Information for Applicants - FAQs

If you are waiting for a decision from us, please be assured that we are continuing to process applications as quickly as possible. If the course to which you have applied requires an interview, we will be in touch with information about how and when this will take place.  If we require any additional information from you in relation to your application, we will email you, so please check your emails for any updates from us.

If your application is to a course which requires an interview, but this can be assessed in another way such as via an online portfolio, we will request this information in order to process your application without inviting you to interview. For all courses where an interview is essential, we will invite you to attend a video or telephone interview so that this assessment can still take place.

If you have any questions about a video or telephone interview in relation to your application, please email admissions@southwales.ac.uk.

If you have received an Unconditional offer from USW, nothing will change and your offer is unaffected. You will need to accept the offer, if you’ve not yet done so, so that we can send out your enrolment and induction information in the summer. UCAS have extended the deadline to 18th June 2020 in order to allow Undergraduate applicants additional time to make their choices.

We are doing all that we can to ensure there is minimum disruption to your application. We are following advice from UCAS, Qualifications Wales and awarding bodies to support you through your application process. Providing you with certainty at this time is a key priority for us. You will be aware that schools and colleges have been asked to provide centre assessment grades, for most qualifications, for each student. Arrangements have been put in place by UCAS to ensure these are sent to universities over the Summer so that the confirmation of places can take place as normal.

 We understand this is a stressful time and we appreciate your patience while we confirm our next steps in relation to your application. If you do have any questions in the meantime, please contact us by emailing admissions@southwales.ac.uk.

 If you’ve not yet accepted the conditional offer, UCAS have extended the deadline to 18th June 2020 in order to allow Undergraduate applicants additional time to make their choices.

The University is reviewing non-academic entry requirements for our courses in relation to where consideration or compensation can be made. The following course have amended their entry criteria:

Chiropractic

Applicants who are joining us in September 2020 but who are currently unable to fulfil observation of a minimum 3 hours of a chiropractor in clinical practice in light of the Covid-19 situation, will have this taken into consideration. It will not be necessary to contact us if you are unable to undertake this observation.

BA (Hons) Counselling and Therapeutic Practice

Applicants, providing they meet or are expected to meet academic requirements, can be invited to interview with at least 80 hours work experience, rather than the advertised 150 hours. Applicants who are successful in obtaining a place will still be required to secure the remaining 70 hours before the start of the course, which can be undertaken via online volunteering or telephone work; however, this will be revised if the situation continues. 

BSc (Hons) Social Work

Applicants, providing they meet or are expected to meet academic requirements, can be invited to interview if they do not yet meet the 455 hours work experience requirement. Applicants who are successful in obtaining a place will be required to secure these hours before the start of the course; however, this will be revised if the situation continues.

If your course entry criteria requires working with others and is not listed above, please contact us on admissions@southwales.ac.uk for advice.

Please don’t worry. We are aware that schools and colleges are currently closed and this may be difficult for you at the moment. Some schools and colleges are operating remotely and so may be able to e-mail confirmation of your previous results to us at admissions@southwales.ac.uk. However, if you are unable to obtain the information you need, please contact our Admissions Team by emailing admissions@southwales.ac.uk to let us know. We can then add a note to your application with us and advise you further.

Teachers in schools and colleges are busy calculating grades based on advice and guidance provided by the exam regulator, Ofqual. These results will be confirmed by examination boards and delivered to universities for these grades to be considered against your offer. If your grades don’t meet the conditions of your offer, we will consider your application to see if we can still confirm your place for the course you have applied for, or any suitable alternative, as we would do in any normal year. We recognise that all learners will have been significantly impacted by this situation and this will be taken into consideration.

If you’re due to complete your Access to HE studies by 31st July this year, you will now receive calculated grades for all remaining assessments with submission dates after 20th March 2020.

We are still awaiting confirmation with regards to BTEC results but would expect that they too will calculate grades for students due to complete their qualifications this year.

Of course you can. We are still accepting applications for all courses with the exception of Midwifery and Child Health Nursing. You can find out about our courses on our website. Information about submitting an application can be found here.

We are hosting a virtual Open Event where you can see our campuses, facilities and find out more about our courses. Information about our virtual Open Day and how to book a place can be found here.

If you have any questions about life at USW, helpful information can be found on our website for the following areas:

Accommodation

Campuses

Careers

Courses

Fees and funding – undergraduate

Fees and funding – postgraduate

International

Yes we will be welcoming new students onto our courses in September. Enrolment and induction information for courses starting in September will be sent out in the summer.

With social distancing requirements expected to continue for some time, we are adapting how we run our courses with a blended and phased return to on-campus learning. 

Many of our courses have practical components taught in specialist facilities such as labs, workshops and creative studios. We plan to run as many as we can on our campuses in small groups, in safe environments, from September.  We will also deliver as many other face-to-face activities as we can safely, where it can be done in suitably smaller groups.  We will make full use of the teaching day and week to do this.

For the first term (September to December 2020), we have decided to deliver all of our lectures virtually so as not to breach social distancing guidelines for large groups of people. This blended learning approach, which combines a blend of virtual and on-campus delivery, will ensure you receive good experiences and high-quality education. You will still interact with other students and academics, and you will receive personal support. We will introduce the full range of on-campus activities as soon as we can.

We are working through the detail of the plans and will be letting you know how this will affect your study in more detail before the end of June.

Applications for halls remain unaffected and you can find out more about accommodation options and submit an application here.

If you have any questions about accommodation, please e-mail accom@southwales.ac.uk.  

The University is still accepting applications for halls of residence for September 2020. You can find out more about accommodation options and submit an application here. 

We are working through the plans to enable social distancing. We will keep everyone who applies for a place in our halls of residence up to date as these are developed. If you have any queries about this, please contact accom@southwales.ac.uk.  

If you are looking to book a room with a private accommodation provider or landlord, we would encourage you to check the terms and conditions carefully. You can find out more information about the various accommodation options available here.

We are adapting how we run our courses with a blended and phased return to on-campus learning from September 2020. We will be letting you know how this will affect your course in more detail before the end of June. 

We will be delivering a full and interactive blended teaching and learning experience and we will be supporting you with your studies. The blended learning approach that we will be providing, which includes a blend of virtual and on-campus delivery, will ensure you continue to receive good experiences and a high-quality education.  As a result, we will not be reducing our fees.

If you are unable to attend campus for the start of the new term in September because of health or personal circumstances, then provision will be made for you to start your studies for the new term with us virtually. For courses where there are mandatory elements of practice or practical sessions, we will work with you to do all we can to make alternative arrangements and we would encourage you to keep engaging with us when you receive more information about your course before the end of June. 

There is plenty of time between now and the start of term in September to make such an important decision, and therefore we would not encourage anyone to do so yet whilst Government advice is likely to change and be updated. As in any academic year, the University will of course consider deferrals for some of our courses and you should email admissions@southwales.ac.uk to see whether this is possible for your course. However, we would encourage you not to rush into deferring your place but give yourself time to consider all of your options, once you have received information from us about the next academic year.

Deferrals for Nursing will still only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Requests to defer should be sent to caresciences.admissions@southwales.ac.uk with a case as to why a deferral is being requested.

Gap year study is beneficial in so many ways and we value this experience and what it allows you to bring to your course in the future. The University will consider deferrals for many of our courses and you should e-mail admissions@southwales.ac.uk to check whether this is possible for your course.

If we are able to defer your application to 2021, you still need to meet all the conditions of your offer by 21st September 2020. The University will therefore accept your calculated grades from 2020 and you will not be at any disadvantage to those who have sat their exams who are starting in 2021.

As a student at USW you will be fully supported when the new academic year starts in September, whether that is via remote or on-campus learning , not only by your course and faculty teams, but by the wider provision of student services. From our libraries who have recently increased the number of online materials by 180,000 ebook titles to the Advice Zone and Study Skills Support, we will be there for you as you start your academic life at USW.