University charges

rog2

annie-c wrote:

PS - The bottom line with universities is that they end up sending out hundreds of cases to debt collectors each year to deal with the hard-line can't-or-won't-payers.... with varying degrees of success. They don't want to do this and it brings in little revenue. If you get in touch and explain the misunderstanding then my guess is that they will happily waive the non-payment fees and allow your daughter to make the arrears payments in sensible payments over the year. This might not be what their policy states, but it is probably an arrangement you can come to. (The policies are intended to make a firm stance at the outset to discourage students from messing them around - they will understand very quickly that you are not someone who needs this 'firm' handling!).

Thanks - I will be trying the aggrieved parent approach, that you suggest, if my daughter does not manage to resolve the problem through her tutor.
We don't want to create any more 'debt' - we, as most parents, are struggling with our own debt problems - I certainly would not like my daughter to have to be fending off DCAs when she should be concentrating on her degree. Whilst we have problems with our own finances, we have not allowed this to affect our daughter's education.
If there is a compromise, we will do our best to find it.

annie-c

Another PS: The DCAs are only used as a last resort after the student has left. Before graduation (ie next summer) the Uni has most power as it can threaten to withold graduation/certificates from students in debt. Right now (ie beginning of final year) YOU have most power - if they don't allow her to enrol then they draw down no funding for her and their drop-out rates go up - so they end up out-of-pocket, looking bad in the league tables and, if enough students drop out, their final year class sizes might be unviable. Modern foreign languages courses are rarely bursting at the seams anyway - so there are many reasons that they can't really afford to get too shirty with you. The tutor will be on your side - her department needs your daughter to pass her exams to meet the departmental targets.

Good luck!

seraphina

No specific advice but some general comments.

It is common practice for unis to charge at least some fees for students who are on industry placements or years abroad. It is also the student's responsibility to ensure that the university has up to date contact details - the student should have done this by changing her address with the university to your address, or another address where mail could reliably be collected, whilst she was abroad.

That said, it is almost always possible that the finance department will come to some kind of arrangement with regards to paying in installments. However they will almost certainly not let the student graduate if there are still outstanding fees after the final exams have been sat.

GingerSte

Please don't take this seriously but...

You could always pay the fee and once she's graduated claim your money back as it's a punitive charge!?! Well if it works for banks...

rog2

seraphina wrote:

No specific advice but some general comments.

It is common practice for unis to charge at least some fees for students who are on industry placements or years abroad. It is also the student's responsibility to ensure that the university has up to date contact details - the student should have done this by changing her address with the university to your address, or another address where mail could reliably be collected, whilst she was abroad.

Both I and my daughter were under the impression that we had informed the uni of mailing address - in fact most EDUCATION RELATED post was sent here, but no administrative mail.

GingerSte

You're not saying that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing? :eek:

Sorry. I've had bad experiences with university administration. One of them was yesterday.

rog2

GingerSte wrote:

You're not saying that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing? :eek: QUOTE]

Perish the thought:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

overbudget

Hi

I work in a University (academic side). It is very unlikely that notifications made to the Department your daughter is in are passed to central administration (who will deal with fees) unless the University has a centralised student record system. I don't think it is unreasonable that they should be asking for the back fees to be paid before further tuition is given but it is very unreasonable to have applied £50 penalties each month! What have they said this was for exactly? I have never heard of this being done - and I have had a lot of students in arrears with their fees. Once the fees are paid that is that - they can continue or graduate - they don't get charged extra penalties. I would appeal - certainly to the Head of the Department she is in - if that doesn't work to the Vice Chancellor - stating that you are happy to pay the arrears on fees but not the punitive charges. That would work in our place (not Manchester unfortunately!).

good luck.

KatrinaC_2

rog2 wrote:

GingerSte wrote:

You're not saying that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing? :eek: QUOTE]

Perish the thought:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Ha! I missed my Masters graduation because the academic office hadn't passed on my change of address to the ceremonies office.

Kat

rog2

overbudget wrote:

Hi

I work in a University (academic side). It is very unlikely that notifications made to the Department your daughter is in are passed to central administration (who will deal with fees) unless the University has a centralised student record system. I don't think it is unreasonable that they should be asking for the back fees to be paid before further tuition is given but it is very unreasonable to have applied £50 penalties each month! What have they said this was for exactly? I have never heard of this being done - and I have had a lot of students in arrears with their fees. Once the fees are paid that is that - they can continue or graduate - they don't get charged extra penalties. I would appeal - certainly to the Head of the Department she is in - if that doesn't work to the Vice Chancellor - stating that you are happy to pay the arrears on fees but not the punitive charges. That would work in our place (not Manchester unfortunately!).

good luck.

Thank you - Neither I, nor my daughter, have any issue with having to pay part-fees for her year abroad. Had we been aware of the fees, then they would have been paid, when due, and we would not have this current problem.
I just feel miffed that she has been put in this position as, in my opinion, the admin side of the university could, once the 'debt' ad been red-flagged, easily have contacted her tutor to confirm whether she was, in fact, still receiving tuition. The tutor, then, would happily have informed the admin department of my daughter's position, and I am sure the bill would have found its way here.
As it happened, the first that either my daughter, or we, knew of this 'debt' was Tuesday, when she went to register. The start of the year is, as we all know, very expensive (rent, deposits, books, household items and of course costs of getting to uni) and to have been hit with this unexpected 'extra' does not exactly do a great deal for either her, or our, morale.
I do hope, however, that it may be sorted today. Otherwise, yes, I am going to follow your advice and will appeal these additional charges (not the fee - as we have no dispute over this) to the highest level possible.
Once again, thanks to everyone - you have been very helpfull.