Return from Leave of Absence FAQs

For advice on how to return from your leave of absence, please read through the information at our Return from Leave of Absence webpage.

I haven’t received my invitation to return from my leave of absence, who can I contact? (Self-Service applications only)

If you applied for your latest leave of absence using the Self-Service leave of absence portal, depending on the duration of your absence, we will contact you around 8-12 weeks before your return date and invite you to complete an online return form.

If your return date is closer than 8 weeks away, either due to a short leave of absence period, or a retrospective leave of absence, we will aim to contact you sooner.

If it is less than 8 weeks before your return date and you have not heard from us, please contact tsa-loa@contacts.bham.ac.uk (undergraduate and postgraduate taught) pgrletforms@contacts.bham.ac.uk (postgraduate research).

What evidence do I need to provide for my return from leave of absence?

If you are returning from a medical leave of absence, you will need to provide us with medical evidence to confirm you are fit to resume studies. You will need to upload this in your Self-Service return application when prompted by the form.

How can I check the status of my return application?

To check the status of your return from leave of absence application, log on to Self-Service, select the Leave of Absence portal and view ‘Your Existing Requests’.

*Please note, if you have previously applied for a leave of absence / return from leave of absence using a PDF/ Word document form, your request will not show in Self-Service existing requests.  Please Contact your school if you wish to know the progress of your PDF /Word document form.

What does the status of my return application mean?

Your return application will move through various stages before it is approved and processed:

Return from LoA

Your leave of absence has been updated to ‘Return from LoA’ status. This means you have been sent an invite to begin your return application by logging into the Leave of Absence portal at Self-Service.

Pending Return Review

Your return application is pending review from one of our members of staff.

Insufficient Evidence for Return

If your leave of absence was for medical reasons, you will need to provide medical evidence confirming you are fit to resume studies. If your return application status is ‘Insufficient Evidence for Return,’ this means that your evidence has been reviewed and is insufficient for us to approve your return. You will be sent further details on why your evidence is insufficient/what steps you’ll need to take next.

Return Confirmed

Your return application has been approved. Once your return has been processed on your student record, you will receive an email confirming your next steps.

 

Who can I contact for further academic/wellbeing support around my return?

  • Your college Wellbeing Officer can support you with any questions you may have about your return to study. They can also signpost you to additional support services should you require it.
  • The Student Disability Service can be contacted should you have any questions about your disability. We would highly encourage you to reach out to the team should you require any adjustments, or amendments, to support your return to study.
  • For academic advice and specific information regarding your programme of study, please Contact your school, personal tutor/supervisor.

What happens if I don’t return from my leave of absence?

If you do not respond to our invitations to return from your leave of absence, once your leave of absence expires you may be withdrawn from the university, as per regulation 10.1 in the Code of Practice on Leave of Absence Procedure.

If you have continuing circumstances which mean you are not able to return to studies yet, you can apply to extend your leave of absence by submitting another leave of absence form. If you have not returned to your studies yet, this leave of absence should start from your previous leave of absence’s end date.

Please contact your Wellbeing Officer / personal tutor / supervisor for more advice on extending your leave of absence. You can visit our Leave of Absence webpage for full details on applying for a leave of absence.

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If you are unable to find the information that you're searching for in our FAQs, please contact:

 

 

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