Tuition Fee and Bursary Policy

1. Introduction

This policy is relevant to students enrolling for a new year of study in the 2022/23 academic year, which covers the period from 1st August 2022 until 31st July 2023.

In this policy the following definitions of terms apply:

2. Tuition Fees

The Albion Business School reviews its tuition fees and its fee policy each year. The tuition fees you will be charged will depend on when you started your course, the type and level of the course you are studying and whether you are liable for Home or International tuition fees. These are detailed in Appendix B. The university provides a wide range of study options, so it is important that you understand the cost of your chosen course. You can find tuition fees on our website and on each course page.

Tuition fees relating to courses started in the 2022/23 academic year will be liable to an annual increase for subsequent years of study. Any year on year tuition fee increase will be capped at RPI plus two percent and, where relevant, will also be subject to the maximum regulated fee rates set by the UK government.

The conditions you must meet to be entitled to pay tuition fees at the ‘Home’ rate for study on a higher education (HE) course is determined by your nationality or residency. If you meet the necessary conditions, including any residence requirements, you are entitled to the ‘Home’ fee rate for your course. If you are not entitled to the Home fee rate you will be charged the International fee rate for your course.

The University determines whether you are eligible for the Home fee rate using the information you provided in your application. Where necessary, you will have been asked to complete a fee assessment questionnaire as part of your application to assist the University in this determination. Your fee category will be confirmed to you in the University’s offer letter and will be displayed when you are asked to complete the University’s enrolment process. The tuition fee you will be charged in the first year of your course will be confirmed to you in the University’s offer letter (see note 1) and will be confirmed again during the University’s enrolment process.

Note 1: Where you are joining a course with an annual or whole course tuition fee. If you apply to join a flexible part-time course where you will choose how many modules you wish to study, your fees per module will be available through published tuition fee lists

2.1. Undergraduate courses

Students are charged an annual tuition fee for each full-time year of study. A full-time year of study is defined in the University’s Academic regulations for taught provision. This fee will be charged at the point of enrolment onto the new year of study.

Students on a part-time undergraduate course, or a part-time undergraduate year of study, are charged a tuition fee for each of the modules for which they have registered to study during that part-time year. These fees will be charged at the point of enrolment onto the new year of study.

2.2. Postgraduate Taught (‘PGT’) courses

Students on all other postgraduate taught courses are charged for the course in full when enrolling for the first year of study, irrespective of whether they will be studying on a full-time or part-time basis or whether they will be studying for more than one year.

For these courses, you can choose to pay your tuition fees in full during this first year of study or you can opt to pay in instalments over the expected duration of your course. The payment plans which are available for PGT tuition fees are outlined in Appendix A.

2.3. Short courses

Students studying on short courses of less than one full year duration are charged for the course in full when enrolling for the first year of study, irrespective of the level of the course or whether they will be studying on a fulltime or part-time basis.

3. Fee Payment

It is a condition of registration that you pay your tuition fees. You will be required to arrange to pay your tuition fees as a condition of enrolment onto your course, unless you have provided evidence of sponsorship to cover your tuition fees in full.

If you do not pay your fees in full at enrolment you will be required to sign up to an approved instalment payment plan to pay any remaining balance as a condition of enrolment onto your course. Instalment plans are outlined in Appendix A.

3.1. Advance payment

If you are unable to take up your course with the University, your advance payment is only refundable in the following circumstances:

• You are unsuccessful in securing an appropriate visa for study. No advance payment will be refunded if the refusal is the result of fraudulent activity.
• You fail to meet the conditions of your offer of a course from the University. The University will require documentary evidence to support the failure of conditions.
• There are severe mitigating circumstances. A letter outlining the nature of the mitigating circumstances must be sent to the University along with copies of all relevant documentation. The University will review each case on an individual basis.

Where suitable evidence is not supplied to support any of the above circumstances, the University will not refund your advance payment. The decision to refund the payment will be at the discretion of the University and a £150 administration fee will be retained by the University to cover administration costs.

3.2. Payment at enrolment

If you are registering on any of the following courses you will be required to pay your fees in full as a condition of enrolment on your course:

• A short professional course
• A top-up course of less than one full year’s duration

If you are registering on a part-time course, or you will be studying on a part-time basis, you will also be required to pay your fees in full.

For all other courses, you will be required to pay a minimum of 50% of your outstanding tuition fee liability (after any advance payment and International Grant Award) and to sign up to an approved instalment payment plan to pay any remaining balance as a condition of enrolment onto your course. Instalment plans and examples of how to calculate the fees due at enrolment are outlined in Appendix A.

This condition does not apply if:

• You are in receipt of a student government loan and you have provided evidence of this to the University.
• You have provided evidence of sponsorship to cover your tuition fees in full.

4. Additional Charges

4.1. Course-specific charges

The University aims to give you information in advance regarding any additional charges made in connection with the academic programme. There are some programmes or individual modules that require payments to be made to contribute towards the additional costs necessarily incurred for materials or activities such as field trips. Details of fees and potential extra costs are available on our webpages.

Details of such charges, where they apply, are also set out in Student Handbooks, Course and Module Handbooks or Learning & Information Services literature. These documents will be available at Induction and you should check them for detailed information. If you opt for a module with additional charges you will be required to pay for them.

If you are a Postgraduate taught student you will be personally liable for any professional membership fees associated with your course.

4.2. Re-assessment and trailing module charges

You should be aware that you will be charged and therefore financially liable for the following:

• Administrative charges to cover the cost of a re-assessment attempt at one or more pieces of assessment.
• Administrative charges to cover the cost of additional assessment, where you are required to repeat study on one or more module(s) and this results in you being registered to study more than the normal full-time credit for your course in any academic year.
• Administrative charges to cover the cost of assessments for any other modules studied at a trailing level alongside a full-time diet of modules at your current level. This will normally only apply where you join a course with advanced standing but are required to study one or more modules at a level below that at which you join.
• Post examination corrections fees or major amendments and resubmission for postgraduate research awards

All of these charges are listed on the University’s published fees lists which is detailed in Appendix B.

5. Liability for payment

You are liable to pay tuition fees (as relevant to your study and as outlined above), re-assessment and module retake charges, additional course charges, professional membership fees and accommodation charges or other amounts payable to the University by the agreed timescales.

The liability of the student for payment of tuition fees, and the agreement between the student and the University in relation to the payment of all fees due will remain in place so long as the University has delivered the academic provision. Please note that the University reserves the right to alter the timing and/or location and or/content of the academic provision but will advise you of any changes at all times.

Failure to pay all outstanding fees, charges, fines and any other amounts owing to the University will result in you being unable to enrol for subsequent years study, complete your award of qualification, receive any certificates or attend your graduation ceremony. The University will not provide a reference for any student with outstanding debt.

6. Sponsorship and Research Student Bursaries

You are responsible at all times for any fees or amounts outstanding to the University. The failure of your sponsor to pay fees does not negate this liability.

6.1. Sponsorship

If you are being sponsored, you and your sponsor will need to complete a Sponsorship Authorisation form and email it to the University’s Income Team at admissions@AlbionBusinessSchool.com If a completed sponsorship form is not received in advance of your enrolment you may be asked to make a payment or set up alternative payment arrangements when completing the university’s enrolment processes. Sponsored fees are payable in full at the start of the course within 30 days of receipt of invoice.

6.2. Students Bursaries

If you are in receipt of a University Studentship or a School Bursary, you will need to provide evidence to the University’s Income Team of your formal letter of award issued by the Bursary Administration Office.

8. Tuition Fee Discounts

Only one discount or scholarship applies and no further discounts will be given. Tuition fees will not be reduced for students who start their course after the official start date.

8.1. Discount for full payment of fees

If you pay in full before or at the point of enrolment, you will be eligible for a discount of £150.

8.2. Students liable for International fees

If you meet the criteria for more than one of the discounts, scholarships or awards detailed, you will qualify for the discount offering the biggest reduction of the standard tuition fee.

For full criteria of bursaries, scholarships and other discounts for International Students please see the International section of our funding pages or contact  admissions@AlbionBusinessSchool.com.

9. Bursaries

Payments in respect of all bursary awards will be paid as detailed in the criteria for each scheme, providing all eligibility criteria have been met. Further information on all of the schemes available in the 2022/23 academic year can be found on our website.

If you are eligible, you will be informed of the payment schedule. If you withdraw from your course or take a leave of absence you may have to repay a percentage of the bursary/ies that you received in that academic year. If you have any outstanding debt, the University will use the money from the bursary to pay the debt off. Any money left over will then be refunded to you.

If your circumstances change, you may have to repay all or part of your bursary.

10. Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

10.1. Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

Experiential Learning is learning achieved outside of a formal learning environment. It may include learning gained as part of work experience, volunteer work, or as part of a training course for which you have not received any formal qualification.

If you apply for credit for prior experiential learning you will be charged £50 for the assessment of your prior learning and will be required to pay this in full before the University will progress with the assessment.

10.2. Assessment of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL)

Certificated Learning (APCL) is learning for which you will have received a formal qualification, for example a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education, a Higher National Diploma (HND), a Foundation Degree, or individual modules/course units completed at another institution which have been validated under a credit accumulation and transfer scheme (CATS).

You will not be charged for an assessment of your prior certificated learning.

10.3. Tuition fee adjustments as a result of APL

Your tuition fee liability will be adjusted to take account of the modules you will not be required to study as a result of your APL assessment:

• If your APL results in your joining a course at a level other than the normal entry level, for example you are entitled to join a three-year bachelor’s degree course on year two or year three of the three-year course, you will only be liable for tuition fees for the levels you will study at the university.
• If your APL results in your having a partial exemption for the level at which you join the course, you will only be liable for tuition fees for the modules you will be required to study at that level.
• If your APL results in your joining a full-time course with modules to take at a lower level than the one at which you join, you will incur an administrative charge for these modules on top of your full-time tuition fee for the year. For example, if you are permitted to join a degree course at year two (level five), but will need to take a level four module alongside your level five modules, you will be charged for that additional module.
• These charges are detailed in the ‘Additional Charges’ section of this policy.

If your application for APL has not been completed prior to your initial enrolment on your course, you will be charged the full tuition fee until the outcome of your APEL/APCL assessment is known. Where this results in an overpayment of fees, upon successful accreditation of the prior learning you will be refunded the value of the module(s) for which prior learning credit has been awarded.

Adjustments to fee liability as a result of APL are made before all other applied discounts and may result in your not being eligible for fee discounts, including all international scholarships.

11. Refund Policy

This policy applies to registered students who subsequently withdraw from their programme of study before completion and relates only to fees paid personally by you or by your sponsor.

In all cases, an application for refund of fees will only be considered if the University has received a written notification of withdrawal from the student.  The date of receipt of the notification will be the effective date of withdrawal. 

In accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations, 2017, any refund due will be made using the original method of payment, i.e. credit/debit card payments will be refunded to the original card, bank transfers made via Western Union will be refunded to the account that was originally debited. Please note that where payments have been made by direct bank transfer, evidence of payment will be required to enable the University to process any refunds, where applicable, which can cause delays.

11.1. Undergraduate – Home Students

The following policy applies on withdrawal:

• If you withdraw within the first two weeks of the start date of your course within the 2022/23 academic year you will not be liable for tuition fees and will receive a full refund of any contribution towards any annual tuition fees paid in 2022/23.
• If you withdraw after the first two weeks but before the start of your second term you will be liable for 25% of the annual tuition fee
• If you withdraw after the start of the second term but before the start of your third term you will be liable for 50% of the annual tuition fee.
• If you withdraw during your third term you will be liable for 100% of the annual tuition fee.

Liability for students studying on courses with non-standard entry dates will be applied as above.

11.2. Undergraduate Students changing from honours to non-honours degree

If you change from an Honours to Non-Honours degree, whether you decide to change or it is required by the University, you will not be entitled to a refund of fees.

11.3. Undergraduate – International Students

If you are a full-time International student and you withdraw within the 2022/23 academic year no more than 10 weeks after the start date of your course, you will be liable for a tuition fee of £600 (six hundred pounds exactly). If you withdraw from your course after this point you will be liable for the full annual tuition fees for your course. In the event that fees have been paid in advance, the appropriate refund will be made.

11.4. Short Courses – all students

All students withdrawing from short or professional courses by the end of the first week of the course will be entitled to a full refund, withdrawals during the second week of the course will be subject to an administration charge of £50, and withdrawals after week 2 but before the start of a second semester will be subject to the fees for the units they have registered for in their first semester only. After commencing a second semester, students are liable for the fees for all units they have registered for, no refund will be given

12. Methods of Payment

The University encourages students to pay in advance and we accept the following payment methods:

• Credit or Debit Card using the University website
• Instalments by Direct Debit – (see Appendix A for eligibility and instalment terms for 2022/23 only)
• International Payments by Western Union
• Bank Transfer by Western Union

Direct bank transfers will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances where all other payment methods have failed. These will need to be approved in advance by the Income Team using the contact details below. Please note that where payments have been made by direct bank transfer, evidence of payment will be required to enable the University to process any refunds, where applicable, which can cause delays.

Full details on how to pay can be found on the University webpages.

12.1. Instalments – Paying by Direct Debit

Students must have a UK bank account in order to set up a Direct Debit. In agreeing to a Direct Debit to be set up, you are entering into a commitment to ensure there are the funds in your bank account at the due date. Failure to keep up with your payments, late payment or cancellation of Direct Debits without prior notification will result in an administrative charge of £50.

If you are aware that a Direct Debit will not be successful or, you are to cancel the direct debit you must notify the Income Team giving a minimum of five working days notice, otherwise you will liable for the £30 administration charge. If your direct debit fails, your bank will also charge you a fee. If a direct debit is cancelled, your outstanding debt becomes due for payment immediately.

If you withdraw from a course you will be liable for payment of the outstanding fees as stated in the Fee Refund Policy as detailed in section 11.

13. Outstanding debt

No student with an outstanding account can progress to the next stage of their programme of study, receive an award, be considered for further qualifications or be given a reference from the University without prior approval from the Deputy Income Manager. Once your fees become overdue, you will be sent statements and reminder letters. Following this your debt will be referred to the University debt chasing agents. Such referrals will also incur Legal Recovery Costs, which are also payable by you.

APPENDIX A: TUITION FEE INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLANS

APPENDIX B: TUITION FEES And Additional Charges

Undergraduate Home Full Time Study (Course Fees)

Undergraduate Home Part Time Study (Modular Fees per 15 credits)

Undergraduate International Full Time Study (Course Fees)

Additional Undergraduate Fees