Guide to registration

Why you need to register

You must be registered in order to:

• Attend your course
• Allow the University to send confirmation of your (re)enrolled student status to the UK Student Loans Company (SLC) or your sponsor/awarding body so they can release your maintenance loan and tuition fee loan (where appropriate)
• Check you have been correctly entered for any examinations and assessments
• Gain access to your results when they are released
• Obtain your University card
• Print an Enrolment Certificate
• Ensure that you are exempt from paying Council tax

When you need to register

You must register once a year, at the anniversary term in which you started your current course. 

The University registration periods are:

• Michaelmas term: 1 September - 16:00, Friday of Week 1
• Hilary term: 1 January - 16:00, Friday of Week 1
• Trinity term: 1 April - 16:00, Friday of Week 1

Requirements 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 (SSO) IT details and activated your account. Your Single Sign On (SSO) will be in this format: abcd1234

Maintaining your record

It is your responsibility to update your personal information and contact details throughout your studies at the University of Oxford using Student Self-Service. You will be able to update these details at any time throughout the year. This is a legal requirement for international students holding a visa to study in the UK.

As a continuing student for Year 2 and beyond, you will be sent an email reminding you to complete your own registration using Student Self-Service when the registration period opens. 

The registration process

Click on the 'access Student Self Service' button on the right-hand side of this page. Login to Student Self-Service using your Oxford Single Sign On. 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.

The University’s Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Single-Sign On process requires you to sign in by entering your username (SSO) and a domain. It should be entered as: abcd1234@OX.AC.UK (please note the capital letters).

You must complete all sections and click “finish” in order to complete your registration.

For students on the first year of a new course, registration and enrolment consists of two steps:

Step 1)

Log in to Student Self-Service using your Single Sign On (SSO) to confirm your personal details.  If you have not received or cannot remember your login details, please contact IT Services for help. If you are not taken directly to the registration prompt after clicking these links, please click on “My Student Records” once you are logged into Student Self-Service.

Please note that if you have been at Oxford before, whether as student or staff member, you will retain your original SSO, but may need to contact IT Services for help changing your password. Please see our FAQs for more information.

Use the “Next” button to progress after each page and click “Confirm” in the Declaration section at the end of the process to complete.  “Save and Exit” can be pressed at any point to pause the process and return to it later.  

Please note that between Step 1 and Step 2 you will have limited access to Student Self Service – the ‘My Student Record’ tab will not be available and you will not be able to update your details or access an Enrolment Certificate until you are fully enrolled. 

Step 2)

If this is the first year of your course, your college (or department, if you do not have a college) will need to complete your enrolment at the beginning of term after you arrive in Oxford.  They will be in touch about arrangements for this (let them know if you will not be in Oxford for the start of term).  Once your college or department has completed their part of the registration process you will be fully enrolled and you will have complete access to Student Self Service, including the downloadable enrolment certificate.  If you are an international student they will also have to record your passport and visa/BRP card (if applicable). They may require you to send scans of these and/or present them after arrival – practice will vary.  Please check with your college/department if you are unsure.

If you are a continuing student, you will only need to complete Step 1 to finalise your registration and enrolment for this academic year.

Once enrolled, student maintenance loans and grants (where applicable) will be paid directly in to your bank account following the first day of term for your course (allow three to five working days) in addition to any tuition fee loans paid to the University. You are now able to print your enrolment certificate as proof of student status. Please allow 15 minutes for the system to update following your self-registration.

Changes to recording and use of student gender data from Michaelmas 2023:

During the 2023-24 academic year, the University is enhancing the way that student gender data is recorded and used. On (re)registration, you will be asked to confirm your legal sex (in line with legal documents) and title, and invited to provide the gender you identify with, and your pronouns. You can update this information at any time, via Student Self Service. 

During Michaelmas term, system upgrades will enable your department and college to see your title and pronouns, making it easier for them to address you how you choose. Further upgrades will allow tutors to see your pronouns, and in Hilary term visibility to fellow students and staff in Canvas will follow. If you have provided text and/or a recording of your name pronunciation, this is scheduled to be available to fellow students and staff in Canvas at some stage during Michaelmas term. 

Step-by-Step Instructions for Registration

Please find below an overview of the various sections that are covered in your annual registration.

Navigate through the sections and options below for advice on how to answer questions, and whom to contact for assistance with correcting or amending your information.

1. Identity and Fee Information

I want to change my social title

• The titles Mr, Miss, Ms, Mrs are social titles and have no legal status; students can choose between: Mr, Miss, Ms, Mrs, NULL (no title), or Mx (a gender-neutral title). You do not need to provide any documentary evidence to support your request, and you may choose any of these options, regardless of your legal sex or preferred gender.
• Please note you may be asked to provide proof for some changes of title not included above.
• To update these fields please contact your College Office (or Departmental Administrator, if you do not have a college).

My name does not appear correctly on Student Self Service

• If you change your name while you are a student at Oxford and wish your new name to be recorded in your student record, you must submit a formal request to your College Office (or Departmental Administrator, if you do not have a college) in writing accompanied by documentary evidence of the change of name (original or certified copy). The documentation you will need as proof will depend on your nationality / immigration status. You can find more information on the University page for Name Changes.
• If there is an error in your name, please write to your College Office (or Departmental Administrator if you don’t have a College). You will need to show them official proof of how your name should appear when making the request (eg, a scan of your passport or other official documentation).

My date of birth is not correct on Student Self Service

• Please contact your College Office (or Departmental Administrator if you do not have a college) to have this information corrected. You will need to show them official proof of your correct date of birth when making this request (eg, a scan of your passport or other official documentation).

I want to change what’s recorded for my legal sex

• Your selection must match what's recorded in legal documents such as your birth certificate, passport, Biometric Residence Permit or driving licence, only. Contact the Academic Records Office at aro@admin.ox.ac.uk if you have a legal sex other than female or male.

How do you fund your course fees?

• This choice is open to the student’s interpretation, and the data entered is used for government statistics. If students are unable to find the exact source of funding we suggest either selecting something which they feel closely matches it, or “other”. Most of the categories are descriptive, some Oxford-specific awards are mentioned, but any that aren't would be categorised as "provider own funds".

Fee status

• Student fee status is calculated with the following in mind: your nationality/nationalities, your immigration status in the UK, where you have been living (residency) and what you have been doing for the three years prior to the start of your course.
• If you would like to see whether your fee status may be reassessed, please complete a fee status questionnaire (available here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/fees-funding/fees/status ) and return it to the Student Fees Team at: student.fees@admin.ox.ac.uk along with the relevant evidence.

Nationality changes

• There is an error in my passport details / I have dual nationality: Please send on a copy of your passport to your College Office (or Departmental Administrator if you do not have a College) to request for them to add the changes to your nationality records (and (re)confirm with them if you have dual nationalities – or if you have renounced previous nationalities - so they can ensure the correct information on file for you).
• I have more than two nationalities: The underlying nationality fields for student records only allow for dual nationalities. However, your College/Department can assist you with adding your choice for which of your two nationalities are on file.
• If you are concerned about registering to vote without all 3 or more nationalities appearing, you can do this on the government website. Since registering to vote on Student Self Service is purely optional, students can always register to vote outside of Student Self Service at a later point, in the usual way: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Course Fees: selecting sources of funding

• This choice is open to the student’s interpretation, and the data entered is used for government statistics. Please indicate your sources of funding for your course fees for the current academic year by using the relevant drop-down menus and rounding up to the nearest 10%. Your selections should add up to 100%.

Living costs

• This choice is open to the student’s interpretation, and the data entered is used for government statistics. Please indicate your sources of funding for your living costs for the current academic year by using the relevant drop-down menus and rounding up to the nearest 10%. Your selections should add up to 100%.
• “How much do you expect to cover your living costs this academic year?” Please choose from the drop-down menu the amount you expect to, or estimate you will have to, cover your living costs this academic year.

2. Contact Details

University of Oxford email address

• Departmental or College suffix: To have the appearance of your e-mail address changed (to reflect your department rather than your college for example) please contact IT Services to request this.
• Preferred names: Students are also able to use their preferred first names on their email address: If you would like to use your preferred name for your email, you can request for help you change both your email address and email sender names, so that it will correctly display your preferences when you are sending and receiving mails.
• Both of these can be changed by contacting the Central IT Service desk: Service Desk | IT Help (ox.ac.uk) directly. You can find more information on the University page for Name Changes.

Alternative email address

• Please ensure you are using your permanent personal email address as your alternative email address, and not an email from another school or institution that may expire.

Telephone and mobile numbers

• If you are starting a new course and don’t yet have a UK number, please provide the details that are relevant for you at this time. When these details change (and after your enrolment) you can change this information as many times as you need to.
• You can input your current contact number from your home country, and change this once you receive a UK telephone number

Term time Accommodation

• If you are starting a new course and don’t yet have an address in Oxford, please provide the details that are relevant for you at this time. When these details change (and after your enrolment) you can change this information as many times as you need to.
• If you do not know where you will be staying when you arrive in the UK (or if you will be living-in College), you can use the generic address for your College and then update your information when your address details are confirmed.
• If you are living-in College, you will keep the generic address as all post will be delivered to the lodge and then distributed by College staff from there.

Home Address

• Please update your home address details in the fields provided. Your home address is normally a permanent address at which you can be contacted during vacations.

Additional Correspondence Address

• Correspondence will normally be sent to your college (or department if you have no college) but certain items may be sent to this Additional Correspondence Address. If you do not have an additional correspondence address, you can simply repeat your ‘home address’ details here.

Emergency contacts

• Please provide the full name and contact information for your emergency contact address. In order to proceed, you must provide at least one contact person.

3. Disability and other personal information

Disability Information (Disabilities, including long-term health conditions and specific learning disabilities)

• It is important that you update the disability disclosure field if you have not declared a pre-existing disability, or if you have acquired a disability since initial registration so that the University can ensure you are aware of the support available to you. You may be eligible for study support if you have a specific learning difficulty (including dyslexia or dyspraxia), a long-term health or medical condition, mobility difficulties, a sensory impairment, a mental health condition (including bi-polar and anxiety disorders), or are on the autistic spectrum
• Contact the Disability Advisory Service (DAS) for more information.
• You can select “no known disability” if this section does not apply to you.

Ethnicity (With which ethnic group do you most identify?)

• Please select your ethnicity from the drop-down menu options, or select ‘prefer not to say’ if you do not wish to disclose this information.

Religion (What is your religion or belief?)

• Please select your religion from the drop-down menu, including “no religion” if applicable. Select “any other religion or belief” if no other option matches, or “prefer not to say” if you do not wish to share this information.

Sexual Orientation (What is your sexual orientation?)

• Please select your sexual orientation from the drop-down menu. The available options are dictated by the format required by HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency), and this information is used for reporting purposes only. If your orientation is not included in the list, please select “other”. Select “prefer not to say” if you do not wish to disclose this information.

Gender Identity (Is your gender identity the same as the gender you were originally assigned at birth?)

• If you identify as a different sex from that which you were assumed to be at birth, please select “no”. If your gender identity accords with the sex you were assumed to be at birth, please select “yes”. The available options are dictated by the format required by HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency), and this information is used for reporting purposes only, as required by HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency). Select “prefer not to say” if you do not wish to disclose this information.

4. Additional Information

Current Oxford SU membership status

• Please select your Oxford Student Union (SU) membership status. If you are not a matriculated student, or wish to cancel your membership you are able to cancel (opt out) via the drop-down menu. Choose ‘member’ if you wish to be a member of the student union.
• You can find more information at www.oxfordsu.org or by emailing: enquiries@oxfordsu.ox.ac.uk.

Caring responsibilities

• Please select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from the drop down menus to indicate whether you have any caring responsibilities. The NHS defines a carer as “anyone, including children and adults, who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid.”
• You are able to choose if you have day-to-day caring responsibilities for another adult, or for a dependent child or children under the age of 18 in the drop down menus available.

5. Academic Details

Why does it say I have “No College”?

• Non-matriculated students do not have a College. You may have been given an associate membership through your department or course with a College (which allows for access to social and academic events held by the college during the course of your studies), but are not an enrolled/matriculated member, which is why a College will not appear on your records (i.e. No college).
• For more information about your associate membership, please reach out to your course administrator.

Mode of Attendance

• This section will show your mode of attendance on your course – displaying Full-time or Part-time. If this information does not look right to you, please speak to your departmental administrator

Thesis title change

• If there are any errors with your thesis title listing on Student Self Service please contact your GSA to have these corrected.
• To have your thesis title changed entirely you will need to fill in and submit the GSO form (GSO.6), which can now be found on Student Self Service (after you have registered) under My Student Record/Check My Details/On-course applications.
• If this is your first year of a new course, the information displaying here is what was provided on your application form and is not expected to be your final title at this stage.

Expected/Actual dates: submission, transfer, confirmation

• The expected dates are calculated with maximum times in mind, and refer to the latest point at which students taking your course typically would expect to reach these milestones. These dates are in place to allow for any small delays, and also so that students who are studying here on a visa will not run out of time and/or experience needing to renew their visas at crucial times of their studies. 
• These dates will change once you progress through your course – an “actual submission date”, an “achieved transfer date”; and “actual end-date" will be entered on your records once these milestones have been reached.
• Please contact your Graduate Studies Administrator (GSA) if you have further questions about this, or believe there to be an error in the dates you are viewing.

Funding Information/ Research Council Status

• If you are a Research Council student and your ESRC/AHRC/MRC information isn’t appearing on Student Self Service yet please do not worry – this will be added later in the year.

Supervisor / Secondary Supervisor / College Advisor Change

• If there are any errors with your Supervisor listing on Student Self Service please contact your Graduate Studies Administrator (GSA) to have these corrected
• To have your College Advisor updated please contact your College.

Year of Programme

• Year of Programme refers to your current year of study/fee liability (i.e. if it will be your first year on the course, you will see ‘Year 1’) rather than the length of your course.

6. Study Activity Away from Oxford

Location of any Study Activity

• Please input the details of any planned Study Activity away from Oxford, if this is relevant to your course. This may include a placement (paid or unpaid), exchange, or time studying at a partner venue, either within the UK or abroad. If necessary, you can also amend details of any activity already listed.
• Please leave blank and proceed with your online registration if there are no arrangements in place for Study Activity away from Oxford (this includes if you are studying part-time / remotely).

7. Career plans and language skills

Career plans and employability skills

• “Thinking about your career planning, which of the following describes you best?”
  Please select the option that describes you best, or select ‘prefer not to say’.
• “Which employment sectors are you interested in?”
  Choose at least one option (includes ‘prefer not to say’), and/or tick as many as apply to you.

Receiving communication from the careers service

• Choose whether you want to receive communication from the careers service about events, sessions and fairs as well as emails about employment of internship opportunities.
• Choose opt in to receive mails. Choose opt out to not receive emails.

Language skills

• Indicate any foreign languages that you speak along with your proficiency level; clicking “add another language” to add more than one language skill.
• Please leave blank and proceed with your online registration if this section does not apply to you.

8. Apply to register to vote

Registering to vote

• Since registering to vote on Student Self Service is purely optional, students can always register to vote outside of Student Self Service at a later point, in the usual way: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
• Students can therefore simply choose to skip the voting section altogether (‘cancel and exit’) and proceed with completing their University registration as normal. You can then register to vote on the government page separately (the government voting registration takes around 5 minutes to complete). You’ll be asked for your National Insurance number (but you can still register if you do not have one, provided that you are eligible to vote).
• You can always check who is eligible to vote on the following links: If you visit the Gov.uk page on Types of Elections, referendums and who can vote you will get an overview of the different voting options, and you can also view the Electoral Commission’s page containing a list of who can register to vote.

National Insurance Number

• If you are a UK citizen or resident, you should have been advised of your National Insurance Number (NI) just before your 16th birthday. It can also be found on student finance forms, pay slips, p60s, and letters about tax, pensions, and benefits.
• Fill in your National Insurance number, or a reason why it cannot be supplied (choose between: I have a National Insurance number, but cannot supply at this time; I have no National Insurance number; or I am not sure if I have a National Insurance number.
• Tick the box to complete the Declaration, and press “next”.

9. Declaration

Declaration and confirmation of your registration

• Use the “Next” button to progress after each page and click “Confirm” in the Declaration section at the end of the process.
• Press “confirm” button to confirm that you have reviewed the information the University holds for you: confirming that it is correct; and/or that you have requested the necessary amendments as relevant to address any inaccuracies; and that you wish to be enrolled at the University of Oxford. If you have found inaccuracies in your data, the amendments or changes you request do not need to be in place / corrected before you complete your online registration.
• Click the “finish” button to complete your online registration.