considered by the panel in advance.

You could think about:

• What would happen if a similar situation happened again?
• What has changed since the referral was made?
• What support do you have in place or you are waiting for?
• What support do you think would be helpful?
• Is there anything that you disagree with in the bundle?

The meeting will have representatives from your school, your faculty, and either the Wellbeing Service or Residential Life. They may also invite staff from relevant University services if appropriate, such as Visa Services or Disability Services to advise the panel.

The focus of the meeting is to determine whether you are fit to study at the moment, and what support is available to allow you to fully engage in your studies and student life.

This is your opportunity to explain why you think that you are fit to study, so it’s important to mention everything that you think it relevant to your situation. The panel will base their questions based on the referral, the assessment report, and the panel’s document bundle.

Each member of the panel will ask you questions related to their speciality. This is done one-by-one, and they will explain your options and any impact on your studies.

While these panels can feel intimidating, the University will try to make them feel as friendly and supportive as possible. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, and if you need to think about an answer, that’s okay. The panel will treat you with respect, and they won’t expect you to have perfect answers – just the real ones.

You can bring someone with you to the panel. This could be friend or family member, or one of the advisors from our team. Anyone you bring is only there for support, they can’t speak on your behalf.

After meeting with you, the panel will make their decision. You will be sent an outcome letter via email, usually around a week later. There are three possible options:

• Continuing with your studies
  This means you are fit to study and can continue on your course. You may also be given a support plan, recommendations that you will need to follow, and invited to a review meeting to check your progress. We strongly recommend engaging with any support put in place, otherwise you may not make the progress expected and you may need another review.
• Suspending your studies
  In some cases the panel might decide that you need to take some time away from your studies to recover or for your circumstances to improve. There may be conditions to the suspension, but the details specific to your situation will be sent to you and explained.
• Withdrawal from your studies
  It is possible that you could be withdrawn from your studies – but this is only in very rare circumstances. The University’s guidelines say that this will only happen if there are no other options that will help you, your academic position is irretrievable, or if being at the University is putting your or someone else's health or life at risk.