A collaborative agreement may come to an end for various reasons: a partner institution may successfully achieve degree-awarding powers; a partner may decide to cease offering a programme; or the University may decide, following a review, that the collaboration no longer fits with its strategic plan.

 

Withdrawal must be carefully managed so as to ensure that academic standards and the quality of experience are maintained for remaining students.

 

Both the University and the partner institution continue to have responsibilities until all students have completed or have left the programme or programmes, the following will apply:

• The University will continue to appoint External Examiners; continue to provide a Collaborative Academic Adviser or equivalent; and continue to convene a forum for the University and partner staff to meet in order to discuss issues relating to the programme or programmes;
• The partner institution will continue to undertake continuous monitoring in accordance with the University’s current procedures.
• The University will continue to undertake periodic review(s) in accordance with the University’s current procedures.
• The partner institution will continue to apply the approved procedures for the assessment of students.
• The partner institution will continue to pay fees to the University as previously agreed.  Special arrangements may be made for students who interrupt their programme or repeat a year.

In all cases, the withdrawal decision must be communicated promptly to the University by the partner institution or to the partner institution by the University. Communication of the decision must allow sufficient time for detailed arrangements to be discussed and agreed.

 

An action plan must be agreed via a meeting of the appropriate Dean (or nominee), one or more senior representatives of the partner institution, the Collaborative Academic Adviser(s), and the Director of Teaching and Learning Support (or nominee).  In the case of postgraduate research collaborations, the meeting will also include the Head of Graduate Education, Research Office (or nominee).  The notes of this discussion plus the action plan should serve as the exit agreement.

 

The action plan must include an agreed date for final student admissions to the programme or programmes that are the subject of the collaborative agreement.  The partner institution will prepare a programme withdrawal form for submission to the appropriate Faculty (as detailed in the University’s procedure for programme withdrawal).

 

Following the completion or departure of the final students, the University will write to the partner institution to confirm the termination of the collaborative agreement.

 

A timeline for completion of the withdrawal will be agreed by the University with the partner institution on a case-by-case basis.