Unisa prescribes a set of minimum standards with which students must comply to ensure their continued registration with the university. These are set out in the Admission Policy.

• Senate may decide to exclude students on the basis of poor academic performance.
• Academically excluded students may appeal to the executive dean of the relevant college.
• The maximum periods (including deferment) in which a qualification must be completed are as follows:
  • 120 credits: 4 years 
  • 240 credits: 6 years
  • 360 credits: 8 years
  • 480 credits: 10 years
• Students who do not complete a qualification within the prescribed maximum period will be excluded from further registration.
• Students who are currently excluded or suspended from another institution on the grounds of misconduct will not be considered for admission.
• Senate may reduce the maximum period in which a qualification must be completed (as set out above) upon application by a college.
• For the purposes of compliance with this rule, NDP registrations and the results of all aegrotat and supplementary examinations will be taken into account.
• Each year in which the student was registered at Unisa is included in the calculation of the period of registration, and not just the years in which the student was registered for a particular qualification.
• In the case of a student who has completed a formal degree or diploma and is registered for a second or further qualification, only those years of registration after the completion of the degree or diploma will be taken into account for purposes of calculating the study period in respect of the second or further qualification.
• Modules from which a student has been exempted will not be taken into consideration for the purposes of determining whether he or she should be re-admitted to the university. Similarly, a student's previous academic performance at another university will not be taken into consideration.

Re-admission declined

Failure to pass the required number of modules will result in you not being able to study further at undergraduate level. A student wishing to be re-admitted to Unisa after being excluded on the basis of poor performance in a qualification may only do so after providing proof of successful completion of a one-year certificate programme at NQF level 4, 5 or higher (with 48 credits) at another accredited institution or a Unisa short learning programme. In order to satisfy the requirements of this rule, the student must have completed at least 48 credits before an application for re-admission will be considered.