University of Westminster Refund and

Compensation Policy
Contents

1. Policy Context 1
2. Policy Statement 1
3. Scope 1
4. Procedure 1
4.1. Early withdrawal from studies or suspending your studies 1
4.2. Tuition fee liability for withdrawal/suspension from studies 2
4.3. Non Refundable Deposits – International Students 3
5. Compensation and support for students in the event the University is unable to
continue to provide the course 3
5.1. Transfer of student to another provider 3
5.2. Students with University Bursaries and Scholarships 4
5.3. Where transfer of student is not possible 4
6. Payment of Refunds 4
7. Communication 5
8. Governance requirements 5
1. Policy Context
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on when refunds of tuition fees will be
made by the University and how they will be calculated. This policy relates to the portion of the
tuition fee that is paid directly by the student or by a private sponsor. The refund policy is based
on the University’s commitment to teaching out provision.

2. Policy Statement
University Policy on Reduction of Tuition Fee Liability and Refunds for students who withdraw,
suspend or discontinue their studies.

3. Scope
This policy is applicable to all current and former students of the University of Westminster with
outstanding debt.

4. Procedure
4.1 Early withdrawal from studies or suspending your studies
It is your responsibility to withdraw from your course of study and you can do this by completing
the withdrawal from studies form. This form is available from any of the three College registry
offices and completed forms are required to be submitted to the relevant registry office.
Students who withdraw from the course of study may be liable to pay Tuition fees for all or part
of the academic year as detailed below. Before withdrawing, you are encouraged to discuss
matters in detail with your academic department, the Credit Control Team and student advice
teams.
Non-attendance in itself does not equate to withdrawal from the course. Only on submission of
a relevant withdrawal form, will we record the event and make appropriate adjustment to the
Tuition fees as stated below. Without this information, you are liable for the full Tuition fee.
If you suspend your studies with the intention of returning to the University at a later date, you
will continue to be liable for the Tuition fees. The Tuition fee liability chart provided in section
6.11 provides details of the fees you need to pay. International students whose immigration
status is dependent on their continuation on the study programme and who suspend their
studies will be notified to the Home Office (UKVI) of their suspension.
The detailed procedure on early withdrawal can be found on the link below:
https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/your-studies/forms-and-
procedures/interrupting-or-withdrawing-from-studies

Tuition Fee liability following early withdrawal is included in section 4.2, over the page.

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4.2 Tuition Fee liability for withdrawal / Suspension from Studies

Fee liability for Undergraduate Students (full time and part time)

Annual Fee
Liability for
Annual Fee
students
Liability for non-
Withdrawal/Suspension date receiving a
SLC/SFE funded
Tuition fee loan
students
paid by the
SLC/SFE

Within first 14 calendar days after 0% ( Fee loan SFE/SLC fee loan Students:
0% ( Any fees paid Any fee loan instalment paid by
enrolment in person or the end of instalment will be
will be returned in SFE/SLC which exceeds the
the first week of teaching whichever returned to the amount of fee liable by the
full)
is the later date SFE/SLC)* student will be sent back to the
SLC.
15 Calendar days after enrolment to
25% of year's fee 25% of year's fee
17th January
Non-SLC/SFE funded students:
18 January to 22 April 50% of year's fee 50% of year's fee Students who are not funded by
the SLC/SFE are able to request a
refund for any amount paid
23rd April onwards 100% of year's fee 100% of year's fee
above the liabilities listed.

*Even though the University will not charge fees for this period, Student Loan Company will count the short
enrolment on the course as a year's previous study. Student's future funding will be affected.

NOTE: For fee liability purposes the Master of Architecture (RIBA II) and GDL (Graduate diploma in Law)
courses are considered under the UG fee liability and refund policy.

Fee liability for Postgraduate Taught Students (full time and part time)

Annual Fee
Autumn Enrolment Spring Enrolment
Liability

Within first 14 Students who choose to

withdraw within the first 14
calendar days after
Within first 14 calendar days after calendar days after enrolment
enrolment in 0% ( Any fees paid are able to receive a full refund
enrolment in person or the end of
person or the end will be returned in of any Tuition fees paid.
the first week of teaching whichever
of the first week of full)
is the later date
teaching whichever
is the later date

From the 15th calendar day

15 Calendar days onwards, only payments made
15 Calendar days after enrolment to
after enrolment to 33% of year's fee above the stated liability at the
17th January point of withdrawal are
15 April
refundable.

16 April to 16
18 January to 22 April 66% of year's fee
September

17 September
23rd April onwards 100% of year's fee
onwards

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 Postgraduate Research/Doctoral Students

Fee Liability for Doctoral Students is calculated on a pro-rata basis. This means that for any
student who withdraws 14 days after enrolment, their liability will be calculated on a monthly
basis. E.g. A student who enrols in September but withdraws in December, will be liable for 3
months of total tuition fee.

4.3 Non Refundable Deposits – International Students

All overseas applicants must pay a minimum deposit of £4,000 before the Confirmation of
Acceptance for Studies (CAS) can be issued.

The Deposit will only be refunded if one of the following applies:

• The visa application is refused. You will be required to provide us with a copy of your visa
refusal letter. We will review each visa refusal on a case by case basis examining all of the
facts before making an informed decision.

• The course is cancelled and a satisfactory alternative cannot be found.

• You are not eligible for the course because of non-achievement of required grades.

• You decide to withdraw from your course within 14 calendar days of enrolment.

Consideration may be given to making refunds to students who have to withdraw due to
exceptional mitigating circumstances. We will consider each case on merit. Such cases must be
submitted in writing to the Accounts Receivable team who shall liaise with the appropriate
departments. Cases based on serious medical problems or bereavement (where evidence can be
provided) are usually accepted, but academic and financial difficulties are not normally regarded
as acceptable reasons for any refund or reduction in fee liability.

5. Compensation and support for students in the event the University

is unable to continue to provide the course – Student Protection
Plan provisions
The provisions within this section will only apply in the event of there being a requirement to
transfer as a result of the University being unable to teach out your course. Our default position
is that we will offer teach out of your course to enable you to complete your studies and
graduate with a University of Westminster Degree. In the event that this is not possible, we will
support you in transferring to another suitable provider to enable you to continue your studies.
In the event that this leads to you incurring additional expense, we will reimburse you subject to
this Refund and Compensation Policy. If transfer is not possible we will compensate you for
reasonable losses incurred in accordance with this Refund and Compensation Policy.
The provisions within this section will accordingly only apply in the event of there being a
requirement to transfer as a result of the University being unable to teach out your course.

5.1 Transfer of student to another provider

If a transfer is deemed to be in your best interest, reimbursement will be undertaken on a case
by case basis and on the basis of evidence of additional costs being incurred.

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 The additional costs reimbursed might include the following:

• Travel expenses in excess of your current cost of travel.

• Assistance towards accommodation and subsistence if the transfer would mean that it would
be impractical for you to travel to your place of teaching on a regular basis.

• Childcare where the transfer has necessitated additional arrangements for childcare needing
to be put in place to complete the period of study at the University.
Additional costs payments are at our discretion and will be paid for the duration of your current
course on the production of sufficient evidence that the costs are over and above current costs
of study as result of transferring to a new place of study.
Where it is agreed that we will meet additional costs as a result of transferring, these costs will
be made at the beginning of the Semester while you continue to study on your current course.
If having transferred from the University of Westminster to a new provider you decide to
transfer again to another institution to complete the course, the reimbursements will cease and
you will be asked to repay any monies received in advance.

5.2 Students with University Bursaries and Scholarships

In the event of a student transferring being in receipt of a University scholarship or bursary we
would maintain and continue to pay the scholarship or bursary for the duration of the award
given. If having transferred from the University of Westminster to a new provider you decide to
transfer again to another institution to complete the course, the entitlement to a University of
Westminster scholarship or bursary will cease and you will be asked to repay any monies
received in advance.

5.3 Where transfer of student is not possible

In the event of a transfer not being possible a refund will be made for the element of the
Programme that had not been provided but had been paid for.

Refunds detailed above in respect of students in receipt of tuition fee and maintenance loans
from the Student Loans Company (SLC) will be repaid direct to the SLC by the University.

Refunds in respect of students who pay their own fees or which are paid by a sponsor will be
repaid to the original source of funding. This is detailed further in section 6 below.

Compensation in respect of maintenance and lost time where it is not possible to preserve
continuation of study will be assessed on a case by case basis and on the basis of additional
costs having been incurred.

6. Payment of Refunds
Refunds will only be paid on request and are at our discretion.

Students must not intentionally overpay their fees in order to obtain their living costs or
circumvent any government regulation or restriction. Any fee payments received intended for
living costs will, upon receipt of a refund request, be returned to the original sender in
compliance with UK money laundering legislation in force.

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 All authorised refunds are returned to source. For fees that are paid by credit or debit card
(either online or offline) refunds will be credited back to the card charged with the original
payment.

Refunds will usually be made within 2 weeks of receipt of the request.

We will not refund any shortfalls due to exchange rate fluctuations, or offer compensation for
any bank or other charges incurred.

If you have a recorded debt to another department, any requested fee refund may be withheld
and applied to the outstanding balance.

Where you qualify for University financial award (e.g. bursary, scholarship or hardship funds), we
reserve the right to use the monies from any award to settle any or all overdue debts that may
be outstanding to us.

In very exceptional circumstances where a refund has to be made to someone other than the
original payer (e.g. a parent), authorisation must be obtained from the original payer prior to the
refund being processed.

This Policy does not cover the following:

• Accommodation fees – please contact your relevant campus accommodation team

• Library debts – please contact relevant college library
• Field trips – please contact your college/school
• Purchases made on the online store – please refer to the sites ‘Terms and Conditions of Sale’

7. Communication
If you require any further information regarding tuition fee refunds please email the Credit
Control team at uow-fees@westminster.ac.uk or by phoning +44(0) 20 3506 6993. To help us
deal with your enquiry please quote your student number in all correspondence.

8. Governance requirements
The Director of Finance has overall responsibility for this policy. The Head of Finance Operations
is responsible for the effective operation of debt management procedures. Staff are expected to
be familiar with this policy and to contribute to its effective implementation.

This policy may be amended by the University from time to time, as necessary, and a formal
review will take place no less than once every three years.

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