Suspending student recruitment to a programme of study

The procedure for suspending student recruitment to a programme of study is separate from that for terminating a programme: the former is invariably more urgent. Approving a proposal to suspend recruitment to a programme is made by the Strategic Portfolio Committee.  It is reported formally to the Quality and Standards Committee and to the Academic Board. Specific notifications are sent to the School, Registry, and the appropriate Directorates using a standard email and distribution.

Background 

Provisional student-number targets for recruitment to programmes are approved by the Executive Board on the recommendation of the Director of Strategy and Planning and PVC Learning and Teaching and reported to the Academic Board in the first term of each session. If, in the process of target setting, it is decided that a programme should not recruit, a decision to suspend recruitment to that programme may be taken.  

Timing

The times, relative to the planned start of a programme, at which recruitment to that programme may be suspended are as follows:

20 months before	most likely through periodic review, before data is sent to UCAS;
14 months before	through the annual planning and review processes. Any decision to terminate a programme should be made by the next planning cycle.
3 months before	through a final check of recruitment. This should happen in absolutely exceptional circumstances only.
For undergraduate programmes only, there are three additional break-points:
10 months before	through the target-setting consultation process;
8 months before	through the first check of progress against recruitment targets;
5 months before	through the second check of progress against recruitment targets.

Where a decision to suspend recruitment to a programme is taken and offers to a programme have already been made, the Admissions team will notify all applicants promptly and offer every assistance to find an alternative programme place, either at YSJU or elsewhere.  

The University should remain committed to running a programme that has not been withdrawn by the latest date set out above.  The Strategic Portfolio Committee should, however, seek to avoid the continuation of a programme that is likely to have such a small cohort that the student experience is adversely affected and exceptionally a decision to suspend recruitment at such a late point will have to be taken. 

Proposing suspension of recruitment to a programme 

The proposal is most likely to come from the School or the Director of Strategy and Planning. The formal proposal should be made on the Suspension of Recruitment Proposal form (docx, 34.5 kB) and submitted to approvals@yorksj.ac.uk for consideration by the Strategic Portfolio Committee.  Arrangements for any existing applicants are an integral part of this proposal.