Enrolling on Your Next Unit of Study in Your Degree

You’ve just completed a unit, read your final feedback, and are hopefully feeling a great sense of achievement (or perhaps just relief—we’ve been there too!).

But once the dust settles, a niggling thought starts to form; Now what? After months of clear direction, hitting a transition point can leave you feeling a bit ‘up in the air’. You are not alone; Student Services receives many queries about next steps. It’s easy to forget the admin side of study when you’ve been deeply focused on your creative work.

We’ve got you covered. Let’s take the next steps one at a time.

Completing Your Unit

First of all, congratulations! Finishing a unit takes immense dedication, especially on those days when motivation was hard to find. You pushed through, submitted that final assignment, and received your tutor feedback. 

Take a moment to truly recognise this achievement.

Preparing for Assessment 

As an undergraduate student, completing a unit means you’ll be invited to submit your work to one of our three annual assessment events.

• The Timing: The date you receive your final tutor feedback marks your official unit completion date, which determines which assessment event you will enter.
• Next Steps: Review [assessment dates and deadlines here]. Once you know your event date, you can begin preparing your submission.

When can you enrol to your next unit? 

Your progression timeline depends on where you are in your journey:

• If this was your first unit: (Whether you started at Stage 1 or entered at a later stage), you must receive your formal assessment results before beginning your next unit. Check the results publication dates via the link above and choose an intake that starts after that date.
• If this was a second or subsequent unit: You are usually permitted to progress straight to your next unit while preparing for assessment. Note that there are some caveats, such as requiring a specific amount of credits before moving from one stage to the next. [Review full progression rules within the Student Handbook here].

Important: You need to enrol on your next unit within 6 months of receiving your last assessment results. If you cannot do this, please contact learnersupport@oca.ac.uk to request an ‘interruption to studies’.

Submit Your Enrolment Form

Because OCA courses are studied unit-by-unit, enrolment is not automatic. You must submit a new form for every unit.

• Where to find them: Enrolment forms are located on the main oca.ac.uk website (not OCA Learn) within the course information pages.
• Your Enrolment Account: Your login for submitting enrolment forms is separate from your OCA Learn or student email account. Because you created this account before starting with us, it is most likely linked to your personal email address. You can reset your password if you’ve forgotten it! 

Once we receive your form, we’ll check your eligibility and provide a provisional offer while we confirm your payment or funding.

OCA offers several intakes throughout the year for undergraduate study, but keep in mind that each intake has a deadline for enrolment form submission and payment. Review intake dates and deadlines here. 

Organise your Payment Method 

Self-Funding 

Within the enrolment form, you can choose to pay in full or via deposit and instalments.

• WorldPay: Pay immediately at checkout.
• Bank Transfer: If you select this, the amount to pay at checkout will show as £0, and you will receive the bank transfer details via email after the form is submitted.

Student Finance 

Check the [Seasonal Academic Year calendar] to see if you still have funding in place. For example, if you were awarded funding for the 25/26 year and started a unit in January 2026, that award lasts until December 2026—even though the final months fall into the next calendar year.

If your funding has expired, you must apply again for the latest academic year. 

Review further information here for specific Student Finance England, Wales and Northern guidance.

SAAS Part-Time Fee Grant [PTFG]

SAAS follows a strict calendar (August to July). You apply once a year, but if you study more than one unit within that year, you must notify SAAS before certain deadlines so they can adjust your funding.

• Deadline: If you haven’t applied for the Part-Time Fee Grant by 31 March, you must wait until the following academic year to access funding.
• Partial Funding: SAAS only partially funds OCA courses. You are responsible for the difference and must pay at least the deposit to complete your enrolment. 

Review further SAAS guidance here. 

Completing Registration on your Next Unit 

Once your enrolment form is in and funding is organised, we will confirm your place on a specific intake.

1. You’ll receive access to a two-week induction.
2. During this induction, you must confirm your intention to proceed.
3. Once the induction concludes, your registration is complete, and we will confirm your attendance with Student Finance if required. 

And that’s it! You’re ready for your next unit. If you have any questions along the way, just reach out to studentadvice@oca.ac.uk.