Taught postgraduates missing documents

The Missing Documents procedure refers to documents received in the Taught Postgraduate Admissions office separate to the application form, either prior to, or after the application. 

We have been reviewing how we process supporting documents, which have been sent by applicants directly to the Taught Postgraduate Admissions Office, and how these are sent to schools.

To ensure that we have a clear audit trail for documents sent to schools, the procedure has been changed to utilise the fact that the staff in TP Admissions now have access to upload documents in to Banner via SWAADOC.

Original Documents Policy

To ensure that original documents are returned to the applicant promptly we aim to copy the documents, where applicable, and post them back on the same day (if the start date of the course is imminent then the document may be held for collection by the applicant on their arrival at Leeds instead). We have created the table below to determine when copies of documents are required by TP Admissions and schools.

Copying original documents
Document Copy required in TP? Copy required in school?  Original returned to applicant? 
 Transcript  Yes Yes Yes(1)
 Certificate  Yes Yes Yes(2)
 IELTS Only test reference number required for verification  Yes No 
 TOEFL Only test reference number required for verification  Yes No 
 References  No  Yes No 
 Personal Statement  No  Yes No 
 Portfolio  No  Yes Judge on a case-by-case basis 
 Other

This should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and a judgement made with regard to the nature of the document

(1) If the transcript clearly states that the document should not be returned to the applicant (this is common from Nigerian institutions) the original transcript should be retained by TP Admissions

(2) If the certificate clearly states that the document should not be returned to the applicant (this is common from Nigerian institutions) the original certificate should be retained by TP Admissions

If an original document has been seen but then needs to be returned to the applicant (see table) the copy will be stamped to confirm that the original has been seen. Once done this document is ready to be processed. If the documents doesn't need to be sent back to the applicant then the original document received can be processed in the format in which it arrived at TP Admissions.

If the applicant has no Banner record or an application had not yet been submitted

This procedure remains unchanged. We will store all supporting documents (or stamped copies of originals) for people who have no Banner record in TP Admissions until the applicant applies for a programme.

A list is of these documents will be kept in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which we send to all schools, as well as undergraduate (UG) and research postgraduate (RP) admissions offices, on a regular basis so documents can be requested if an application has been received.

This procedure also applies when the applicant is on Banner from previous study but has not yet submitted a new TP application.

Applicant is on Banner

If the application has been received, being reviewed by the school or they have been given an offer we will upload the documents to SWAADOC, for all relevant courses and then email the school to notify you that there are new documents for review. If the application is under review we will also send you a hard copy of these documents).

If applicable, and the applicant meets all their conditions we will update Banner and produce an unconditional offer letter for the applicant for example, if they are conditional on English and provide an IELTS certificate. If the offer is more complicated we will liaise with the school first before processing an unconditional offer.

When the document is uploaded in to SWAADOC it will be classified as an Internal Document and have the following standardised description TPA [Documents Description].

Emails to Schools

To standardise this process the same basic format will be used for the emails to schools:

Dear [insert name/school],

I have uploaded a new document to SWAADOC for the applicant detailed below in support of their application. Please visit the SWAADOC screen in Banner to view this document

Name: [insert name of applicant]
ID: [insert student ID number]
Document: [insert document details]

Kind regards,

[Insert Name]

Taught Postgraduate Admissions

If the applicant applied online the school should have received an auto-email to confirm a document has been added however as this process applies to paper applications as well it has been decided to send an email to all applicants to ensure that the school is notified.