Clearing

For all the help, advice and guidance that you need to secure your place at Leeds Met, contact our team of advisors on 0113 81 23113, from 7:00am 18 August 2011.

You will receive official notification from UCAS that your place has been confirmed with us and that you need to respond by logging into your Welcome Information Service account at https://welcome.leedsmet.ac.uk to accept your place.

On receipt of your acceptance you will be able to access your Welcome and Induction information online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is UCAS Clearing?
Who needs to apply through Clearing?
What is a Clearing Number?
How do I find out which courses have vacancies?
What happens when I phone Leeds Met?
How do I receive a formal offer?
What happens after I accept my offer?
How do I get details about registering and starting my course?
How do I sort out accommodation?
What if I have a query about the handling of my Clearing application?
What if I change my mind about which course, year of entry or institution?
How do I sort out my Student Loan and getting assessed for fees?

What is UCAS Clearing?

Clearing is the process of matching unplaced applicants with vacancies on courses. It lasts from the beginning of July until the end of September, with the peak of activity just after A level results are published.

Who needs to apply through Clearing?

Only those who are not holding any offers are eligible to apply through Clearing. This includes:

applicants who received no offers from their initial course choices.
applicants who declined all offers from their initial course choices.
applicants rejected at Confirmation by both their course choices (firm and insurance).
all applicants who submit their UCAS application after 30 June.

What is a Clearing Number?

This is the unique number required to participate in Clearing. UCAS only issues Clearing Numbers to those in the categories above when their exam results have been published. You will need to quote that number when you contact the Universities you are interested in attending.

How do I find out which courses have vacancies?

There are a growing number of national sources of course vacancy information. Some are official, supplied by UCAS and some are not, depending on individual HEI's supplying information 'voluntarily' or as paid-for advertising. This prospectus contains vacancy information. When you search for Clearing courses it will only show courses where vacancies are available. The UCAS website (www.ucas.com) is a source of information on clearing vacancies at other institutions.

Beware that vacancy information can be very volatile - courses can open and close rapidly.

Beware too that if a course has only a couple of vacancies it may not be worth listing it nationally. For this reason applicants are well advised to keep ringing Leeds Met for our latest vacancy information.

What happens when I phone Leeds Met?

The number 0113 812 3113, gets callers straight through to the Admissions Team.

Admissions staff check which course(s) enquirers are interested in, their eligibility for Clearing (best proved by quoting the Clearing number), their qualifications and other relevant attributes. For most courses an informal offer can be made by a member of the course team during the initial phone conversation. The applicant is asked to formalise online their intention.

There is a variety of procedures within Schools leading up to making an offer of a place. This can include interviews, portfolio presentations, health checks and obtaining copies of applicants' original UCAS application forms.

All Clearing offers have to be unconditional (and are not normally for deferred entry) but a 'sell-by' date is set on any informal offer made over the phone. If the applicant fails to provide their Clearing number by that date the university reserves the right to withdraw the offer.

How do I receive a formal offer?

All formal offer letters are issued by UCAS. Receipt of the online Clearing aplication together with the informal offer from the School will be made into a firm offer and UCAS notified.

You will receive form AS12 from UCAS to formally accept the place offered to you. Acceptance of this offer should be made online via WIS.

What happens after I accept my offer?

The Admissions Office notifies UCAS of the acceptance of the offer. You will then be able to access your Welcome Information at http://welcome.leedsmet.ac.uk

How do I get details about registering and starting my course?

New students are automatically registered at the University on receipt of the acceptance of the offer. Welcome information will be available online once this acceptance is received. This will include information such as, welcome week, fees information, induction details - where to turn up on your first day.

How do I sort out accommodation?

An offer of a place on a course at Leeds Met does not include an offer of living accommodation. Once a Clearing offer of a place has been received an applicant can apply to Leeds Met's Accommodation Office (www.leedsmet.ac.uk/visiting/accommodation) or call 0113 81 25972. We will make every effort to accommodate first-year students, either in university owned or run accommodation or through UNIPOL, the student accommodation agency run by the two universities in Leeds and our students' unions. You can book onto one of the house mixing events run by Unipol, where you will meet other first year students looking for somewhere to live. Visit www.unipol.co.uk.

What if I have a query about the handling of my Clearing application?

In the first instance enquiries about the progress of an individual Clearing application should be directed to the Admissions Office.

What if I change my mind about which course, year of entry or institution?

A change of mind which does not involve another university or college and which occurs before the applicant's acceptance is recorded by UCAS can be sorted out by the applicant contacting the Admissions Office. Normally the applicant first secures the promise of an offer from the School which runs their new choice of course. The applicant then contacts the School that needs to release them, which checks that the first School does indeed wish to offer a place and then either effects the change using Banner or asks Admissions to sort things out with UCAS. Where appropriate an amended offer is issued.

In line with UCAS policy, we seek to discourage applicants from reneging on their commitments within the UCAS scheme. We take requests from those committed to register at Leeds Met to be allowed to go to another university or college instead very seriously, so we require them to write to the Admissions Officer setting out the reasons for their request. Where the reasons are acceptable the Admissions Office instructs UCAS to effect a release. UCAS then issues the applicant with a Clearing Passport for them to send to their new course choice to formalise their acceptance through Clearing.

How do I sort out my student loan and getting assessed for fees?
English students who have not yet applied for student financial support would be advised to use the following link to find out more about applying for tuition fee loans and maintenance loans for 2011/12 through Student Finance England: http://www.direct.gov.uk/

For students who are not from England (ie those students who normally live in another region in the UK - Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland - or those students who normally live in another country in the European Union) should use the following link to find out more about applying for student financial support for 2011/12: http://www.direct.gov.uk/

If you have already made an application for student financial support for the 2011/12 academic year but the place you have accepted through Clearing at Leeds Metropolitan University differs from the course and/or the university that you initially applied for support for, you would be advised to log onto the student account that you set up when making your online application for student support and follow the 'change of circumstances' instructions listed there for making changes to your student record.

It is crucial that you complete the 'change of circumstance' as your attendance will need to be confirmed by the University to the Student Loans Company in order for any maintenance payments to be made into your account. Failure to do this can cause a delay in any confirmation and any resulting payments being processed.

Please note that if you have been assessed as a student with an 'Overseas' residence status, you would not be eligible for student financial support.

Jargon Buster

Admissions cycle	The period during which applications are handled for a particular academic session, eg the 2011 admissions cycle lasts from Sept 2010 to Oct 2011.
Admissions Office	Where UCAS applications and enquiries about their processing are handled centrally within Leeds Met, often simply called 'Admissions'.
AS12	UCAS's unconditional offer letter, usually issued at Confirmation.
Banner	Leeds Met's computerised admissions and student records system.
Clearing	Clearing is the process of matching unplaced applicants with vacancies on courses. It lasts from the beginning of July until the end of September, with the peak of activity just after A level results are published.
Clearing Number	An applicant's official notification to participate in Clearing.
Course Enquiries	Where general enquiries about courses are handled centrally within Leeds Met.
Faculty	One of four academic delivery units of Leeds Met, some consisting of several Schools.
HEI	Higher Education Institution, ie University or College/Institute of Higher Education.
LEA	Local Education Authority, ie Education Department of a County or unitary Local Authority in England & Wales.
Registrar & Secretary's Office (RSO)	The Leeds Met department to which the Admissions Office belongs.
Record of Prior Acceptance	UCAS's system for recording the acceptance of applicants directly by HEIs late on in the admissions cycle.
Registration	Students are registered for their target academic award at the start of their course.
Release	The process of an HEI agreeing not to hold an applicant to their commitment to join that institution.
School	An academic department of Leeds Met, usually part of a Faculty.
UCAS	Universities & Colleges Admissions Service - the national clearing house for applications to full-time and sandwich higher education courses, based in Cheltenham.
Welcome Information	Pack of information for new students about Leeds Met and their course.

Admissions Office Opening Hours

Normal opening hours from 14 August to 26 August are:

Monday-Friday: 0830-1700 hrs
(closed Bank Holiday Monday 29 August)

We will be open additionally as follows:
Thursday 18 August 0700-1830 hrs
Friday 19 August 0800-1800 hrs

Applicants with special circumstances

Leeds Met School staff should check whether any applicant has any disability or special needs and themselves contact/refer the applicant to Student Services for advice where necessary.

For certain courses, the University needs to made a variety of checks on applicants before offers can be formalised, eg health checks for students on courses allied to medicine.

Clearing Timetable

From mid-July	UCAS issues Clearing numbers to applicants as they become eligible for Clearing.
Thurs 18 Aug	A and AS level results day. UCAS begins to send Clearing Number to A level students of eligibility for clearing.
Mid September	End of UCAS's official vacancy information service (but not of Clearing).
Sun 18 Sept	Start of Welcome Week - Friends & Family weekend.
Sat 20 Sept	Last date for new UCAS clearing applications to reach UCAS.
Mon 26 Sept	Leeds Met start of term - Welcome Week.
Wed 28 Oct	2011 entry UCAS applications cycle finishes.

For further information visit the Clearing pages on the UCAS website www.ucas.com/clearing