Request for the Refund of Tuition Fees

							 Refund Guidelines for Home Fee-Paying
                Students




Updated 11/11/2005
Version1.2




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     Guidelines for tuition fee waiver, refunds and transfers for home fee-paying
                                        students.


Introduction

If you decide you want to leave your course, intermit (take a break from your course) or
transfer to another institution you must take into account the academic, financial,
immigration/visa, and regulatory implications of this decision. These are outlined below
along with the process for making an application for a fee waiver, fee refund or fees
transfer. Please also see the relevant web pages (Academic Administration and Student
Services ) for further information and details of the forms that will have to be completed.

Please bear in mind the following extract from the University’s Academic regulations.
Please note that when you enrolled you formally accepted that these regulations applied to
you

‘At the discretion of the Director of Academic Administration, tuition fees may be
refunded or waived, on application by a student who has paid all or part of their fees
and subsequently withdrawn or interrupted their studies. Refunds will only be granted
where the student has shown that their withdrawal or interruption of studies has been
occasioned by exceptional circumstances.’

The full text of the University’s Academic Regulations can be found at

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/academic-regulations/

The relevant regulations are also printed in the Student Handbook that you would have
received when you enrolled.

To ensure that the University is able to consider your request, please refer to the
following pages and read the instructions carefully.

The Application Process

1)      If you wish to apply for a refund/waiver you must make a written application marked
        for the attention of David Ealey, Manager Student Registration & Records, see below
        for address or by email to refundsadmin@londonmet.ac.uk

2)      Provided that all relevant information is supplied with your request applications will
        normally take 2 weeks to consider. It is in your interests to ensure that all the relevant
        information is provided to enable the refund to be considered promptly. Failure to
        provide all the relevant information will delay consideration of your request


The following is designed to give you an indication of the likely documents that will be
needed in particular circumstances. This is not an exhaustive list and provision of all this
information should not lead to an assumption that the refund will be granted.


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A quick guide to terms used

      Administration Charge   All applications are subject to an administration &
                              recruitment charge, which is currently £100. This fee
                              will take into account the costs of the University in
                              processing the refund and any recruitment costs.

      Enrolment               The formal process where you confirm that you will be
                              studying with the University and sign an enrolment form.
                              By signing this you have confirmed that you will pay all
                              the fees due and that you will abide by the University’s
                              regulations
      Fee Waiver              Where you ask the University not to charge you the full
                              fees for your course. If, for any reason, you decide to
                              leave the course and, there are tuition fees still
                              outstanding, then you need to apply for a tuition fee
                              waiver. UNLESS this is done you will still be expected
                              to pay for tuition fees and the University may take
                              action to recover these fees. In these situations the same
                              requirements as for a refund of fees apply.

      Fee Refund              This means you get your fees returned (minus a
                              £100 administrative charge
      Suspension of Studies   Where you stop attending your course but intend to
                              resume studying at the University at a later date, also
                              known as intermitting.
      Transfer of fees        Where your fee payment is transferred to the next
                              academic year. This may apply where you pay your
                              tuition fees in full but then decide to suspend studies for
                              all or part of the academic year. In this situation you
                              may want to transfer these fees over to the next
                              academic year when you resume your studies. It is
                              VERY UNLIKELY that fees will be refunded in these
                              circumstances.

      Withdrawal              Where you decide to stop attending the University




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Withdrawal from the University


If you are thinking about leaving your course (withdrawing) there are financial
implications, academic factors and University regulations that you need to consider
BEFORE making your decision.

A) Financial Implications
From the moment you enrol at London Metropolitan University, you enter into a contract
with the institution for tuition fees. When you withdraw you should also make an
application for a fee refund or waiver of outstanding tuition fees. If you are in receipt of
student funding such as a student loan or help towards your fees then there may well be
implications for this in the future, You are strongly advised to seek advice from Student
Services before finalizing your decidion.

B} Academic Implications
There will be academic implications in your decision and you should also take academic
advice from your PAA (undergraduate students) or academic tutor (postgraduate students

D) University Regulations
If you withdraw from the University then a refund/waiver will only be considered where
the withdrawal was caused by exceptional circumstances. Where your withdrawal is due
to medical reasons then it is very likely that we will need to see medical certificates, a
statement from a doctor or similar evidence. It is likely that we will require a statement
from your course leader before a decision can be reached. We may also look at evidence
of attendance. If your withdrawal is for any other reason then you will need to provide
some strong documentary evidence to support the application. If your stated reason for
withdrawal is financial then you will need to demonstrate that your financial
circumstances have changed since you enrolled.


Suspension of studies

If you are contemplating suspending your studies then you are strongly advised to seek
guidance from the student advice and information team within Student Services BEFORE
confirming your intention to do so. Contact information can be found on their website.

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/student-services/saifs/saifs_home.cfm

It is also recommended that academic advice is sought before suspending study.

If you intend to suspend part or all of your current academic year and return at a later
date then you must apply for a tuition fee waiver or/and a transfer of tuition fees. It is
highly unlikely that a refund will be given in this case.




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Tuition Fee Waivers

When you enrol you become liable for the full year’s tuition fees for the course. If, for any
reason you decide to leave the course and, there are tuition fees still outstanding, then you
need to apply for a tuition fee waiver. UNLESS this is done you will remain liable for the full
tuition fees and the University may take action to recover these fees.

In these situations the same requirements as for a refund of fees apply.

Transfer of tuition fees

This may apply where you pay your tuition fees in full but then decide to suspend studies for
all or part of the academic year. In these situations you may want to transfer part or all of
these fees over to the next academic year when you resume your studies. It is VERY
UNLIKELY that fees will be refunded in these circumstances.

In these situations you will still need to provide the information as if you were applying for a
refund, (see above).

Academic Credits
Where a student has been granted credits for previous study then we will need to have
evidence that the credit has been agreed by the University.

When will a decision be made ?

Normally a decision will be made in 2 weeks PROVIDED that all of the relevant information
has been supplied. Where further information is required in order for a final decision to be
made then you will be notified as to the information required.

If the refund request has been refused, then this decision will not normally be reconsidered
UNLESS you can provide more information to support your claim.

Students who are suspended from the University for financial reasons are NOT
NORMALLY entitled to a refund/waiver or transfer of tuition fees.

Administration Fee

All applications are subject to an administration charge. This fee will take into account the
costs of the University in processing the refund and any recruitment costs, including any
agent’s fees incurred.




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If a Refund is agreed

Where a refund is agreed then payment will normally be by direct credit transfer to the
bank account from which the original payment was made. If payment were by credit card,
then the refund would be made back to that credit card. It is very unlikely that cheques
will be issued.

Address Details

Refund requests should be made to

David Ealey
Manager, Student Registration & Records
London Metropolitan University
166-220 Holloway Road
London
N7 8DB

OR they can be handed in to any of the Undergraduate & Postgraduate Registries located
around the University.

OR by email to refundsadmin@londonmet.ac.uk




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