1          Payment of Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are payable in full at time of enrolment. "Tuition fees" can comprise course fees, registration fees or any other charge relating to the course. Payment is accepted by Cash, Cheque or Credit Card (Visa, Master Card).

2          Payment by Student Loan Company or Employer

If your fees are to be paid by the Student Loan Company (SLC) or by a sponsor such as your employer, please ensure all the information is available to enable us to raise the appropriate invoices and to allow your sponsor to make payment on your behalf. You must present a letter from the SLC or your employer. It is your personal responsibility to ensure that your fees are paid.

3         Late Payment

If you become aware that your payment will be late, you must contact the Finance Department (based in Millfield Building 1, Level 2) to explain the position. If you are in genuine difficulty with payment, an authorised member of the Finance Department will try to agree a plan of payment with you that you can afford.

If you default you will be contacted within two weeks and asked to make immediate payment by another method. If this payment fails sanctions listed in 7 below may be applied.

4         Difficulty with Payment

If you are experiencing difficulties in paying your tuition fees you should seek help at the earliest possible opportunity. Initially you should approach staff in the Finance Department. You may also wish to speak to the Student Support Office (based in Brunswick Street) or the Students’ Union (based in Millfield Building 2).

 
The College will be sympathetic and assist where it can. However, in order to maintain the quality of teaching and activities for everyone else, the College must act to recover debts.

5         Early Withdrawal from Course

If you leave your programme of study before or during the first week of the course commencing you will be due a full refund. You are required to give written notification to the College. This must be sent immediately to the relevant General/Reception Office in the place of your normal study (main College sites only).

If you are studying for a Full-time Higher Education course and have applied for a tuition fee loan from the Student Loan Company and withdraw within the first term i.e. on or before 30th November, you will be charged the first term fees; these will be payable by you and not the Student Loan Company. Students transferring to another HE institution within the first six weeks will not be charged any tuition fee.

If you withdraw after1st December the College will call down the fee payment from the Student Loan Company and you will then be responsible for settling the debt with the Student Loan Company. If you have been accepted for the Direct Debit Scheme you will be liable for any uncollected fees at the time of withdrawal

6         Sanctions against Debtors

If you owe outstanding tuition fees i.e. you are a debtor to the College, any or all the following sanctions will be applied:

1. a) you will not be entitled to receive tuition i.e. you will be terminated from the course
2. you will not be entered for examinations
3. you will not have your assessment marks forwarded to the examining body
4. will not be allowed to enter the examination room to sit your examinations
5. your examination results will be withheld
6. your examination certificates will be withheld
7. you will not be eligible to attend the College graduation ceremony

Outstanding Student Fees will either be referred to a Debt Collection Agency for recovery or placed with the Small Claims Court for judgement and payment. Costs associated with either procedure will be added to your account.

Should you choose to cancel your Direct Debit agreement at any time after your course has begun, you will continue to be regarded as a debtor until your outstanding fees have been recovered.

7         Student Debt from Previous Years

If you who have a debt outstanding (part or full fees) from a previous year, you will not be allowed to enrol for a course in the new academic year.

If you have a debt outstanding (part or full fees) from a previous year and have enrolled in the current year, the College will set off any payments received in the current year against your outstanding debt i.e. the most recent payments will go against the oldest debt. You will be required to pay your outstanding balance from the previous year and the current year tuition fees. Should you not pay outstanding and the current year fees the sanctions outlined in 7 above will be applied.

8         Reinstatement on Payment of Full Tuition Fees

If you have been excluded from the College because you have not paid your fees, you may be reinstated if you pay in full the outstanding tuition fees before the end of the academic year. However, if you are consequently behind with your studies, you may have to repeat parts of the programme, thereby incurring further fees. These fees will be payable by you

9         Student Status

The fees for the course(s), you will enrol on will be classified as either home or international. Please note that confirmation of eligibility may be sought before enrolling or during the course. Appropriate fees must be paid accordingly. If you are unsure of the residency requirements, please refer to the criteria laid down by Department for Employment and Learning in circular FE 06/07. Click here to download pdf document.

10         Appeals Process

If you are unhappy about any matter relating to fee payments you should, in the first instance, contact the Finance Department.  If the matter remains unresolved, or not resolved to your satisfaction, you may bring a complaint under the College Complaint Procedure - Click Here

Contacts

Sara Jamison
Accounts Receivable Section
Finance Department, Building 1
Level 2
Millfield
Email:accounts@belfastmet.ac.uk
Tel: 90265468

Eileen Rice
Student Support Office
Second floor
Brunswick Street
Email: studentsupport@belfastmet.ac.uk
Tel: 90265172