Academic Registration

You start Academic Registration online using the Student Self Service website. You need to prepare documents so that they are ready to upload when you are prompted. The documents you can use are explained in the Conditions section below - do not go directly to register online without reading these instructions.

We recommend that you complete your online registration on a desktop computer, not a mobile device to ensure you can view the website in the best way.

You should complete your online registration task by the date stated in your invitation email so that you have your student status in place in time for induction activities.

A. Login 

Your invitation email will contain instructions on how to activate your @cssd IT account and set your own password. 

Once that is done, follow the link to your online registration task in that same invitation email. 

On that webpage, click the Enterprise Sign-in button to login to the online registration website.

Once you are logged in, you will be shown your Registration task. If you have saved part way through, your task will be saved - click the New notification in the top right profile box.

B. Update information about yourself .

There are pages for addresses, contacts and student statutory collection. 

C. Photograph upload

Upload your photograph to be used on your student record and Student ID Card.

D. Document upload

Upload your files for registration checks. 

E. Consent & declaration

Confirm your details are correct and give consent for the School to use your data. Then accept the Rules and Regulations for being a student at Central.

F. Submit registration

Click submit to send your information to Central. You will receive a confirmation email so that you know you’ve completed this stage of your registration.

Some students will need to complete additional registration tasks because of their student fee status, tuition fee payment method or the course they are registering for. If any of these tasks applies to you, we will email you with information about how, when and where you can complete each one.

• Disclosure and Barring Service checks (DBS)
• Overseas criminal record checks
• Biometric Residence Permits (BRP)

Academic registration is completed by meeting all of the applicable conditions from this list:

• Your identification check
• Your highest qualification check
• Your visa and Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) check *
• Your criminal record check *
• Your consent & declaration

*Only applicable to some students or some courses

The Registration team at Central work through the information and documents that you submit in your registration tasks. If you have not provided what we need to complete the checks, we will contact you directly to request what we need.

Following academic registration, Central will do the following (if it applies to you) in time for the start of your course or as soon as possible:

• Activate your student status - you start to be a student
• Confirm your registration and attendance to Student Finance England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Student Awards Agency Scotland 
• Confirm your registration with US Federal Aid
• Confirm your registration with Transport for London for your 18+ Student Oyster photocard

Your identity has to be checked to verify your full name, date of birth and nationality (that relates to your tuition fee status). So you must provide a valid form of identification by uploading a digital file in your online registration task. A digital file would be a scan or good-quality photograph where all images and text are legible. 

Advice

• If you need to upload multiple documents for one specific check, these should be combined into one file.
• If you have a different legal name to that shown on the identification you provide, you will also need to prove this with a deed poll or marriage certificate, for example.
• Please do not send original documents by mail. The School does not accept liability for any such documents received.

If you are a British national

You must upload your:

• Passport - the information page showing your family name, given names, photograph, plus your date and place of birth

Or if you do not have a passport you can upload one file containing a combination of:

• UK Driving licence
• Birth or adoption certificate issued in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Ireland
• Certificate of registration as a British Citizen
• Benefits paperwork issued by HMRC, Job Centre Plus or a UK local authority

If you are an Overseas national

You must upload your:

• Passport - the information page showing your family name, given names, photograph, plus your date and place of birth

Plus, if you already have it, proof of your leave to remain or leave to enter the UK, for instance:

• Entry clearance sticker in your passport and;
• Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or;
• If you are settled in the UK and don’t have a BRP, a Home Office document confirming your status.

This check is separate to checks on your right to study (BRP or EU Settlement Scheme).

Trans, non-binary or gender diverse student names

You may request for your name as it appears on School records, including your Student campus card and email address, to reflect your acquired or desired gender. This is possible in advance of a formal legal name change or just for the duration of your studies. If you do this before completing your online registration task, your preferred name will be used from the beginning of your student journey.

The Name and Email page on the Student Handbook outlines the process for students and also advises how to  change your name with key external organisations. 

Your highest academic qualifications are checked to verify part of your profile when registering with Central. This check also ensures you have met any conditions of your offer that were based on qualification outcomes. There are exceptions to this condition for some postgraduate students - see below.

The proof that you provide should detail the type/level of the qualification, examining/awarding body/institution, subject, grade/result, and date of study/award.

All documentation proving your highest academic qualifications must be in English. The School does not take responsibility for translating the documentation that you submit, and the registration team will reject your documentation if you submit it anyway. To obtain a translation, you should contact a local translation agency, the Institute of Translation & Interpreting, or your Embassy for assistance.

Undergraduate students (BA courses)

If you sat your exams (or have calculated grades) in the UK in 2022/23 your qualifications should have already been checked through UCAS so you do not need to upload a document for this. Central will only need to see alternative proof of your qualifications if UCAS does not provide enough detail.

Check the UCAS website to see if your exam results will be sent to us. UCAS: automatically-notified exam results (opens in a new window).

Upload documentation of your highest academic qualification if you have results for exams taken earlier than August 2022, or outside the UK. It is expected that you will have this documentation or can obtain it yourself.

If you do not have a document to prove your highest academic qualification, you should contact your previous school, college or university directly for a digital document to be provided by email, this should go directly to registration@cssd.ac.uk quoting your 6-digit student ID number.

Postgraduate students (MA, MFA and PhD courses)

You must provide proof of the highest academic qualification that you have by uploading a digital copy to your online registration.

If you have not already provided this documentation to the admissions office, you should upload this on your registration task. 

• If it was not possible to determine which is the highest academic qualification from your application, you should upload documentation of all your most recent and highest academic qualifications.
• If you do not have any academic qualifications you do not have to submit any qualification documentation. Please declare that you have no qualifications in writing to the registration team registration@cssd.ac.uk quoting your 6-digit student ID number.
• If you are unable to retrieve proof of your highest qualification (if it has been lost or damaged for example, and there is no way to reasonably obtain a copy) then you are not able to state that you have that qualification. Your next highest qualification is then the one you should provide proof of, then the next highest. And so on, until you have to declare that you do not have any qualifications in writing to the registration team.

If you do not have a document to prove your highest qualification, you should contact your previous school, college or university directly for a digital proof to be provided by email, this should go directly to registration@cssd.ac.uk quoting your 6-digit student ID number.

Online Disclosure and Barring Service checks

New students on only the following courses have to take a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check where your criminal record in the UK is inspected.

• BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice
  • Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE)
  • Writing for Performance
• MA Applied Theatre
• MA Drama and Movement Therapy

Some students on other courses may need a DBS check later in their studies, but that check does not form part of academic registration.

Please refer to Central’s DBS Policy and Guidance for more information.

You can make your DBS application through First Advantage OnlineDisclosures to make sure the process is as fast and smooth for you as possible. Use our Getting Started Guide to register with OnlineDisclosures and completing your application. 

The cost of a DBS check is £47.54 and payable online via OnlineDisclosures unless you are eligible for a DBS fee waiver. More information about fee waivers is available in the DBS Policy and Guidance document. 

Overseas criminal record checks

In addition to applying for a UK DBS Enhanced Disclosure, students on the following course who have been out of the United Kingdom for more than three consecutive months in the previous five years, or have never lived in the UK prior to registration, will be required to undertake a police report or criminal record check (in some countries this is called a Certificate of Good Conduct) from the country in which they have lived since the age of 13.  

• BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice
  • Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE)
  • Writing for Performance
• MA Applied Theatre
• MA Drama and Movement Therapy

Process and cost

This process can take up to 8 weeks so you should apply as soon as possible to avoid delays to your academic registration.  Be aware that in most cases you may need to apply for the check whilst still in your country of residence and before coming to the UK. 

The cost of an international criminal record check varies between countries and many countries have provided information on how to apply for certificates of good conduct and/or criminal records checks, and these can be found on the Gov.UK Overseas criminal records check webpages (opens in a new window).

We also advise applicants to confirm with the relevant embassy using this list of foreign embassies in the UK (opens in a new window) the process which applies to the country they have been resident in.

For ease, overseas criminal record checks can also be carried out by First Advantage OnlineDisclosures, but please be aware that they will charge VAT in addition to the cost of the check. A complete list of all available checks and First Advantage’s current prices and turnaround times are available in the Overseas Criminal Record Check information pack (opens in a new window).

If you would like First Advantage OnlineDisclosures to organise your check, download your country-specific application form (opens in a new window).

Submitting your report

Once your check has been completed, email your report to registration@cssd.ac.uk, quoting your student ID number in the email. If the report is not in English then it must be accompanied by an official translation into English.   

If you applied through First Advantage, the registration team will advise you on how to pay for your check.

If you are an international student and have travelled to the UK on a Student Visa you will need to show your passport and visa/Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) to the registration team in person. International students are defined as:

• Non-UK citizens (including EEA and Swiss)
• EU citizen without settled or pre-settled status

You will be emailed with instructions to book in for a meeting with the team when:

• you have finished any applicable self-isolation period
• you have collected your BRP card
• your course has begun and you are attending classes on campus

These meetings will continue to be offered until all checks have been completed.

More information about Gov.UK Biometric residence permits (BRPs) (opens in a new window).

You give your consent for Central to process your registration information then declare that your information is correct and that you will adhere to Central’s rules on registration and being a student.

You can find information on your data that Central holds and shares on these webpages:

• Student Privacy Notice (opens in a new window)
• HESA Student collection notice (opens in a new window)

When you give your consent and declaration you are asked to familiarise yourself with the Academic Regulations (opens in a new window) and Student Procedures (opens in a new window) that assist you during your registration at Central.

• Student Codes of Conduct (opens in a new window)
• Student Protection Plan (opens in a new window)
• Academic Regulations (opens in a new window)
• Programme Specification (search for your course) (opens in a new window)
• Financial registration (opens in a new window)

These documents will be accessible through the Student Handbook on MyCentral throughout your studies. They are updated each year so you will be asked to familiarise yourself each year to continue your registration.