Registration and Enrolment

An essential part of being a student of the University is the annual completion of student registration using Student Self Service (www.ox.ac.uk/students/selfservice).

The registration process is mandatory for all students, both those new to Oxford and those returning for subsequent years of study. If this process is not completed it will affect your status at the University. Until registration has been completed, the University cannot enrol you. 

You must be enrolled in order to:

  • Attend your course (programme of study)
  • Release your loan from the UK Student Loans Company (SLC), your postgraduate masters’ loan, or your payment from your sponsor/awarding body (as appropriate)
  • Enter for exams, check exam details, and access your results
  • Use your Nexus email account
  • Obtain your University Card / keep your University Card valid
  • Print an enrolment certificate
  • Ensure that you are eligible for council tax exemption or discounts (exclusions apply)

Registering as a new student

To register as a new student, you must have:

  • Accepted your offer of a place
  • Met the conditions of your offer (academic and financial)
  • Returned your University Card Form
  • Received by email your University Single Sign-On username and activation code and followed the instructions to set up your account

New students who have not completed the steps above will not be able to access any pages in Student Self Service in order to register.

If you are starting a new course at the University, you will be sent your Single Sign On username and an activation code by email up to seven days after your completed University Card Form is received by the University Card Office. An active Single Sign On account is needed to access Student Self Service and to complete registration. 

You will be sent an email when the registration period opens and you are required to register before the Friday of Week 1 of term. The University registration periods are:

  • Michaelmas term – 1 September to 16:00 on Friday of Week 1
  • Hilary term – 2 January to 16:00 on Friday of Week 1
  • Trinity term – 1 April to 16:00 on Friday of Week 1

When you first login to Student Self Service you will need to check your personal, contact, academic, and other information and confirm that you wish to be enrolled at the University of Oxford. You will be able to update most of the record yourself but there are some core details (e.g. name, date of birth) that you will need to make a request to amend. You may be asked to supply evidence (e.g. passport, birth certificate) in support of these changes before they are made for you by the University.

Registration using Student Self Service is designed to be quick and simple but if you encounter problems, please contact Student Information (student.information@admin.ox.ac.uk) for assistance. The series of screenshots outlining the registration process at http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/selfservice may also be of help.

It is your responsibility to maintain your personal information and contact details throughout your studies at the University of Oxford using Student Self Service. You will normally be able to update these details at any time throughout the year.

Once you have registered via Student Self Service the College will complete an internal process to enrol you. We do this on a daily basis (weekdays only) during the Registration period. You will only be able to collect your University Card from College after this has been done, and this will be by appointment.

Students entering the UK on a Student Visa will be required to complete arrivals monitoring with the College before enrolling. A small number of students might be required to do this in-person at College but we expect to be able to complete these steps for the majority of Student Visa holders remotely. You will be sent instructions on how to do this before the start of Michaelmas term.

Once we have completed your registration and been enrolled, your student maintenance loans and grants (where applicable) will be paid directly into your bank account following the first day of term for your programme of study. (Please allow three to five working days.) You will also be able to log back in to Student Self Service to print off an Enrolment Certificate which may be used to prove your student status to claim for Council Tax exemption if you are living in private accommodation or as supporting documentation to open a student bank account among other things, please remember in order to open a bank account you must have listed your complete student address and postcode.

Please note that your name will appear on all University-issued documentation as it does in Student Self Service. This includes the Enrolment Certificate and Degree Certificate. If you notice an error in this, you should report it immediately in order to arrange a timely correction.

Registering as a continuing student

If your programme is longer than one year, you will need to be re-enrolled on the anniversary of your original enrolment. For example, a student who began studying a three-year programme in Hilary term 2023 would re-enrol in Hilary term 2024 and then in Hilary term 2025. Before re-enrolment occurs, you must re-register. To do this, you will need to log-in to Student Self Service and check your personal, contact, academic and other information and confirm that you wish to be enrolled at the University of Oxford. When this is done you will have re-registered and will be re-enrolled for your next year of study.

Continuing students will be prevented from registering if:

  • It is not the anniversary term of the start of your current course, for example, if you are a Hilary term starter and you are trying to register during the Michaelmas term registration period. You will be able to access all pages of Student Self Service, but you will need to log back in and register at the start of your registration term.
  • You are returning from a suspension and the relevant central office is unaware of your return date, or there is a hold against your record (for instance in rare instances of outstanding fees).
  • You are not required to register because you are beginning a period of suspension.

It is your responsibility to maintain your personal information and contact details throughout your studies at the University of Oxford using Student Self Service. You will normally be able to update these details at any time throughout the year.

Updated on: 13/07/2023