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The aim of this policy is to minimise levels of student debt and bad debts.
1.1 The aim of this policy is to minimise levels of student debt and bad debts in order to allow the University to continue to invest in teaching and research excellence and in its students.
1.2 This policy applies to student debt including but not limited to: Tuition Fees, Project Research Fees, Library Fines and other miscellaneous charges, for both former and current students, and sponsors. NOTE: This policy does not apply to students taking the 100% online courses through Higher Ed Partners UK (HEP UK). The Online Courses Policy can be viewed Here.
1.3 All sums due to the University in respect of clause 1.2 must be paid to the University in Pounds Sterling (£).
2.1 In applying this policy, the University recognises that in some circumstances, students may face financial hardship which may impact on their ability to pay their debts. The University takes the welfare of its students very seriously and will at all times seek to be sympathetic and understanding of a student’s situation. In the event that any student faces financial difficulty, the University endeavours to offer support and assistance in relation to debt owed to the University. The University cannot advise on debt owed to third parties.
In order to offer these services, it is imperative that the student contacts the appropriate department. The sooner contact is established, the more the University can do to support and assist the student:
Tuition/Project Research Fees finance@abertay.ac.uk
Student Funding (SAAS/SLC/Discretionary/Other) advisory@abertay.ac.uk
Support Enquiry Zone (Including Library Debt) sez@abertay.ac.uk
Student Association Services (Advice and Advocacy) saadvice@abertay.ac.uk
2.2 Action will be taken against all current and former students who:
(i) have failed to engage with the University to find a solution to settle any outstanding debt; or
(ii) have failed to adhere to agreed payment plans.
3.1 The University’s main form of communication with students will be via the student’s University email address. Students are required to check their email messages at regular intervals and respond promptly.
3.2 The University reserves the right to establish contact with the student via
where deemed necessary.
3.3 Students must update their contact details through OASIS whenever there has been any change.
4.1 Unless otherwise stated, the tuition fee quoted by the University will include registration, tuition and examination fees. Other charges, such as repeat tuition/examination fees will be charged for separately each year.
4.2 Students must agree the value of their tuition fees as part of online registration and are given the opportunity to query the amount if required. Once registration is complete, there is a legally binding contract in place between the student and the University in relation to the payment of tuition fees.
4.3 SAAS/SLC: Funding will be confirmed by SAAS/SLC direct to the University. If confirmation has not been received by 1st December (Term 1 starts) or 28 February (Term 2 starts), irrespective of the reason, the student will be regarded as self-funded and must contact Finance to set up a payment plan. Failure to do so will result in one or more sanctions as stated in clause 6.1. Any payments made in respect of tuition fees will be refunded if SAAS/SLC approve funding at a later date. NOTE: SAAS/SLC will only fund 120 credits each year. Students will be self-funded in respect of tuition fees relating to any additional credits taken. See clause 4.5.
4.4 Other Sponsors: If a student is sponsored by another organisation such as an employer, embassy or other funding body, the student must provide evidence of sponsorship to Finance during registration. The sponsor will be invoiced shortly after registration and is required to pay the full invoice within 30 days. Where a sponsor fails to pay an invoice timeously, the student will become liable for payment and advised accordingly.
4.5 Self-Funded Students (UK, Non-Student Visa Holders): If a student is self-funded for all or part of their tuition fees, they are required to make payment arrangements for these fees during registration. Although the fees become due for payment on the date of registration, students can opt to pay fees by recurring instalments via a debit/credit card. See Appendix A for further details on recurring instalment plans (RCP).
4.6 International Students (Student Visa Holders): All new international students who are made an offer to study are required to pay a minimum deposit of 50% of their tuition fees prior to the start of a new course in order to obtain Visa sponsorship through a CAS (Confirmation for Acceptance of Studies). Students must also meet the University's credibility requirements on Abertay CAS shield including, where required, a credibility interview. Students who fail the University's credibility assessment will not be eligible for student visa sponsorship, irrespective of whether they have met any, or all other conditions of their offer to study. Where all conditions have been met, students will be invited to register for their chosen course shortly before the course starts. During online registration, the 50% deposit and any awarded scholarship(s) will be deducted from the full tuition fee to give the remaining balance due. Students can opt to pay the remaining balance due either in full during registration or by 3 equal instalments on specified dates. Payment arrangements for continuing students will be similar to new students in that 50% of the full tuition fee must be paid before they are able to start online registration. For the remaining balance, students can opt to pay in full or by 3 equal instalments on specified dates. Please note that in some circumstances, the University will identify risks related to an individual or subset of visa applicants and will require the student(s) to pay the full years' tuition fee or a greater deposit. In these instances, we will advise the applicant(s) to that effect. If sponsored by a University approved sponsor, clause 4.4 will apply. See Appendix B for further information on approved Sponsors.
5.1. Library users have an obligation to respect the rights of other users by returning Library materials and equipment timeously. Fines will be imposed for late return. If items are not returned, students will be liable for the replacement cost of that item in addition to the standard fines.
6.1 Tuition Fees: Where tuition fee instalments become overdue or where a student fails to set up a payment plan when requested, the student will be subject to one or more of the following sanctions (see Appendix C for full details and timelines):
Late Payment Charges.
Instalment options may be revoked.
Withdrawal from the University, NOTE: graduation and releasing qualifications obtained to date will be prohibited.
Registering for a further programme of study will be prohibited.
Student Visa Holders may lose the right to remain in the UK (International students only).
Debts will be passed to an external debt collector.
6.2 Library Fines & Charges: If fines or charges become overdue, the student will have an opportunity to bring the account back up to date or agree an alternative payment plan with the Library. If this is not done, the student will be subject to one or more of the sanctions in accordance with Appendix D:
6.3 External Debt Collector: Once a debt has been passed to an external debt collector, legal proceedings may be raised which may result in the student being ordered by the court to pay the court expenses and judicial interest in addition to the debt.
Such action may also have an adverse effect on the student’s credit rating which may prevent the student from obtaining credit in the future. This could include credit cards, all types of loans, mortgages and even mobile phone contracts. Any pronounced court order can also be enforced. Not only will the costs of the enforcement action be added to the debt, but it may result in personal effects being seized and sold at auction, wages arrested or even bankruptcy.
7.1. If a student withdraws or suspends from their course early, they may become personally liable to pay part or all of their tuition fees, even if they were initially funded by SAAS or SLC. See Appendix E for full information.
8.1. Our aim is to resolve issues of dissatisfaction by conducting a thorough and fair investigation. For further information, please view the University’s Complaints Handling Procedure.
Instalment options are available to self-funding UK students and International students that do not require a Student Visa. The payment plan offered will depend on when the student registers and how many terms they register for. The student will be required to register their bank card details on our payment system in order to complete the instalment plan.
|
Month of Registration |
Terms Registering For |
% of Total Tuition Fee |
Date of Payment |
|
September 2024 |
Term 1 Only |
33.4% 33.3% 33.3% |
8 October 2024 8 November 2024 8 December 2024 |
|
September 2024 |
Term 1 & 2 |
14.2% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% |
8 October 2024 8 November 2024 8 December 2024 8 January 2025 8 February 2025 8 March 2025 8h April 2025 |
|
September 2024 |
Term 1, 2 & 3 |
14.2% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% |
8 October 2024 8 November 2024 8 December 2024 8 January 2025 8 February 2025 8 March 2025 8 April 2025 |
|
January 2025 |
Term 2 Only |
33.4% 33.3% 33.3% |
8 February 2025 8 March 2025 8 April 2025 |
|
January 2025 |
Term 2 & 3 |
16.5% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% |
8 February 2025 8 March 2025 8 April 2025 8 May 2025 8 June 2025 8 July 2025 |
|
May 2025 |
Term 3 Only |
33.4% 33.3% 33.3% |
8 June 2025 8 July 2025 8 August 2025 |
Please contact the finance department on finance@abertay.ac.uk if you wish to apply for an alternative payment arrangement.
All self-funded international students (new or continuing) need to pay a minimum amount 50% of their tuition fee prior to online registration. Remaining tuition fees can either be paid via one of the following options:
| Month of Registration | 1st Instalment Due Date | 2nd Instalment Due Date | 3rd Instalment Due Date |
| Sept/Oct 2024 | 1st November 2024 | 1st January 2025 | 1st March 2025 |
| Jan/Feb 2025 | 1st March 2025 | 1st May 2025 | 1st July 2025 |
| May/June 2025 | 1st July 2025 | 1st September 2025 | 1st November 2025 |
IMPORTANT: Students opting for instalments MUST take steps to ensure payments are made on the specified dates and are note late/missed. Payment extensions or reduced amounts will not be permitted for any reason. If a payment is missed, the following sanctions will apply:
Sponsors of international students who are not on the University’s approved sponsor list (below) are required to pay the student’s tuition fees in full before the student can register for their chosen course. If the sponsor wishes to apply to obtain an "approved" status for future years, they will be subject to various checks including credit checks as part of our due diligence.
The undernoted sponsors have been approved by the University. These sponsors will be invoiced for the full tuition fees by the Finance team in accordance with clause 4.4 of this policy. Where a sponsor fails to make payment of the invoice by the deadline, the student will become liable for payment of the tuition fees and notified accordingly. the sponsor will lose their "Approved Sponsor" status. If they wish to reapply, they must follow the process as stated in the unapproved sponsor section above. Approved sponsors will also be removed from the list if they have been inactive with us for a period of 3 years.
British Council
Chevening
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Programme, United States
Where a student has already set up an instalment plan, the following sanctions will apply if a payment attempt fails:
Day 1 – An email will be sent to the student advising them of the payment failure. The student has 5 days to rectify any account issues, or apply to the finance team for an alternative payment arrangement
Day 7 – If the second payment attempt fails a late payment charge of £20.00 plus VAT will be applied to the student’s account. The student will be requested to bring the account up to date by the end of that week
Day 14 – The student will be invited to speak with the credit controller to discuss the payment arrears, and where appropriate, make payment
Day 21 – If the payment arrears have not been resolved, the option to pay fees by instalments will be revoked. Full payment of the remaining fees must be paid within 7 days in order to prevent withdrawal
Day 28 – The student will be withdrawn from the University. IT account and University facilities will be disabled
Day 42 – A demand letter will be sent to the former student asking for payment of all outstanding fees due
Day 63 – This will be the final opportunity to pay all sums due in order to prevent further action being taken
Day 70 - A referral charge of £35.00 plus VAT is applied to the account and the debt passed to an external debt collector where legal proceedings may be initiated.
Where a student is requested to set up a payment plan and fails to do so, the following sanctions will apply:
Day 1 – An email will be sent to the student advising that they are required to set up an instalment plan. The student has 14 days to set this up with the Finance team
Day 14 – If the payment plan has not been set up, a late payment charge of £20.00 plus VAT will be applied to the student’s account. The student will be requested to set the plan up within 14 days in order to prevent withdrawal.
Day 28 – The student will be withdrawn from the University. IT account and University facilities will be disabled
Day 42 – A demand letter will be sent to the former student asking for payment of all outstanding fees due
Day 63 – This will be the final opportunity to pay all sums due in order to prevent further action being taken
Day 70 - A referral charge of £35.00 plus VAT is applied to the account and the debt passed to an external debt collector where legal proceedings may be initiated.
NOTE: Any student with outstanding tuition fees will not be allowed to register for a new academic session nor be able to graduate at the end of their studies until such time where the debt is cleared in full. Conferment of degrees or certificates attained will be withheld and no certificate will be issued.
If items are not returned on time, fines will be incurred. Fines are dependent upon the loan period, with heavily used or recalled items attracting larger fines, to ensure fair access to materials for all users. Fines are imposed at the same rate for all users: staff, students, external users, alumni etc. Overdue charges and further information can be viewed at: https://intranet.abertay.ac.uk/library/using-the-library/borrowing/
Fines may be waived if the borrower has medical/self-certification evidence that they were off sick when the item was due to be returned.
For items which are lost or not returned, an invoice will be raised. The invoice amount will be based on the current price for the latest edition. Sanctions for Non-Return and/or Non-Payment of Fines and Invoices
Suspension of the University’s Library borrowing facilities
Late Payment Fees being applied
Debt referred to External Debt Collector (if applicable).
Debts above the threshold for debt collection and any Library charges still outstanding when a student leaves the University will be referred to an external debt collector. Books and other items which have been invoiced will be non-refundable once referred. Please refer to clause 6.3 for further information on debt collection.
| ESCALATION OF FINES/CHARGES | DAYS OVERDUE |
| Library Borrowing Suspended | 21 Days Overdue |
| Invoice Issued to replace items | 60 Days Overdue |
| 2nd Invoice Issued | 90 Days Overdue |
| Refer to Debt Collector * | 98 Days Overdue |
* A referral charge of £35.00 plus VAT will be charged and the debt passed to an external debt collector in accordance with clause 6.3 of this Policy
It is very unfortunate that some students withdraw/suspend from their course before its completion. As it is the student’s sole responsibility to ascertain all academic and financial implications withdrawing/suspending may have, the University strongly recommends that the student speak with one or more of the following services:
Your Curriculum Manager/Programme Tutor – to discuss problems with your course or programme
Student Counselling – to discuss any problems which may be affecting your studies
Careers Service – to discuss your current and future career path
Student Advisory – to discuss withdrawal/suspension implications and funding options
Student Association – for independent support and general advice
Even if a student has SAAS/SLC funding, it may be revoked, leaving the student liable to pay tuition fees. Further information on fee liability is located below, but students are strongly advised to contact us at finance@abertay.ac.uk to establish what their fee liability will be.
For UG Scottish (Home) students who join the university for the first time in September 2024 and fully withdraw prior to and including 1 November 2024, will not be due any tuition fees.
All other students, who withdraw/suspend after completing registration for term 1, but prior to and including 4 October 2024, will be liable to pay 10% of the year’s tuition fee.
Students who register for term 1 and withdraw/suspend after the relevant cut-off date as stated above, but before 7 February 2025, will be liable to pay all term 1 fees.
Students who withdraw/suspend after they have completed registration for term 2, but prior to and including 7 February 2025, will be liable to pay 10% of the year’s tuition fee.
Students who withdraw/suspend after 7 February 2025, will be liable to pay all term 2 fees in addition to term 1 modules (if registered for term 1).
For students who withdraw/suspend prior to and including 6 June 2025, will not incur any fees for term 3 (if studying in term 3), but will still be liable to pay for all term 1 and term 2 modules taken.
Students who withdraw/suspend within 3 weeks of the course start date, will be liable to pay 10% of fees.
Students who withdraw/suspend after 3 weeks, but before 6 months, will be liable to pay 50% of fees.
Students who withdraw/suspend after 6 months, will be liable to pay 100% of fees.
For students who withdraw/suspend on or before 1 December 2024, SAAS will revoke any funding previously approved and the student will be regarded as a self-funding student. Students should refer to the self-funded section above to ascertain what their tuition fee liability will be.
Students who withdraw/suspend after 1 December 2024, SAAS will still pay funding to the University in respect of tuition fees, but this will count as a full year’s funding for that student.
SLC releases funding in 3 instalments, depending on the start date of your course:
| Academic Year Start | Payment 1 (25%) | Payment 2 (25%) | Payment 3 (50%) |
| August to December | 1st October 2025** | 5th February 2025 | 7th May 2025 |
| January to March | 5th February 2025** | 7th May 2025 | 1st October 2025 |
| April to June | 7th May 2025** | 1st October 2025 | 5th February 2025 |
**Assuming that registration is complete and attendance is confirmed to SLC. In the event of late registration, SLC will not release the first payment until fully registered and attendance confirmed.
If a student withdraws/suspends prior to any of these dates, they will become liable for the balance of fees not funded by SLC as per the self-funded section above.
Students funded/sponsored by any other organisation may have funding revoked or clawed back in the event of withdrawal/suspension. Students should refer to individual terms and conditions with your funding/sponsor.
In order to withdraw/suspend, students must contact Student Advisory in the first instance. Students who do not follow the correct withdrawal/suspension process will continue to be classed as a current student and tuition fee liability will continue to accrue until (i) the University takes steps to withdraw them; or (ii) the academic year finishes.
Please note that the tuition fees are based on what modules a student registers for, not on what classes a student has attended. Similarly, the withdrawal date is based on the date that the Advisory team approves the withdrawal/suspension, not on what date a student commences the withdrawal process or last attended classes.
International Students (Student Visa Holders only) – In the event that an International student withdraws, the University will report the withdrawal to the UKVI and the student will be required to leave the UK as the Student Visa will cease to be valid. For further information on Student Visas, please contact the Advisory team.