Terms and Conditions

Course Terms and Conditions 2023-24

THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LANGUAGE CENTRE

Please read this document carefully. It contains important information about your contract with the University.
Language Centre courses are intended for adults. This generally means that learners who are not members of the University must be at least 18 years old when they start the course. Applicants who are of school age should pursue other options for learning languages.

 

Contract with the University

1. The purpose of these Terms and Conditions is to set out the contractual basis for your relationship with the University, and to draw your attention to key terms.

2. Your contract with the University is made up of:
a. these Terms and Conditions;
b. the course description on the course web page, which is available through http://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/language-courses for Modern Languages, and https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/academic-english for Academic English (you should consider printing a copy of this page as a record of the information provided);
c. the confirmation of your place from the Language Centre;
d. the University’s Statutes and Regulations, and rules and policies made under them (see paragraphs 5 and 6 below).

3. Your formal offer of a place at the Language Centre is set out in the email from the Language Centre (the “Offer”). By accepting your Offer, you enter into your contract with the University.

4. You will enter into this contract with the University even if your fees are paid by a third party on your behalf.
 

University Statutes, Regulations and Policies

5. By paying your fees you agree to comply with the University’s Statutes and Regulations as amended from time to time and with the Statements and Codes of Policy, Practice and Procedure which are made under them. These include the University’s Code of Discipline, and other regulations concerning your studies, conduct and behaviour including regulations relating to harassment, the use of IT facilities, health and safety issues and legislative requirements such as data protection.

6. You may be removed or suspended from the course if the University considers that you are in breach of any of these rules, including the Code of Discipline.

Attendance

7. Regular attendance is vital in order to make progress with your course and your Language Centre tutor must be notified of any absence from your class, preferably by email.

 

Fees and Payment

8. Details of the fees and charges you will have to pay are set out on the fees web pages: for Modern Languages this is: https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/course-fees and for Academic English this is https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/course-fees-academic-english.

9. Payment is via the University’s online course booking system, CoSy, for internal members of the University with an Oxford Single Sign On account. If you are not a student or member of staff at the University, payment is via the University’s Online Store (a link will be provided with your Offer email). Card payments must be made through the appropriate website. Payment in cash, by cheque or by bank transfer is not accepted. 

10. It is your responsibility to ensure that the University’s fees for the course are paid when you book your course (unless a third party is paying; see Paragraph 11 below). If you are booking through the University’s online course booking system, CoSy, you must pay at the time of booking. If you are an external learner, you must pay as instructed when the Administration Team creates a provisional booking for you. If you book but do not pay, your course place is not confirmed and may be cancelled without notice.

11. If your fees are to be paid by a third party which informs the Language Centre that it accepts full liability for your fees, then the University will invoice the third party directly and will seek to recover any unpaid fees from the third party in the first instance. However, the University reserves the right to seek payment from you if recovery from the third party is unsuccessful.

12. The University reserves the right to refuse you admission to your course if you have not paid all course fees.

13. All payments must be in GB Pounds Sterling. You must pay any currency conversion costs or other charges incurred in making the payment or in processing a refund.

 

Cancellations and Refunds

14. You have the right to cancel your contract at any time within 14 days of payment. Unless the course has started or is due to start within 14 days of payment (in which case see point 15 below), you will receive a full refund of any payments you have made and no administration fee will be charged.

15. (a) For term-time and end-of-term Intensive courses, if your course is due to start within 14 days of payment and you then wish to cancel after your course has started, you will be required to pay for any part of your course that has taken place before you gave notice of cancellation, whether or not you have attended. This amount will be calculated on a pro rata basis and no administration fee will be charged.
(b) For the Summer Pre-sessional Course in Academic English, if your course is due to start within 14 days of payment, no refund will be given other than in exceptional circumstances (see point 20 below).

16. To cancel within 14 days please inform us by emailing admin@lang.ox.ac.uk. Please write the name of your course in the subject line of your email. Members of the University with an Oxford Single Sign On account must also cancel their place in the online course booking system CoSy (to do this, go to the My Courses tile). 

17. If you fail to attend the first two classes of a term without notifying the Language Centre, you will be considered to have withdrawn and your place may be offered to a person on the waiting list. If you do not attend three consecutive classes over the course of the term, it will be assumed that you wish to withdraw from the course and your record will be officially withdrawn from our register.

18. If you cancel your place on a course at any time after expiry of the 14-day refund period, you will not be entitled to a refund, other than in exceptional circumstances (see point 20 below). 

19. Subject to approval and availability, you may be able to transfer your enrolment to a different Language Centre course taking place in the same term. Course fees already paid can be transferred to the new course, and any outstanding balance must be paid in full before the place can be confirmed. Course fees cannot be transferred between terms, or held over to the next academic year. No refund will be given if the new course costs less than the original course. Any request for a transfer must be made to the Language Centre Administration Team at admin@lang.ox.ac.uk. Learners must not transfer courses without written confirmation from the Administration Team, even if their tutor has agreed in principle to the switch. 

20. If you believe you have exceptional circumstances and wish to request the cancellation of your place more than 14 days after payment, please write to us as early as possible by email to admin@lang.ox.ac.uk. Please explain the exceptional circumstances behind your cancellation request, details of the course you wish to cancel and your payment receipt number. Please write the name of your course in the subject line of your email. Your case will be considered by the Departmental Administrator and, if appropriate, by other members of the Senior Management Team; their decision will be communicated to you within 14 days of your request. If a refund is made, it will be on a proportional basis, according to the number of classes remaining in the course at the time that the cancellation request was received. An administration fee of £20 may be charged. The decision of the Language Centre is final.

 

Cancellation by Us

21. Where there are good reasons to do so, the University may cancel your course and will make every reasonable effort to give you as much notice of cancellation as possible. The University will refund all fees paid by you (but see point 22 below about cancellation of a course that has started) and will endeavour to offer a transfer to another course as an alternative, subject to payment or refund of any difference in purchase price.

22. The University’s liability when it cancels a course will be limited to a refund of any fees or charges paid for the cancelled course. For partial cancellation of a course, such refunds will be made on a proportionate basis.

Changes to Courses

23. The University will seek to deliver each course in accordance with the description set out on your course web page at https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/language-courses for Modern Languages and https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/academic-english for Academic English.

24. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision and delivery, either before or after enrolment. This may include if Government or local restrictions are introduced due to a pandemic or other health or environmental emergency. The University therefore reserves the right to:

a. make reasonable changes to the content, syllabus and delivery of a course; and 

b. make reasonable changes to the timetable, mode of delivery (i.e. online, in-person, hybrid), location or tutor(s) specified for a course, including where otherwise unavoidable the cancellation of a limited number of classes.
 

IT Equipment and Support
 

25. It is your responsibility, before your course starts, to ensure that you have access to suitable IT equipment and (as relevant) an internet connection to enable you to take your course. Sources of IT help for University staff and students can be found here, with recommendations for student IT equipment here. The Language Centre is unable to offer IT assistance.

 

Personal Data

26. If you are a student of the University, the University will collect and use your information about you in accordance with the principles set out in the University’s student fair processing notice at https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/student-privacy-policy. This includes ensuring that your data will only be used in a way which is fair, lawful and secure.

27. If you are a member of staff of the University, the University will collect and use your information about you in accordance with the principles set out in the University’s Staff Privacy Policy at 

https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/staff-privacy-policy. This includes ensuring that your data will only be used in a way which is fair, lawful and secure.

28. If you are neither a student nor a member of staff at the University, the Language Centre will collect and use your information about you in accordance with the principles set out in the privacy policy for Oxford’s online course booking system, CoSy/Accessplanit.

29. The privacy policy for Oxford’s online course booking system, Accessplanit, is available at https://www.ox.ac.uk/staff/services-and-tools/course-booking and is also available to review during the online booking process for internal members of the University with an Oxford Single Sign On account.

30. Private/unauthorised recording by learners of any online teaching sessions (e.g. through MS Teams, Zoom or other platforms) is strictly forbidden. Recording Language Centre classes falls under the same University policy as for degree course teaching.

31. Language Centre tutors may record their online sessions with learners in order to enhance learning, allow catch up/revision and support efficient feedback from your tutor. The recording will only be available to learners registered for the course, your tutor and any supporting administrators. Recordings are kept for up to one year then deleted. The University policy on GDPR compliance in video conference recording is available at https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/video-conference-recording (Single Sign On (SSO) required for access – for those without Single Sign On, please email admin@lang.ox.ac.uk to be sent a copy of the policy).

 

Complaints Procedure

32. If you have a complaint, you should follow the Language Centre Complaints Policy, which is available on the Language Centre website at www.lang.ox.ac.uk/complaints-policy

 

Jurisdiction

33. Your contract with the University and any dispute arising from it (including non-contractual disputes) shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

 

Updated: 27 January 2023