Leaving and returning to university

Suspension is the possibility of taking a break from university for a certain period of time, for specific reasons.

You can apply to suspend your university career if:

• you want to undertake a Universal Civil Service or European Voluntary Service programme. You can apply for suspension for the academic year in which you serve by submitting a self-certification attesting to this;
• you must do compulsory military service in your country of origin, if provided for. You can request suspension for the entire duration of the service. You must submit a certificate attesting to this;
• you are about to become a parent. You can apply for suspension for the academic year corresponding to or following the date of birth or adoption by submitting a self-certification attesting to this. Both parents can apply for a suspension;
• you have a serious medical condition certified by a doctor. You may request suspension until you are fully recovered;
• a person in your household has a serious disability, with a medical certificate, which entails a duty of care on your part. You may request suspension for a period that does not exceed the planned duration of your degree programme;
• your household’s economic and/or financial situation has changed significantly, making it difficult for you to continue your studies. You may request suspension for a period that does not exceed the planned duration of your degree programme. You can submit a self-certification attesting to this, by attaching appropriate support documentation (check with your Student Administration Office);
• in the event of your dismissal or redundancy benefits due to a company crisis, you can request a suspension for a period that does not exceed the standard duration of your degree programme. To do this, you must provide supporting documentation (check with your degree programme’s Student Administration Office for the specific requirements).
• you are serving a prison sentence. You may request suspension for a period that does not exceed the planned duration of your degree programme. You must submit a certificate attesting to this;

• you want to pursue your studies abroad. These cases are governed by specific agreements with partner universities. To consult them, contact your Student Administration Office or Degree Programme Office.

Your university registration is temporarily put on hold:

• you do not have to pay tuition fees;
• you cannot carry out any career-related actions (sitting exams, modifying or submitting a study plan, applying for recognition of educational activities, studying abroad under the Erasmus programme, graduating...).

If you do not have EU citizenship and reside abroad (non-EU countries) the suspension of studies may affect your right to stay in Italy and your status with regard to immigration regulations in the Schengen Area. Contact the International Desk to check your situation.

1. Log on to Studenti Online and fill in the suspension application, print it out, sign it and apply a € 16 duty stamp by connecting to PagoUnibo (make sure to enter your own details, not those of another potential payer).
   

2. Prepare all the documents and any certification required; if no specific certification is required, you can fill in and hand in the self-certification form [.pdf 125 KB].

3. Send everything (application form, duty stamp payment receipt, supporting documents) by e-mail, or if you prefer, send it in original to the Student Administration Office of your degree programme.

For all cases where the suspension may last longer than a single academic year, you do not need to submit a new request each year. However, when you resume your studies, you must provide certification to the Student Administration Office confirming that the conditions for the suspension were valid for the entire period.

Years of suspension do not count towards the loss of student status.

See all information on loss of student status.

At the end of your suspension, you can apply to resume your studies without having to pay fees for the years of suspension.

From 1 October of the academic year in which you intend to resume your studies, follow this procedure:

1. to find out whether there are any tuition fees that you have not yet paid in the years preceding your suspension request, send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office of your degree programme and ask for them to be uploaded to Studenti Online;
2. go to Studenti Online and, in the suspension file, click on Resume studies and follow the instructions;
3. If any fees are still pending, you will have to pay them in full in the year in which you resume your studies and carry out career advancement activities, as indicated on StudentiOnline.

Your studies are automatically interrupted if you do not pay any of your tuition fee instalments for at least a whole academic year. To check the status of your fee payments, log on to Studenti Online or send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office of your degree programme to ask for clarification.

In the years of interruption, you cannot carry out any career-related actions (sitting exams, modifying or submitting a study plan, applying for recognition of educational activities, studying abroad under the Erasmus programme, graduating...).

Before returning to study, you will have to submit an application form and pay the recognition fee and any outstanding fees.

If you do not have EU citizenship and reside abroad (non-EU countries) the interruption of your studies may affect your right to stay in Italy and your status with regard to immigration regulations in the Schengen Area. Contact the International Desk to check your situation.

You lose student status if it has been 8 consecutive academic years since your last exam, regardless of the outcome, or since the year of your last regular enrolment, whichever is later. This period of eight academic years is now calculated from the 2020/21 academic year inclusive, even if your first enrolment (matriculation) predates that; this also applies to students who, based on the previous rules, would have lost their status on 31 March 2021.

In special cases of disability equal to or above 66% or specific learning disability (SLD), and if you are entitled to the benefits under Law 104/1992, you can request specific loss of status dates by completing an application and submitting it by February of the year prior to the date on which you are expected to lose student status. A committee will assess the application, possibly also in an interview.

See all information on loss of student status.

If you have interrupted your university career, you can resume your studies and complete them. Keep in mind that the latest university reforms have changed the degree programmes and there may be courses that have changed code or name.

To resume your studies:

• send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office of your programme to find out the status of your university career (payment status, exams and last study plan submitted) and to check that you have not lost your student status or are not about to lose it;
• if you have not or are not about to lose your student status, ask the Student Administration Office to calculate any outstanding fees and the recognition fee (a lump sum of EUR 100 for each year in which you have not paid tuition fees, up to a maximum of EUR 1,000). Even if you only have to graduate by March 2025, you will have to pay the full tuition fee for the academic year 2023/24;
• fill in the application for resuming studies [.pdf 177KB], sign it, affix a €16 duty stamp and hand it in to the Student Administration Office your programme; for the a.y. 2024/25 you can apply from 1 October 2024;
• the Student administration office will upload the reconciliation fee on Studenti Online upon receipt of the reconciliation application;
• pay the recognition fee and any outstanding tuition fees following the instructions on Studenti Online;
• at this point your registration is complete and you can resume your studies.

Withdrawal from studies is a formal and irrevocable act by which you decide to end your university career related to the programme you are enrolled in.

• You are not entitled to a refund of the fees paid
• You can enrol in another programme at the University of Bologna or another university
• If you have received an ER.GO scholarship for the current academic year and decide to withdraw from your studies by 31 July, you will lose the right to keep the scholarship and must return the amount received to ER.GO. Contact ER.GO immediately to settle your account and avoid debt collection actions and negative impacts on any future career at this University. Those who owe money to ER.GO are not permitted to continue their academic activities at our University.

If you do not have EU citizenship and reside abroad (non-EU countries), bear in mind that:

• if you withdraw from your studies you will also lose your right to stay in Italy.
• if you withdraw from your studies and wish to enrol again at the same or a different university, you cannot use the residence permit for study purposes issued for the previous enrolment, but must repeat the pre-enrolment procedure at the Italian Representation in your country of residence.

We suggest you get in touch with the  International Desk to get all the necessary information about your stay in Italy.

• on Studenti Online, complete the application and pay the €16 duty stamp;
• submit your application on Studenti Online any time during the year; your application will be accepted only if on the date of submission there are no outstanding payments due to the University (e.g., outstanding tuition fees) and/or ER.GO (e.g., scholarships or other contributions you have obtained from ER.GO and which you must repay).

If you have withdrawn from studies at any Italian university and wish to start a new university career at the University of Bologna you must re-enrol. You can, however, ask the Degree Programme Board to assess the credits already acquired with a view to their potential recognition (partial or total); to do so, you will first have to pay a fee of € 100. You will find all the relevant information on the Shortening of the degree programme page.

At the end of your suspension, you can apply to resume your studies without having to pay fees for the years of suspension.

From 1 October of the academic year in which you intend to resume your studies, follow this procedure:

1. to find out whether there are any tuition fees that you have not yet paid in the years preceding your suspension request, send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office of your degree programme and ask for the payment code to be uploaded to Studenti Online.
2. go to Studenti Online and, in the suspension file, click on Resume studies and follow the instructions;
3. If any fees are still pending, you will have to pay them in full in the year in which you resume your studies and carry out career advancement activities, as indicated on StudentiOnline.

If you have interrupted your university career, you can resume your studies and complete them. Keep in mind that the latest university reforms have changed the degree programmes and there may be courses that have changed code or name.

To resume your studies:

• send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office of your programme to find out the status of your university career (payment status, exams and last study plan submitted) and to check that you have not lost your student status or are not about to lose it;
• if you have not or are not about to lose your student status, ask the Student Administration Office to calculate any outstanding fees and the recognition fee (a lump sum of EUR 100 for each year in which you have not paid tuition fees, up to a maximum of EUR 1,000). Even if you only have to graduate by March 2025, you will have to pay the full tuition fee for the academic year 2023/24;
• fill in the application for resuming studies [.pdf 177KB], sign it, affix a €16 duty stamp and hand it in to the Student Administration Office of your programme; for the a.y. 2024/25 you can apply from 1 October 2024;
• the Student administration office will upload the reconciliation fee on Studenti Online upon receipt of the reconciliation application;
• pay the recognition fee and any outstanding tuition fees following the instructions on Studenti Online;
• at this point your registration is complete and you can resume your studies.

If you have withdrawn from studies at any Italian university and wish to start a new university career at the University of Bologna you must re-enrol. You can, however, ask the Degree Programme Board to assess the credits already acquired with a view to their potential recognition (partial or total); to do so, you will first have to pay a fee of € 100. You will find all the relevant information on the Shortening of the degree programme page.