ENROLMENT CANCELLATION

UPV/EHU POSTGRADUATE COMMISSION MEETING OF 10 FEBRUARY 2025

Point 6.1. topic

Complementary provisions of the Regulations for Managing Official Doctoral Studies at the UPV/EHU of 25 April 2024 (A):

PROPOSED AGREEMENT OF THE UPV/EHU POSTGRADUATE COMMISSION ON 10 FEBRUARY 2025 APPROVING THE COMPLEMENTARY PROVISION TO THE REGULATIONS FOR MANAGING OFFICIAL DOCTORAL STUDIES IN RELATION TO ARTICLE 8.5.

The Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning presented for approval the complementary provision designed to develop article 8.5. of the Regulations for Managing Official Doctoral Studies published in the Basque Country Official Gazette on 7 June 2024, in relation to the cancellation of PhD programme enrolments.

The current Regulations for Managing Official Doctoral Studies establish, in article 8, the rules pertaining to the enrolment procedure, and specifically in section 5 of that article, they establish the rules for cancelling enrolments: ‘5.- Cancellation and/or modification of enrolment in the Doctoral School.

Doctoral candidates may cancel their enrolment at any point in the academic year. This cancellation will affect the entire enrolment and will not result in the reimbursement of the public fees paid, with the exception of that outlined in section 7 of this article. (…).’

The current drafting of the article has given rise to certain doubts regarding the scope of the conditions under which PhD candidates may cancel their enrolment, prompting the need to establish a specific time limit. Cancelling their enrolment enables candidates to pre-register and enrol for the coming academic year, starting their course again from the beginning, something that is incompatible with the nature and characteristics of PhD studies, as well as with the deadlines associated with them. Cancelling an enrolment does not affect the maximum time limit permitted for completing doctoral studies, since in order for such a cancellation to be accepted, it must be accompanied by the corresponding voluntary withdrawal from the programme (or withdrawal for legal reasons, such as illness, etc.). Nor does cancellation imply the candidate’s definitive withdrawal from the doctoral programme, unless the candidate so requests. Moreover, cancellation of enrolment does not negate any progress assessments that have already been carried out.

As a result, it is important to specify in article 8.5 that enrolment can only be cancelled during the first year of enrolment, providing the first assessment has not yet been carried out. 

Finally, in accordance with that stipulated in the Regulations for Managing Official Doctoral Studies, published in the Basque Country Official Gazette on 7 June 2024, ‘The Postgraduate Commission is authorised to establish complementary provisions to develop these regulations’.

In light of the above, this body hereby

AGREES

One. - TO APPROVE the complementary provision developing article 8.5., with the addition of the text underlined below:

‘Article 8.- Enrolment procedure.

(...) 5.- Cancellation and/or modification of enrolment in the Doctoral School.

Doctoral candidates may cancel their enrolment at any point during the first academic year, and providing they have not yet been assessed in accordance with that outlined in article 17. This cancellation will affect the entire enrolment and will not result in the reimbursement of the public fees paid, with the exception of that outlined in section 7 of this article. (…).’

Two. TO INFORM the Doctoral School and the Academic Commissions of the Doctoral Programmes at the UPV/EHU of this Agreement, taking into account the fact that the complementary provision approved will be applied from the present academic year (2024-2025) onwards.

In Bilbao, 10 February, 2025.

Chair

Ainhoa Berasaluze Correa

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning

Secretary

Amaia Landera López

Head of the Postgraduate Service