Please read these terms and conditions carefully before enrolling at Express English College (EEC).
General:
1. The college services (courses and accommodation) are subject to availability.
2. We have the right to cancel, delay or change a course or a leisure activity in case of a low demand or any other unforeseen circumstances that require such action.
3. Bookings for under 18 year old students require a signed parental/guardian/carer consent letter to be sent to the college before the course start date: please note that such students may study in adult groups.
4. An applicant’s critical health information must be indicated on the application form. This will be used to inform members of staff, other students, or your host in case of an emergency. Although we always endeavor to cater for all student’s needs, EEC may refuse to accept a student if it feels it cannot meet the needs of the student, based on medical grounds.
5. EEC may refuse to accept a student based on the academic needs of the student, if it feels those needs cannot be met, for example, if the student is an absolute beginner, or their level is higher than the current levels of classes running in the school.
6. EEC may refuse to accept a student, without reservation, if there is a suspicion or a risk that the student will not comply with the requirements of their visa status or pose a risk to the integrity of the UK Border control requirements.
7. EEC may refuse an application, without reservation, if there is a suspicion that documents presented to support a visa application are not valid or appropriate.
8. EEC requires all financially sponsored students to send proof of sponsorship before they can be accepted on a course of study.
9. Health and Travel insurance should be purchased before coming to the UK; EEC is not liable for any payments of items or services that are usually covered by insurance. Such cases include cancellation and curtailment, lost course fees, medical expenses, personal belongings cover, money, personal liability and injuries.
10. If a student, having applied for a course, is affected by a long-term illness they should immediately apply for a medical certificate and present it to the college. This would only allow for the course to be postponed but not refunded.
11. Fees paid cannot be transferred to any other student and are only applicable to the student who applied. The accepted payable currency is GBP (£). Payment in other currencies should be the exact payable amount in GBP (£) on the day of receipt of the payment.
12. Holidays can be taken at any time, exclusive to a student being on a full-time or intensive programme. This is subject to students having completed their course within the period of their visa legibility (where applicable). A student must give two weeks’ notice to authorise their holiday.
13. A one-week holiday for a six-week period of study is permitted for a full-time student, but could be taken consecutively on courses lasting 12 weeks or more. These holidays cannot be given on individual days and can only be taken in one-week blocks (Monday – Friday).
14. Once booked and paid for, the course type cannot be changed, for example, from General English Course to 1-1 lessons.
15. You may postpone the start of your course for up to six months, if 21 days’ notice (before the course start date) is given in writing. After the booking is confirmed, EEC reserves the right to charge a £100 administration fee, each time course details are changed.
16. Students are responsible for their own visa application. Once full booking and tuition fees are received, documentation enabling visa application will be sent by email.
Payment and Fees
1. To book a full-time course, a student is required to pay a deposit of £150 to EEC.
2. The student should clear the balance within 21 days before the course starts.
3. Students booking a course starting in less than 21 days are required to pay the fees in full.
4. When a student is ready to apply for a visa, they must pay all fees in full to allow for application processing and confirmation of course details, etc.
5. Fees cover: one placement test, all tuition, use of school resources and facilities, one end of course certificate, one course report, and various social programme activities (weekdays only as presented on our social programme page: https://expressenglishcollege.co.uk/social-activities/).
6. Course fees do not include course books and external exam fees, such as IELTS. These are subject to an additional cost.
7. Issuing a certificate or report more than two months after course completion will incur a fee of £10.
Academic/Teaching and Learning
1. Students must attend and study throughout all their lessons at the times outlined in their timetable.
2. Students should not leave the class during lessons nor disrupt the teaching of the class for any reason.
3. Express English College expects all students to be on time for classes. Students arriving more than 5 minutes late for a lesson will be marked as ‘late’ on the class register.
4. Students who arrive 15 minutes late in the morning to class without notifying EEC in advance will not be allowed to join that class, except in exceptional circumstances.
5. Any student who is 10 minutes late after the break will not be permitted to enter the class until the following lesson, and will be marked as absent on the class attendance register for that class unless there are exceptional circumstances.
6. Students who are late on a regular basis will receive a verbal warning initially followed by a written warning. Agents or Sponsors will also be notified, where relevant.
7. The minimum accepted attendance level at EEC is 80%. If a student’s attendance falls below 80%, they will not receive an attendance certificate. Please refer to EEC’s attendance policy for further information.
8. Students begin courses on Mondays only, except for Bank and other national holidays.
Termination of Course
1. A student’s enrolment and accommodation will be immediately terminated, without any refund, if any student is found to have committed an act of serious (gross) misconduct.
2. Discovery of fake documentation usage will lead to immediate termination of the application, before or during the course.
Cancellations and Refunds
1. Where bookings are made online, by phone, or by email, and where no visa documentation has yet been issued, you have the right to cancel and receive a full refund without giving a reason, provided that the cancellation is in writing and made no less than 21 days prior to the start date of the course.
2. You will be refunded outstanding fees within 30 days of the date of your cancellation request. Any services provided during this ‘cooling off’ period will be payable, together with the booking fee.
3. The cancellation request should be made in writing and sent to the college by post or email accompanied with the original notification/letter of enrolment.
4. If a cancellation notice is received outside of the College’s weekday working hours, which are between 8.30 and 17.30 Monday to Friday, the notice period will be counted from the next working day.
5. For cancellations received from students resident in the United Kingdom (thus not requiring a visa) and provided a notice period of 21 or more days before the course start date is given, fees will be refunded, though the £150 deposit and booking fee of £100 will be deducted.
6. If cancellation is requested (by any applicant) giving a notice period of less than 21 days before the course start date, we will refund the tuition fees, though with the following deductions:
-£150 deposit
-£100 booking fee
-One week’s tuition
7. No refund will, under any circumstances, be fulfilled if you cancel your course after the start date or in the event of you deciding to leave your course early.
8. Fees for cancelled course weeks involving tuition in a group of students cannot be converted to equivalent individual lessons.
9. No extension to course duration can be made by reducing the number of hours studied per week.
10. No refund on tuition and booking fees will be made in the case of late or no-show students.
11. No refund will be given in the event of being unable to supply services resulting from causes outside the college’s control, such as, but not limited to natural disaster, labour disputes, government action
12. If your visa is refused and you want to re-apply for a visa, you must do so within one month of the date of the refusal letter. In this case, you must inform the college of the new start date.
13. If your visa is refused and you want to apply for a refund of fees, you must do so within 21 days of the refusal date and before the course start date, whichever is sooner. The college will refund any course fees paid less a charge of £150 and £100 booking fee when we have received your original visa refusal letter from the Embassy or Consulate plus a copy of your passport photo page. We also require a letter authorizing payment of the refund to a specified bank account.
Course Cancellations (Further Information) and Accommodation Bookings
14. No course deposits, booking fees, accommodation deposits or courier fees are refundable.
15. If you want to cancel a one-to-one lesson, you must give 48 hours’ notice on a weekday. For a week or more booking of one-to-one lessons, a one week of notice is required. Failure to do this will result in you being charged the full fee for the lesson.
16. All accommodation bookings are charged a booking fee of £100. (If the home stay accommodation is not suitable on arrival, alternative accommodation will be provided if available).
17. Where EEC documents have been issued for the purpose of supporting a visa application, you may only apply for a refund if your visa has been refused.
18. In cases of serious illness or the death of a close family member, cancellation should be reimbursed through your insurance.
19. Any refunds can only be paid to the person who made the payment. Please allow up to 45 days to process any refund for course fees or accommodation.
20. Excluding the booking fee, accommodation fees can only be refunded provided the cancellation notice period of 21 days or more before the start date has been observed.
21- If you give a cancellation notice period less than 21 days (3 weeks) before the start date, you will be charged 21 days (3 weeks) rent plus the booking fee of £100.
22. No accommodation fees will be refunded for late or no-show students.
Complaints
1. If you have any complaints with our services, you should talk to a member of staff immediately who will respond according to our Complaints Policy: please see Complaints Policy.
Miscellaneous
1. Student identity cards are given to students during induction day and are to be worn at all times. In the event that you lose it, a new one can be replaced: the cost is £10.
2. Media Usage: Pictures and videos may be taken occasionally by the school for promotional purposes. We will ask consent from parents of under 18s. If you don’t wish to appear in any of our promotional material, please state this at the time of booking. Please refer to: Privacy Policy; E Safety Policy, Safeguarding Policy; CCTV Policy for more details.
Changes to Terms and Conditions
• EEC reserves the right to modify or replace these terms at any time.
If any revision is made, we will provide notice prior to any new terms taking effect.
Review: Reviewed December 2023 (EC/AA). This document to be reviewed by the Management Team not less than every six months. Next review due June 2024. It will also be subject to any changes based on UK law.
