Submitting Changes to Student Records

Any changes to a student’s record need to be made in the University’s student records system (Banner) as well as Moodle. TEIs are responsible for notifying Durham of any changes. All requests for a change of registration must be agreed before the change is made in Moodle and Banner. Some changes –particularly those related to a student’s programme of study – will require approval in advance from either a TEI’s Management Committee or the University via the Concessions process; other changes may simply require informing Durham of the change once agreed by the TEI. See our Concessions page for more information on what changes require approval.  

Changes to student records generally fall into the following categories:  

• Changes to personal details;  
• Changes to student status;  
• Changes to programme registration;  
• Changes to module registration;  
• Error corrections – which should be kept to a minimum.  

TEIs must use the Change of Registration form to securely notify the University of the change. See our Templates and Forms page to download this. TEIs are asked to submit changes to registration on an ongoing basis and in good time for Durham to make the changes in advance of any upcoming student records processes. If the change in registration requires approval in advance from the University, TEIs must request this via the Concessions process. See our Concessions page for more information.  

On 1st December of each academic year, Durham takes a snapshot of TEIs’ student records data in Banner. This census data is used to calculate the TEI validation fees. TEIs should notify the Common Awards Team of any students who suspend or withdraw before this date to ensure that these students are not included in the validation fee calculations.  

TEIs are required to undertake verification checks in Moodle to confirm the accuracy of student records data before submitting this to Durham. See the Moodle Marks Processing System guide, available on the Common Awards Hub, for detailed instructions on how to add data to Moodle, how to undertake the data checks, and how to download the reports for Durham. We therefore expect errors to be kept to a minimum. TEIs should inform the Common Awards Team immediately if they become aware of any errors using the Change of Registration form. TEIs are advised to check the full student record if an error has been discovered to ensure that all other information remains correct (e.g. an incorrect programme code could result in an inaccurate planned length of study and expected leave date, and have implications for the number and choice of module registrations).  

Where the following scenarios result in a change to a student’s record, the Common Awards Team need to be informed of the change using the Change of Registration form.   

Changes to Personal Details   

Records may need to be updated to reflect a change in a student’s personal circumstances (such as change in first, middle or last name, gender). TEIs do not need to seek approval in advance before making this type of change. We expect, however, that TEIs will have seen formal evidence of this change e.g. a copy of the student's passport, a marriage certificate or deed poll. The University does not require a copy of these documents. We require the full legal name of students as it appears on legal documentation (such as their passport or driving licence). This should include all middle names and should not include any abbreviations, prefixes or suffixes. This information will appear on students’ academic transcripts and parchments. 

TEIs should use the Change of Registration form to notify the Common Awards Team of the change and share this securely with Durham.  

Changes to student status

Suspension of studies: a student may wish to suspend their studies for personal, medical or professional reasons. Requests to suspend studies should be considered via the Concessions process. Depending on the circumstances, these either require approval by the TEI Management Committee or the Common Awards Management Board.  

TEI Management Committee approval: TEIs should forward a copy of the Concession Request Form to the Common Awards Team once the concession has been approved by the TEI, and make sure that any changes to the student registration (student status code, suspension start and end date; length of study; updated expected leave date; changes to module registration, and plan of study if affected) are identified on the relevant section of the form. There is no need to send a separate Changes of Registration Form.

University approval (Common Awards Management Board): TEIs should sent the Concessions Request Form to the Common Awards Team, with supporting evidence, and make sure that any expected changes to the student registration (student status code, suspension start and end date; length of study; updated expected leave date; changes to module registration, and plan of study if affected) are identified on the relevant section of the form. We ask that TEIs do not make the changes in Moodle until the concession request has been approved. 

See our Concessions page for detailed information on the Concessions process and our Templates and Forms page for the concessions request form and Change of Registration form. TEIs should also consult our guidance on Academic Progress and Student Support (specifically Student Absence & Illness) in case alternative action may be more appropriate.  

Withdrawals: a student may wish to withdraw voluntarily from their academic programme. This might result in a student leaving with fewer credits successfully completed than intended, but they may still be eligible for an exit qualification.  

TEI Boards of Examiners (or Chair) must agree the withdrawal of a student from their academic programme due to academic failure, non-engagement, research misconduct, or academic misconduct via the documented processes. See our pages on Core Regulations, Academic Progress, Academic Misconduct, and Research Misconduct for more information.  

In all cases, TEIs are responsible for ensuring that any confirmed module marks for students who withdraw are shared with the University, and that, where applicable, students are considered and recommended for an exit award. If a student withdraws mid-year, marks for any completed modules will still need to be confirmed by the TEIs Board of Examiners, as normal. Please ensure to notify the Common Awards Team of confirmed module marks for withdrawn students following the TEI Board of Examiners. As a result of the withdrawal, it is likely that a student’s module registrations will need to be updated (to remove modules not studied). 

TEIs should use the Change of Registration form to notify the Common Awards Team of the students change in status and specifically the following: 

• Reason for withdrawal  
• Date the student withdrew from their studies (DD/MM/YYYY) 
• Changes to module registration  
• Module marks for completed modules  

Change to Plan of Study: a student may wish to change from full- to part-time study or vice versa. TEIs are able to agree this change. TEIs should use the Change of Registration form to notify the Common Awards Team of the student’s change in status and specifically the following:

• Change in Plan of study (FULL / PART) 
• Length of Study update (in months) 
• Updated expected leave date (31/07/YYYY or 30/09/YYYY) 
• Changes to module registration  

TEIs are advised to consult our page on Credit Parameters to ensure students are registered on the correct number of modules for full or part-time study for their programme. See our Concessions page for information on the process to seek exemption to these frequency of study requirements.   

Changes to Programme Registration 

Generally speaking, there are two types of programme change within Common Awards. Students who change programmes will either be transferring from one programme to another, or completing one award and beginning another.

Students who change programme within a qualification grouping (undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate)  - for example, moving from the Graduate Certificate to the Graduate Diploma - are normally transferring.  Students may be progressing from a lower award to a higher award within that same programme grouping or exiting with a lower award than the one they originally registered on. Depending on where the student is in their studies, this programme change may require approval via the Concessions process or it can be approved by the TEI Board of Examiners. Students should not be transferred between programmes during the final term of study in any academic year; programme transfers at this point should be managed through the Board of Examiners.  

Students who are progressing will take the credit gained, and marks from any modules studied, from the first programme into the second. They will not need a new student record. They can keep their existing Banner ID (though their end date may need to change as they could be taking more or fewer modules over a longer or shorter period of time). As students are bringing their credit with them, they will not receive an award from the first programme. 

Students who change programme from one qualification grouping to another – for example, moving from the BA to the Postgraduate Certificate - are normally completing. These students will receive the award from the first programme and will have a new student record and Banner ID created. They will begin their new programme afresh, and will not bring any credits, completed modules, or marks with them. See our Submitting Programme Registrations page for details on how to register new students on Common Awards programmes. 

See our pages on Concessions and TEI Board of Examiners: Progression for more information on how to seek approval for a programme change before notifying Durham of the change required on the student’s record. Different types of programme transfer require different types of approval. The information below clarifies what information Durham requires in order to make the change in the University’s student records system, following the relevant approval process. 

Programme transfer within a TEI: TEIs should use the concessions process to notify the Common Awards Team of the student’s change in programme and specificy the following: 

• Change in Programme Code  
• Change in Plan of study (FULL / PART) 
• Length of Study update (in months)
• Updated expected leave date (31/07/YYYY or 30/09/YYYY) 
• Changes to module registration  

Changes to Module Registration 

Our normal expectation is that once students are registered on particular modules their choice of modules will not change; however, we recognise that there might good reasons why module registrations need to change in a small number of cases.

TEIs are responsible for ensuring that students are registered on modules in line with the requirements of the relevant Common Awards programme specification, a TEI’s approved programme regulations, and the credit requirements as set out in the Core Regulations. If a student’s course of study would deviate from the requirements of the programme regulations as a result of a module registration change, TEIs should submit a Concession for review by the University. If a module change falls within the requirements of the programme regulations then TEIs can submit a Change of Registration form. The form can be found on our Templates and Forms page.

See our Submitting Module Registrations page for details on how to register students on Common Awards modules, and our Concessions page for details on how to seek approval for module registration changes, where required.