Important information about presessional courses at the University of Birmingham

If you decide to apply for this course, a contract will be formed between you and the University.  Your rights and obligations to the University and the University’s obligations to you arising under that contract are set out in the documents listed below which form the terms and conditions of your student contract. 

  • Your application
  • The acceptance letter
  • The Code of Practice on Admission of Students 
  • The University’s Royal Charter, Statutes, Ordinances, Regulations and Codes of Practice - these are regularly reviewed, with any changes normally taking effect at the start of the new academic year.  A summary of changes which have already been agreed for the start of the next academic year has been published, and we will also publish a summary of any further significant changes which are agreed before the start of the new academic year.  See our information for applicants page for the documents and any agreed changes.
  • The University’s health and safety policies and guidance, General Conditions of Use of Computing and Network Facilities, Data Protection Policy, Equality Scheme, Public Interest Disclosure Policy and Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy are available on our information for applicants page.
  • Course requirements, which are shown for each course on the BIA website. 

A summary of some of the key terms and conditions are set out below:

Changes to your course of study

Details about the course can be found on the BIA website. 

Information set out on the University website is accurate at the date of publication. However, changes to courses, modules, and the University services may be necessary, for example, to meet the requirements of an accrediting body or to keep courses contemporary by updating practices or areas of study.  Changes to courses or modules may also be needed because of circumstances outside the reasonable control of the University, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach (where the course or module is reliant on that person’s expertise) or where the minimum or maximum number of students needed to ensure a good educational or student experience has not been met or has been exceeded.  Other circumstances outside the reasonable control of the University include unexpected lack of funding, industrial action, severe weather, fire, civil disorder, political unrest, government restrictions or serious concern about the transmission of serious illness making a course unsafe to deliver.  If changes to your course are made after you have accepted your offer, the University will try to give you early notification of those changes and minimise their impact by offering suitable alternative arrangements, helping you find an alternative course or University or providing compensation where it believes there is a fair case to do so.

Fees and Payment

The tuition fees stated on the University’s website at will apply for the duration of your course (subject to any changes in the law or government requirements). 

It is your responsibility to make sure your fees and all expenses relating to your course are paid on time.  The University’s requirements on the payment of fees can be found in Regulation 5 .  If you are paying your tuition fees yourself, you must pay the full amount of the presssional fee on or before registration for the course.  If you are a sponsored student, you are responsible for payment if your sponsor does not pay your tuition fees.

Unless the acceptance letter says otherwise, the tuition fee quoted on our website and in the acceptance letter does not include any charges for residential accommodation, extensions to the designated period of study, travelling expenses or any other miscellaneous expenses which may be related to your course of study (such as the cost of field trips).  Details of any other miscellaneous expenses you are likely to incur on your course are indicated on the BIA website. 

Deferring your entry

The tuition fees stated on our website and in the acceptance letter are based on the start date shown in the offer letter and will apply for the duration of your course.  However, if you choose to defer your entry to the presssional course your tuition fees may be more than is stated in your acceptance letter and you should contact the Presessional team by email for more information.

If you decide to defer your entry, please note the course and/or its modules, course requirements and University services and facilities as currently described on our website may change for your chosen year of study.  Please keep referring to the Course Finder and Information for Applicants sections of the University’s website where up to date information will be published as soon as it is available.

Cancelling your acceptance

After you have accepted your offer of a place, you can cancel your acceptance within the cancellation period without giving us any reason.  The cancellation period runs for 14 days from the date we accept your application.  If you cancel your place within the cancellation period, any deposit or administration or other fees you have paid will normally be refunded in full.  If you start your course during the cancellation period, the University will charge you a reasonable sum for the course provided.

You can cancel your place by informing the Birmingham International Academy by email or by writing to the Birmingham International Academy using the Cancellation Form at the end of this document.  This Cancellation Form is also available on the Information for Applicants  page.

Non-payment of fees

If you do not pay your tuition fees in full or on time, the University may impose penalties which are set out in Regulation 5.  As a result, you may not be allowed to progress on your course or you may be expelled from the University.  The University may also take legal action against you to recover any unpaid fees.   

If you do not pay any other (non-tuition) fees or other sums you owe, the University may take action to recover those sums.  This may include withholding any service for which you owe money (for example, if you do not pay library fines you may not be allowed to access the Library or use some or all of its facilities) or taking legal action against you.

Criminal convictions

If your offer of a place is conditional on you obtaining a satisfactory Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check, the University will decide if any convictions or information revealed are incompatible with a place on the course.  If they are, you will be notified and your offer will be withdrawn.

Disabilities

If you have a disability the University will seek to support you whenever possible and reasonable to do so.  If you have not yet disclosed that disability, we encourage you to do so at the earliest opportunity.  As individual students’ needs (even those with the same condition) can vary, it is important that you contact the Disability and Learning Support Service before you accept any offer of a place to find out what type of support is likely to be available to you and what information we need to arrange it.  If you choose not to tell us about your disability, provide this information with short notice before your course or examination/assessment start dates or do not provide full information about it before or during your course of study, although we will do our best to help you, you might not be able to have access to the full range of support which might otherwise be available to you. 

Data protection

The University will collect a range of information about you as part of the application and registration procedures and in relation to your academic progress.  The University and organisations we work with to deliver our courses will use this to support you on your course and for the administration and management of the University.

Visas and immigration permissions

If you are an international non-European Union (non-EU) student and need a visa to enable you to be in the UK to study, you will have to attend a Right to Study Check when you first arrive at the University.  If you do not attend this Right to Check or cannot provide conclusive proof that you have the correct visa or immigration permission, you will not be allowed to begin your course or you may be withdrawn from your course in accordance with the Code of Practice on Student Visa Requirements .  It is essential that you regularly read our emails (in the email account you used on your application to the University) and that you follow very carefully the instructions for arrival, collection of Biometric Residence Permits and Right to Study.

Intellectual property

If you, with material input by the University’s academic staff or as part of a collective project, develop an invention, device, discovery, material, product, process, computer software or any other potentially valuable result or innovation, Regulations 3.16 and 5.4 will apply to you in the same way as they apply to members of staff.  In other cases, the University will apply the Intellectual Property guidance

Conduct and attendance

You must be aware of the University’s Regulations and Codes of Practice relating to conduct, plagiarism, attendance and reasonable diligence.   There is a minimum 90% attendance requirement for all presssional courses. These requirements are set out under the course details for each presessional programme on the BIA website. The University can impose penalties if you do not follow these requirements, and in serious cases the University can suspend or expel you from the University.

Progression to your academic course

You will not fulfil the conditions of your offer for your main course of study at the University of Birmingham if you do not meet the progression requirements of the presessional course.  These requirements are set out under the course details for each presessional programme on the BIA website.  

Other English language test results will not be accepted after this point.  Therefore, if you do not successfully complete the presessional course, your offer to study at the University of Birmingham will be withdrawn.

Supporting you during your studies

The University provides a wide range of support for its students and can support you if welfare or non-academic matters are affecting your academic progress, for example as set out in the Codes of Practice on Extenuating Circumstances, Leave of Absence, Reasonable Adjustments, Appeals or Health, Wellbeing & Fitness to Study which can be found on the Information for Applicants  page.  

When you may be asked to leave the University

You may be asked to leave the University if:

  • Your academic performance is not satisfactory;
  • You are expelled from the University for breach of the conduct, attendance or reasonable diligence requirements;
  • You do not pay your tuition fees in accordance with the University’s Regulations;
  • You are dismissed or expelled from any other organisation which you are required to attend or be a member of as part of your course;
  • You do not have the correct visa or immigration permission to study on your course at the University, and you are an international non-EU student needing a visa to enable you to be in the UK to study;
  • The University has reason to believe that you have not supplied all relevant information or have supplied false or misleading information relating to your application to the University;
  • As a result of your actions, the University is unable to find a suitable placement which is required to complete your course.

A decision requiring you to leave the University will be taken in accordance with the relevant procedure and subject to any right of appeal or review.  If the University has good reason for expelling you and does so in accordance with the relevant procedure, the University will not compensate you for any loss or damage you may suffer as a result. 

Complaints

The University is committed to providing a high quality educational experience, supported by a range of academic and administrative services and facilities. From time to time, however, things do go wrong, and if the matter cannot be resolved informally, the University provides students with a system for raising concerns and complaints about both academic and non-academic matters.  The Code of Practice on Student Concerns and Complaints is available on the Information for Applicants  page and sets out a procedure for dealing with students’ complaints fairly, consistently and as quickly as possible.  Students who are dissatisfied with a decision relating to a complaint they have raised may be able to complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), an independent body which reviews student complaints; more information about the OIA is available on the OIA website.  The Code of Practice on Admissions sets out the procedure for asking for a review of decisions made in the application and admissions process.

General matters

The University will not be liable to you and you will not be liable to the University for any failure or delay in performing obligations  if the failure or delay is due to any significant cause beyond the University’s or your reasonable control, such as fire, flood or industrial dispute.

Your contract with the University is between you and the University and only these two parties can enforce it.  The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply.

The contract between you and the University is governed by English Law and is subject to any changes in the law which will materially affect this contract.

Cancellation Form (see “Cancelling your acceptance” above)

To the University of Birmingham Admissions Office:

I give notice that I cancel my offer of a place to study on the ........................................... course.

Name of Applicant:

Address of Applicant:

 

Signature of Applicant (if cancellation is by letter)