Undergraduate

Any undergraduate student wishing to extend their period of study or suspend studies should complete the Amendment to Registration form and forward to the School Administration Office.

Postgraduate (Approval by School)

Any postgraduate student wishing to amend their attendance level, study method or extend their period of study (not exceeding one additional year from date of first registration), should complete the Amendment to Registration (Approval by School/Institute) form and forward to the appropriate School/Institute.

Postgraduate (Approval by PSC)

Postgraduate Taught Students

Any postgraduate taught student wishing to extend their period of study (exceeding one additional year from date of first registration) or suspend studies should complete the Amendment to Registration form and forward to the School Administration Office.

Postgraduate Research Students

Any postgraduate research student wishing to extend their period of study (exceeding one additional year from date of first registration) or suspend studies should complete the Amendment to Registration form and forward to the School Administration Office.

Any student wishing to change a course (formerly known as a module) should complete the Course Change form and return it to the appropriate School/Institute office for processing, before the end of Week 3 in each Semester. There is a late fee levied on all students who change their course after this date.

Please inform the University of any change in personal details to ensure that we hold up-to-date records. If you require your name to be changed, please inform the Student Service Centre and provide the appropriate paperwork.

If you wish change your address please login to Student Self Service.

Current students wishing to obtain confirmation of student status should request this from your School/Institute.

Any external organisations/institutions looking for confirmation of student status should request this in writing and ensure that the course of study and year of study or graduation date is provided. This will ensure that your request is forwarded to the correct department. Please also include a signed consent form from the current/former student. Requests that are being dealt with within Academic Registry have a turnaround time of 10-14 working days.

Heriot-Watt University will provide a list of full-time registered students to the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Borders Council at the beginning of the Academic Year. However, an exemption may not automatically be granted based on the list alone, you should contact the relevant council tax department and inform them of your name and registration/person number. For Edinburgh Council you can do this online at https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/forms/form/12/en/apply_for_students_council
If for any reason you are not on the list sent to the council or you live out with Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, please request and complete an application form for student exemption and take it to the Student Service Centre to be stamped.

Postgraduate Research Students

Following a period of full-time study, the University will confirm student status if a postgraduate research student becomes affiliated to the University, continuing on a full-time basis, for a maximum of 12 months, in order to fulfil the requirements for the award.  Students within the qualifying period must complete the ‘Council Tax Exemption Form’ for Postgraduate Research Students.

 Please note that the exemption will cease once the thesis has been submitted for examination.

Please read the following information on the University's Policy on Data Protection, Student Data Collection Notice and the Student Personal Data Statement.

Please go to the enrolment website for further information.

The Berlin Ministerial Communiqué on the Bologna Process calls for 'every student graduating as from 2005 to receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge'. All Higher Education institutions in Scotland are required by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) to provide the European Diploma Supplement to every student who graduates from 2005 onwards.

The European Diploma Supplement comprises a Transcript, Programme/Course Information, and the National Framework description.

The Diploma Supplement follows the model developed by the European Commission, Council of Europe and UNESCO-CEPES (the European Centre for Higher Education).

The purpose of the Supplement is to provide sufficient recognition of qualifications. It is designed to provide a description of the nature, level, context and status of the studies that were pursued and successfully completed by the individual named on the original qualifications to which the Supplement is appended. It should be free from any value judgements, equivalence statements or suggestions about recognition.

Further information on the National Higher Education System in Scotland:

Please go to the examinations and assessments website for further information.

Please go to the exit awards webpage for further information.

Please go to the graduation website for further information.

Please go to the intermediate awards webpage for further information.

Any undergraduate student wishing to transfer programme should complete the Programme Transfer form and return it to the appropriate School/Institute office for processing.

Any postgraduate student wishing to change programme, should complete the Programme Transfer Application form (Research/Taught) and forward to the appropriate School/Insitute Office.

Heriot-Watt University can only offer a replacement original certificate if the original is damaged or officially confirmed as lost. Damaged certificates must be returned as evidence if a replacement certificate is required. A copy certificate will be issued unless the original can be returned; a copy certificate is printed on the same parchment as the original but does not include the University embossed seal nor the signatures of the Vice-Chancellor, Secretary or Head of School/Institute (or Dean of Faculty for certificates awarded prior to 2003), but will contain an officially stamped and signed statement of authenticity on the reverse.

A charge of £45 will be applicable in these circumstances. Please allow 4-6 weeks for a copy/replacement certificate to be issued. Please complete a replacement/copy certificate application form.

The University will levy an administration charge of £10 to replace a lost/damaged ID cards. Please visit the Student Service Centre for further information.

Any undergraduate student wishing to apply for a further examination opportunity or appeal against their progression decision should apply to the Undergraduate Studies Committee (USC). Please see University Regulation 36 for further information.

All applications to the USC must be submitted on a Student Appeal form to the School Administration Office and any documents or evidence to support the appeal must be attached. Once received the School will complete a School Comment form to indicate support, or otherwise, for the student's appeal and to indicate the progression route for the student. The complete set of paperwork will then be submitted to the Committee Clerk for consideration by USC.

Once a decision has been agreed upon by the Committee, the Clerk will write to the student informing them of the outcome of their appeal.

The Clerk to the USC is currently Sam Bitar, Registry Officer (Studies Committees) (4575, S.Bitar@hw.ac.uk)

Please note: Applications for re-admission to the University can now be approved by the Head of School. Please see the University Regulations (Regulation 2, paragraphs 6.8, 6.9 and 6.10)

All current and previous students can request access to their marks and information other than marks. If you wish to place a request for this information please complete either the Subject Acces form (release of marks) or Subject Access form (other than marks).

Please go to the examinations and assessments website for further information.

Please read the Policy on Management of Transcripts and Certifications carefully before proceeding with any requests. All requests should be directed to the Student Service Centre in the first instance.

• Transcript Request
• Certification Letter Request

Please go to the tuition fees website for further information.

If you wish to withdraw permanently from your programme at the University, please complete the Withdrawal from University form and return it to your School/Institute for processing.

It is important that you inform us as soon as possible of your wish to leave the University so that we can inform the LEA/Library Board/SAAS or any other sponsor. The earlier we inform them of your withdrawal, the more likely it is that they will agree to fund some of your University study in the future.