Terms & Conditions of Admission

The student, by signing the College application form, agrees to abide by the College's regulations and policies, which are displayed on the college website as updated from time to time.

A summary of the main points of relevance to applicants follows below.

All applicants must apply only through the appointed representatives of the College, partner institutes and the College offices directly. Students must check the authorisation of the representatives before applying to the College. Our College website (www.bcol.co.uk) enlists our representatives. The list is also available on request.

The College is not liable for any claim made by the applicant who has applied through unauthorised representatives, organisations and individuals.

Application & Admission procedure

Overseas students must also provide all the information listed on the application form including evidence of their financial ability to pay the course / programmes fees and UK living expenses in line with the UK Border Agency's (UKBA) requirements for UK student visas under Tier 4 of the Points Based System. The UKBA's requirements can be seen on their website (http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/).

Documents provided for admission must be originals. Where the original documents cannot be sent, notarised copies or copies attested by the issuing authority are acceptable. The documentation required must be clear, legible and where necessary translated into English language by an approved translator.

The College reserves the right to assess applications and to offer admissions or reject applicants as it deems appropriate, in line with course entry requirements and the responsibilities placed on the College by the UK Border Agency. Accordingly, the College may ask applicants to provide additional information where necessary.

Admission Step 1. Please return the completed College Application Form to the College along with required documents e.g. two passport size photographs, copies of certificates, passport pages and work experience.

Application form can be emailed to admission@bcol.co.uk be faxed to 00 44 121 212 0666 or can be filled online. Please send documents separately if the application form is filled online.

Admission Step 2. Upon receipt of the complete application by the College, the applicant may be called or telephoned for an interview by the College or it's authorized representatives or partner universities. Successful applicants will receive a Conditional Offer letter, an Acceptance Form and a Statement of Fees / Invoice.

Admission step 3. Upon receipt of the Acceptance Form, the payment of the full course fee and provide all the necessary information (as per the checklist on the application form). The College will assess all the information to confirm that this is in line with the requirements of the chosen course, the UK's Immigration rules for student visas. Where necessary, the College will ask for supplementary information. Students should note carefully the requirement to show funding to cover in full, the first year's tuition fees and the UK living expenses for that year.

Admission Step 4. Once the College is satisfied that all the information provided is conformant to the UK Immigration rules for student visas, the Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) will be issued. If the College does not accept you onto the course, or if we consider that the information provided does not meet the UK Immigration requirements for student visas, we will refund any course fees paid.

Admission Step 5. The student will need to present the CAS to the British Embassy or High Commission in their home country to apply for a student visa with required documents. The British Immigration authorities also require a CAS to be produced on arrival in the UK.

Final Step 6. Applicant must inform the College about the outcomes of their visa application within 7 days of the visa issued date. Successful applicant must inform the college for their arrival date and unsuccessful applicant must follow the refund policy and procedure outlined below.

Arrival in the UK & Registration

Student must arrive in the UK for their studies within the time allowance stated on the College admission letters, specifically the CAS. The student coming from overseas must register with the College within 10 days of their arrival date in the UK. Under exceptional circumstances e.g. if you become ill, you must inform the College by telephone or email. Those students who have not registered within 10 days of their arrival date will be suspended and a notification will be sent to UKBA. No fees refund will be granted.

At the time of registration, all original documents including passport, academic and experiences documents will be verified again and you, two passport size photos.

Assessment on arrival

On arrival in the UK, students will be assessed by the College academic staff for ability to follow their chosen course successfully. The College may require the student to complete an access course or undertake remedial classes before joining their course. Applications for exemptions will be assessed by and granted at the discretion of the staff. Any exemptions granted will be subject to the conditions applying to that exemption. The decisions of the academic staff on access and exemptions are final.

English language proficiency test required for all students before joining the main course applied.

Students will be assessed after completion of their pre-sessional English language course and the college may extend duration their English course if requirement of English proficiency are not met. Extra fees will be charged for additional English Language course,which the student is liable to pay.

Updates during study period

Students must notify the College promptly of any change to their UK address and/or telephone number, and of any reason for absence, such as sickness.

Attendance & Assessment

Overseas students must follow a full-time weekday course of at least 15 hours a week and comply with all other immigration regulations and laws. A record of attendance is kept for each student, which reflects his or her participation. Students must attend their classes according to their timetable. For further information please consult College Attendance Policy. Failure to attend for 10 consecutive days will result in an automatic suspension and UKBA will be formally notified.

Students are required to attend all lectures, take all tests and submit on time, assignments set by their tutors: failure to do so may result in re-sits, which may in turn affect the student's duration of studies, fees, completion, etc. Students must comply with the rules and regulations of relevant external bodies or awarding body.

Students must abide by all College regulations as amended and updated from time to time.

Please refer to individual awards. However, the college policy for students who have either not paid full course fees and or achieved acceptable level of attendance will not be entered for assessment, e.g. examination and assignment. Examinations must be taken at scheduled times, any re-sit exams will incur additional cost.

Books and Stationery

The College provides students, where applicable, with the relevant course materials. Students must bring their textbooks and other courses materials which form an essential part of their class work to their class.

The College assist students in acquiring recommended textbooks and relevant material at discounted price.

Accommodation

TThe College does not have its own students' hall or accommodation for students and therefore, the student must book an accommodation before his/ her arrival in the UK.

Personal Conduct

The College expects its students to behave as responsible mature persons and act within the moral norms of society while attending the College or anywhere else as a "College-student". The College reserves the right to dismiss any student at any time for behaviour which is deemed to be unprofessional, inappropriate or disruptive to other students. No fees will be refundable for any student dismissed under this section. The College reserves the right to inform the appropriate authorities where a student has been dismissed from the College.

Students will be required to pay for any damage they cause to the premises and/or property of the College, or property in the care of the College, or their accommodation arranged by the College. Students will be required to pay any charges incurred by them under College financial regulations. No refund of fees will be granted to expelled students and they will remain liable for any extant fees and charges.

Use of drugs/tobacco is prohibited on the College premises.

VISA Extension

Once you are in Britain, we will help you to make an application to the Home Office if you need to renew your visa.

The College provides the necessary documents to the UKBA for extension of student visas, upon the request of those students who have enrolled at the college and fulfilled college requirements.

The college will not issue documents, e.g. attendance certificate, progress report, registration details, visa extension related papers to students suspended from the College.

Financial regulations, refunds and transfers

The College does not charge admission or registration fees but for handling applications a nominal administrative charge is applied to applicants in case of visa rejections. Any fees paid to third party e.g. authorised representatives are at your own risk and the College is not liable for any claim or refund.

As for tuition fees, the College policy is not to accept cash payment

The College has not authorised any representatives, individuals or organisations to accept cash payment on behalf of the College. However, some preferred representatives are authorised to accept Bankers Draft payable to Birmingham College. Applicants could also pay directly to Birmingham College by Cheque or Direct Transfer. For students paying direct to Birmingham College, all fees must be sent to Birmingham College Bank Account either through a Bankers Draft, Cheque or Direct Transfer. The acknowledgement of receipt of fees is made as follows:

Bankers Draft – initial acknowledgement of your Bankers Draft is given. Once the Draft is cleared a formal receipt is issued.

Cheque - initial acknowledgement of your cheque is given. Once the cheque is cleared a formal receipt is issued.

Direct Transfer - a formal receipt is issued.

The details of the College bank account: HSBC plc 34 Poplar Road' Solihull, West Midlands - B91 3AF United Kingdom Birmingham College Ltd Account Number: 82107341, Sort/Branch Code: 40-42-12

For students submitting Bankers Draft or Cheque to appointed representatives, please ensure that the Bankers Draft or Cheque is payable ‘Birmingham College ltd’ Bank Account. Please request a full receipt for this submission from the representatives.

Acknowledgement of receiving fees, mentioned in any document issued by the College simply indicates that these fees have been received by the representative. This does not mean that the College has received the fees from the representative or the student and therefore does not constitute any responsibility for the College to accept any form of liability for such fees or any refunds for whatever reason.

It should also be noted that any agent approached by you with a view to securing a place at the College, whether such representative be an unauthorised agent or authorised by the College to administer such applications, Birmingham College does not accept any liability whatsoever for monies paid to such agent or any representatives.

Payment Procedure / Payments by Cheques or Drafts

A student paying by cheque into a U.K. bank must allow at least 8 working days for the cheque to clear and 15 working days for a foreign country bank draft to be cleared. Students will be charged a £30.00 processing fee if cheque or bankers draft is returned and not honoured to the College. The fee is £50 in case of a foreign draft bouncing. The College reserves the right to report offenders to their professional body.

Tuition Fee

a. All fees must be paid in advance.

b. Enrolment on the course creates a binding agreement to follow the course and to pay the full tuition fees.

c. No deferments can be authorised after overseas students have been granted a visa and local or EU students have been enrolled on a course. The College will notify the UKBA and relevant authorities.

d. The College reserves the right to suspend students without notice from attending classes if their fees are in arrears.

e. Students not completing their studies for any reason will not be eligible for a refund, discount or credit and will be charged the outstanding fees even if they stop attending the courses for whatever reason.

f. All information and prices provided on the college's website, on enrolment forms and through other promotional channels is believed to be correct at the time of printing but is subject to change at the discretion of the College.

g. Tuition fees are published separately for each term / intake and are payable by all students studying at the time - unless they have paid their fees in full prior to the publication of the new fees. Paying a deposit does not prevent any fee increase being applied.

h. The College reserves the right to initiate the recovery of all outstanding fees or College property from the students, such recovery may require legal action as appropriate.

i. The College reserves the right to change a student's fee status classification in light of changes in relevant legislation or where the student has withheld relevant information.

Refund Policy

1) A student who requires a Student Visa to enter or remain in the UK, will be entitled to a refund of the tuition fee if his/her visa application is refused and does not wish to re-apply for a visa minus administration cost. To get a refund, the student (the applicant) must fulfil the following terms and conditions.

a) The applicant is responsible for completing the following procedures to get a refund. In case of working with authorised representatives of the College, the applicant must get proof from the representative showing the College has been informed. If applying through the College, please get a receipt of the proof.

b) The Applicant must inform the College directly in writing within 7 days of the date of the refusal letter issued by the British Embassy. Proof of informing the College is compulsory in order to get a refund.

c) The Applicant must send the refusal letter from the British Embassy and the original documents of admission issued by the College with a request of the refund to the College office within 2 weeks of the date of the refusal letter issued by the British Embassy. If the application and the required documents reach the College after two weeks, 20% of the course fee will be deducted from the refund amount. The application for the refund must be sent by the applicant to the College by recorded delivery / special deliver / currier and the receipt issued must be kept for proof.

d) The College is not liable for any refund after four weeks of the refusal letter issued by the British Embassy and will not pay any refund after four weeks.

e) Students who wish to appeal must do so in writing and obtain written confirmation from Birmingham College that the appeal has been lodged. Without written notification from Birmingham College, it will not be held responsible for any refund or claim. Therefore, it is important that the applicant obtains written confirmation from the College to proceed with the matter.All appeals against the outcome of a visa application must be in line with the rules and regulation set by UKBA.

f) The maximum appeal time is 6 months from the refusal letter issued by the British Embassy. The College will not be liable for any refund or claim after this period.

2) No fees are refundable after overseas students have been granted a visa or an extension of their in the UK and for local / EU students no fees are refundable after the student has been enrolled on a course.

3) No fees are refundable if students leave the college during his/her pre-sessional English language course or any preparation course leads to main course or an access course

4) No fees are refundable to international or local students if, after the student stops attending the classes or leaves the course before its completion, or he/she is suspended by the College due to non-attendance or misconduct, or a legal prosecution by the law enforcing authorities or In case of fee transfer from any other College / University or a false or forged documentation submitted by students for admission are found

5) If the student gets a visa and is not willing to attend the course / College, the deposited fee will not be refunded.

6) If the student is granted unconditional admission by the College and he/she changes his /her mind about coming to the College and doesn't apply for visa, only half of the deposited fee will be refunded if the request reaches the College before the commencement of the Course. If such a request reaches the College after the commencement of Course, only 25% of the deposited fee will be refunded.

7) For any unforeseen reasons if the college stops the delivery or running of any course, only 60% fees paid are refundable. No further liability or compensation will apply to the College in any form.

8) No refund in case of student is transferred from another UK institute / university

9) The college reserves the right to change or cancel or amend any course due to fulfil regulations set up the UKBA or awarding body.

10) A minimum of 6 weeks is required to process the refunds on receipt of the refund application with required documents, according to the rules.

11) No interest or profit is claimable upon any refund payments.

12) No refunds are considered when students in the U.K. have postponed the commencement of their course.

13) The College reserves the right to change or amend any refund procedures at their discretion. All refunds are subject to the approval by the College Principal.

14) Once letters of confirmation have been issued to third parties confirming full-time status, no refunds or course transfers are permissible other than in the instance of Visa refusal.

15) All deposits are non-refundable, and cannot be transferred to later start dates or to other students.

16) The college is not liable for any form of compensations in case of any loss of damage incurred by the student whilst their study with Birmingham College.

Cancellation / changes of the advertised

The College reserves the right to cancel any advertised courses and to change any aspect of a course including availability of the course, course dates, curriculum, tutors and study material at any time and without prior notice. In case of cancellation, students will be refunded 60% of their fees paid. No further liability will apply to the College.

The College reserves the right to alter dates, fees and any particulars in published material (in prospectus, brochures, or on the website) without prior notice. Equally, the College reserves the right to vary, amend or introduce regulations, terms, policies and procedures without prior notice, within reason. This does not affect students' statutory rights.

The college reserves the right to change or cancel or amend any course due to fulfil rules and regulations set up the UKBA or awarding body. The College decision will be final for refund. No further liability in any form will apply to the College.

Legal Liability & Contract to third party

The College accepts no legal liability in the case of accidents, illness, loss of or damage to personal effects or mail, or for any damages or accidents caused through negligence or otherwise of a third party.

The College reserves the right to contract any third party to provide services, including enforcing any terms of this agreement, and to store and share with any parties as appropriate, students' personal information

The College reserves the right to conduct and provide its services from premises within reasonable commuting distance of its current campus.

Special Arrangement

The College reserves the right to make special arrangements to cover exceptional/extenuating circumstances, at the discretion of the College.

Minimum Age

Students must be at least 18 years old to study at Birmingham College.

Information on Legal Status

These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in all respects in accordance with the laws of England. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with these its breach, termination or invalidity shall be settled by the laws of England.