Refund of Student Tuition Fees?

adriennegolding

I'm hoping someone can help me,

I have finished my second year at Northampton University, studying
Interior Design BA Hons Degree, and have now taken a year out to
hopefully gain some work experience and decide my next step, as I have found the first two years at Northampton to be a disappointment due to the promise of being taught 2D/3D Cad in the first two years, which has not materialised at all. One of temporary tutors even told us that he didn’t like using Auto CAD and so would not be teaching us it even in our last year. This has left me extremely confused and at a loss, as the prospectus for this course promised CAD would be taught, and is the main reason that I went to Uni to learn this skill as I’m sure you are aware it is a key skill needed to progress in a design career.

Needless to say, I am not overly enthusiastic at the idea of returning to Northampton to complete my final year, which would start in September 2011.
My worry is that while I will complete the three years with a
degree of some kind, I will not have any experience with these design programs, which will fail me in any kind of design job I may start.

I am hoping you can advise me if I would be entitled to any refund of my student loan as I haven't been taught the skills outlined in the
University Prospectus for the course, and who I would need to speak to.
I am reluctant to speak to my course leader as our year have complained to him on a number of occasions (as well as to other staff members) with no outcome, simply being told that the other years don't seem to have a problem.

I apologise for this lengthy email, but would really appreciate any
help you can give me.

Thank you!
Adrienne

paddyrg

You will leave with a degree, and I presume all the other courses are as described too, so you're not going to get any kind of full refund, although it may be worth holding out for a token. If Autocad is that crucial to your study, change universities to one that does - you will have some credits to carry forward. As you've been told they won't be teaching it at your place, time to start hunting.

Or you face the facts that Universities are usually pretty lame at teaching software systems anyway, and the tutors are usually out-of-date, and they're not going to teach you industry tricks of the trade. You may get a term or two at an hour a week or so, part of which will be spent trying to get the systems to work for dozens of students. Instead, you want professional CAD training, find a 2-day course with someone who works with Autocad in your field all the time and you will come away streets ahead of what uni would do anyway. Get a student version license http://students.autodesk.com/ and do the training and tutorials available from the AD community. Maybe ask the uni for a small discount on the fees to part-pay for profesional training.

Svenena

It can't hurt to try for a refund. You should start by initiating the University's complaints procedure, and if you don't get anywhere with that, you can take it to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (http://www.oiahe.org.uk/). This article suggests that some students succeed in getting refunds: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings-and-banking/student-finance/article.html?in_article_id=518195&in_page_id=52

Good luck with it. And hopefully you can get the training you need elsewhere (although I'd still recommend finishing the degree, either at Northampton or elsewhere).

alseetheelater

if you've still got the money - surely the SLC cant refuse to take the money back off you. as far as i know, if i want to ring up and pay a lump back, i can? unless i'm horribly mistaken!

anyway, talk to the undergraduate office of your faculty. if that doesnt get you anywhere, go further up - head of division, etc. if that doesnt go anywhere, talk to the dean. kick up a fuss - get your peers involved, get a facebook group up and running about the poor teaching etc. something will soon get done about it once the people higher up the ladder realise what's going on.

if you've done 2 of your 3 years - get it finished - no point having racked up 2years of student debt (so far) to then not have a degree at the end of it all?

i was at uni for 3 months - it just wasnt for me - after taking a year out before uni i couldnt get back into studying - and i still regret the student loan i took for the 3 months i was at uni (2 payments ~800 each?) as i'm still paying it back 7 years later with only 500 paid off it...



anyway - summary - talk to the uni. talk to the undergrad office of your faculty. then the head of the division. then the head of UG studies. then the dean.

Oldernotwiser

alseetheelater wrote: »

if you've still got the money - surely the SLC cant refuse to take the money back off you. as far as i know, if i want to ring up and pay a lump back, i can? unless i'm horribly mistaken!.

Tuition fees are paid direct to the university.

andy.m_2

When I did my degree I realised when I left that I knew nexto F.A.!
But it put me in good stead for learning what the real world is like and how to face it.

You could do a p/t cad course or join a cad group at uni and learn that way.