Version 0.1 - Last Updated: 31 Jan 2023

Postgraduate change of circumstances

Doctoral Thesis Submission CoC


You must submit an accurate and timely notification when a doctoral student has changed their thesis submission date.

This chapter will tell you how to submit a Thesis Submission CoC. It will also explain how a change to a thesis submission date may alter the student’s funding.

You can create this CoC manually from the Create CoC page.

  1. Go to the SIS Home page and select CoC Home.

  2. This will open the CoC Home menu showing the CoC subareas you can see with your access level.

  3. Select Create CoC.

  4. Select Postgraduate from the Level of Funding dropdown.

  5. Select Thesis Submission from the Change of Circumstance category dropdown. Image shows the Change of Circumstance page in SIS and Thesis Submission on the dropdown menu.
  1. Select the year you want to apply this CoC to from the Academic Year dropdown. This CoC is only available from academic year 2019/20 onward.

  2. Select Next.

  3. The system will ask you to enter the details of the student this CoC applies to. You can enter the SSN (student support number) to search for the student’s details.

  4. When you've added the student details, select Next. This will open the Change of Circumstance Details page where you can enter the specific details of the change.

    Image shows the Change of Circumstance details page for Thesis submission in SIS
  1. The system will show the student’s details and the course details.

  2. Enter the Thesis Submission Date. This is the date you're going to change the student’s thesis submission to. Once you've entered the date, select Next.

    The system will not let you enter a date that is after the course end date. You'll need to submit a Transfer CoC to move the student onto a course that finishes later instead.

    If you enter a date that is not eligible, you'll get an error message when you select Next.
  1. If you need to, you can add notes in the Further explanation if required field. Please leave this blank unless you need to tell us something that the other fields do not cover.

  2. Select Next.

  3. The system will ask you to select which user at your organisation is submitting this CoC. Use the radio buttons to select your details, then select Next.
    Image shows the coc summary page for thesis submission.
  1. The last page will give you an overview of the information you've entered. Make sure this is correct and select Submit.

Thesis submission date under 3 years or over 8

When you change a student’s thesis submission date, it is important that you talk to the student about how this can affect their funding.

A change to the end date can change the amount a student receives in each payment instalment. After we process the CoC, our system will recalculate the amount paid out to the student. It will distribute the leftover payment equally across the remaining payment dates.

If you move the out the thesis submission date, we'll pay the student over a longer period. This means they could receive a smaller amount in each payment. The opposite is true if you move in the thesis submission date.

To be eligible for doctoral funding, the student's course must be between 3 and 8 academic years in length. A change to their thesis submission date can affect eligibility.

If a student agrees to change the thesis submission date so that the course duration is less than 3 academic years, you should include the decision date in the Further explanation if required field. This is the date when you and the student decided that they're going to submit a thesis in less than 3 years. This will also be the date when funding should stop. Any funding paid to the student after this point will be an overpayment.

If the student is on an 8-year course and wants more time to submit their thesis, you can change their thesis submission date to the course end date. You cannot enter a date later than the course end date. You'll also not be able to transfer them to another course, as our system will not let you create a doctoral course longer than 8 academic years.  


Thesis submission after course end date

If a student wants to submit their thesis after their course end date, you'll need to transfer them to a longer course. The new course must begin in the same academic year as their current course. 

Example

A student is on a 4-year course beginning in September of academic year 2020/21. Their thesis is due on 31 April 2024.

They now want to submit their thesis on 1 May 2025. This is beyond their course end date.

You'll need to transfer the student onto a course that started in September of academic year 2020/21 but ends after 1 May 2025.

You may need to create a new course to transfer the student onto. See our Courses Management Service user guide to find out more about how to do this.


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