Accessibility statement

Support to Study

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Sometimes we, or a student, have concerns relating to the student’s health, safety, behaviour, or wellbeing. These concerns could impact the student themselves or others within the University community. In these circumstances, where the concerns could have a detrimental impact on your academic studies, the Support to Study procedure may be initiated. 

This process is designed to enable us to work with individual students to provide an appropriate and coordinated response to these concerns, and to support them to succeed in their academic goals.

When is this process used?

The Support to Study process may be initiated in a variety of situations, for example when:

  • Significant concerns have been raised about the student’s health and wellbeing, and whether they are well enough to be studying without serious detriment to their own health or the safety of other members of the University community.
  • A student has complex support needs, but may not be accessing all the support available to them to enable them to succeed in their studies.
  • A student's behaviour, and impact on other students/the wider University is cause for concern.
  • A student has missed significant portions of teaching and/or assessment and may not be responding to offers of support and contact from their department.
  • Departments are considering “Assumed Withdrawal” due to lack of engagement from the student, but have concerns a student may have additional needs or be dealing with other difficulties that members of the department are not aware of.
  • A student is returning from a leave of absence, particularly if that leave of absence has been for an extended period and the student may require additional support in their return to study.
  • A student themself believes that they may not be accessing all the support they need, and has concerns about whether they are well enough to study. 

What can I expect from the process and what are the possible outcomes?

The aim of the process is to ensure you have appropriate and coordinated support in order to succeed in your academic goals. Below is an overview of how the process starts and initial steps involved.

A referral to the Support to Study process is usually by one of two ways:

  • A concern being raised by a member of staff, which they do by completing a Referral Form. If possible, the referrer should inform you that a referral has been made, and why
  • A self-referral by the student themselves using the referral form: a University email account is required to access the form.

Wherever possible, we will try to support you through other means before initiating the Support to Study process.

When you have been referred to the process, depending on your circumstances you will either be referred straight to Support to Study or you will be offered an Access Meeting.

Access meeting

Your Access Meeting will be with a member of staff from Student Life And Wellbeing (SLAW) and sometimes a member of staff from your department. You can ask a member of the SU to accompany you to this Access Meeting too if you’d like.

The Access Meeting will cover your circumstances, what support you’re currently receiving, what additional support you could receive, as well as if there are any safety concerns or risks in your case.

The Access Meeting will result in either a continuation or escalation of the support you currently receive, or a referral for more direct intervention via Support to Study.

If you are referred to the Support to Study process, the following will happen:

  • We will appoint a Panel Chair, who acts as your main point of contact.
  • You will be informed which “Stage” will be followed. In most cases this will be Stage 1, but in cases where a student is in crisis, or there is a serious or persistent concern about the student, cases can go straight to Stage 2.
  • The Panel Chair sends you a letter (usually by email) that explains that a referral has been received. The letter will give details of the main concerns, and invite you to a meeting.
  • The letter also outlines what support is available to you, and informs you that a York SU Advice and Support adviser can accompany you to the meeting, if you’d like. This is encouraged, as we want students to be able to access independent support, whether that's to join you at the meeting, or to help answer any questions you may have. 

Things to think about

  • If you are unable to attend the proposed date/time of the meeting, you can contact the Panel Chair to request an alternative date/time.
  • If you are unsure why a person on the panel is attending the meeting, you can ask your Panel Chair about this, or alternatively get in touch with York SU Advice and Support.
  • Do you have a disability or long term health condition that may be affecting your studies? If so, and you have a Student Support Plan or are in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance, you might want to share this with the Panel Chair. If you are unsure about doing this, get in touch with York SU Advice and Support. If you have not got a diagnosis, but have ongoing ill health or symptoms, you can raise this as well.
  • If you have a Disability Services practitioner, and you’d like them to attend the meeting, discuss this with the Panel Chair.

Stages of the process

Stage 1: informal case review and support planning

Key staff members, such as your supervisor or other relevant person from your Department, College Manager, or other appropriate support services may be invited to the meeting to discuss your circumstances with you. The meeting will normally be chaired by a member of staff from the Student Life and Wellbeing Team or Student Services. Any actions from the meeting will be logged by the Panel Chair, so there’s no requirement for you to keep your own notes - though you are welcome to.

You will be invited to the meeting and have the option of being accompanied by a supporter, for example an advisor from York SU. If you wish to be accompanied by a member of University staff, or another supporter, eg a parent/guardian or NHS worker, then you should contact the Panel Chair in advance of the meeting to discuss this.

You will be given the opportunity to present any information that you feel is relevant at the meeting.

The meeting will result in an agreed action plan. A review date will be set, and a subsequent review or the action plan will take place at the next meeting. At this point, one of the following will happen: 

  • It will be decided whether the issues are resolved, and the case will be closed
  • The action plan may be reviewed and updated, and further review period agreed
  • If the agreed action points have not been undertaken by the student, or if the matters of concern become more serious, the case may be escalated to Stage 2

Stage 2: more formal case review and support planning

Stage 2 is implemented when there are serious or persistent concerns about a student’s health, wellbeing and/or behaviours, safety and/or ability to study and cope at University or where there are considered to be serious concerns about risk to the student and/or others.

This stage will be overseen by a Support to Study Panel which will comprise the Panel Chair (normally from the Student Life and Wellbeing Team and/or Student Services). There will also be a representative from your Department, such as your supervisor, a representative from your College team and possibly other relevant support services, such as your Disability Services Practitioner.

You will be invited to the meeting and have the option of being accompanied by a supporter, for example a York SU adviser. If you wish to be accompanied by a member of University staff, or another supporter, eg a parent/guardian or NHS worker, then you should contact the Panel Chair in advance of the meeting to discuss this.

You will be given the opportunity to present any information that you feel is relevant at the meeting.

The role of the Panel is to consider whether you are fit to undertake your studies and meet the assessment requirements of your programme without risk of harm to yourself or others.

There will be a discussion of the case and where possible, actions will be agreed in a written action plan, and a date set for a review of the action plan.

You will be required to adhere to the action plan - where you are not able to do so, or the action plan fails, consequences may include recommendation for:

  • A Leave of Absence
  • Suspension
  • Termination of studies or the student’s failure of their programme. 

What are the options for responding?

If you are invited to a Support to Study meeting, try to attend if you can. You should be given adequate notice in order to prepare.

If you are unable to attend due to the date/time of the meeting, then contact the Panel Chair to request an alternative date/time.

You should be asked if they have a Student Support Plan (SSP), or need any reasonable adjustments to participate in the meeting. If you have an ongoing condition or disability, it can be really helpful for the Panel Chair to be aware of this, to ensure the process is run in a way that works for you. Whether you choose to share the full SSP with the Panel Chair is up to you. At a minimum, you are encouraged to make the Chair aware of any adjustments you might need for the meeting.

At the meeting, you will be given the opportunity to respond to the concerns outlined in the initial letter. This can include providing further information at the meeting, and/or submitting any supporting evidence.

An independent adviser from York SU Advice & Support would be happy to help you prepare for this meeting. You can discuss how you’d like to respond to the concerns raised, the type of questions you might be asked, and how to prepare for your meeting. They can also provide advice and feedback on any evidence that you might want to submit.

Things to think about when planning your response

  • What has contributed/led up to these concerns?
  • Are there any circumstances that are affecting your studies, health or behaviour? These could be personal or family issues, health or financial worries etc.
  • Are you facing any particular difficulties that the University doesn’t know about?
  • What support do you currently have? Do you feel this is enough, or is there anything else you might need?
  • What support could help you to achieve your best from your studies?

Once you’ve thought about the above, put together some notes and you can take these with you to the meeting to refer to.