Do you have to pay University fees if you defer, then are forced to drop out?

panelparc

Hi, would really appreciate help on this and one other thing

1st thing; As the title says; basically the university keeps sending me invoices even though I deferred within a month of starting a part-time graduate course due to work commitments (couldn't get the time off in the evenings). I'm really worried now that I'll have to pay this if I can't return? I contacted the administrator of my course three weeks after starting and she didn't answer my question even though I asker her repeatedly about the fee situation. Am I liable for this entire fee even if I deferred a month after starting and forced to drop out later on (due to work commitments)?



2nd thing; I was also worried about getting my first instalment that I paid (£250+) back if I had to withdraw from the course in future. I was aware that it would be refunded if you withdraw within the first month and emailed 4 days before this deadline to confirm if I'd still get it back if I deferred on the 1st of November (the first date you can defer) and I got a nonsensical message back then no reply. It literally went;

Me; So should I defer on the 31st or the 1st?

Her answer; Yes

Me; Sorry, is that that 31st or the 1st? When should I defer?

No reply

If she said "No you won't get your fee back and will ultimately have to pay all your fees even if you drop out later on" then that would be a deal breaker for me as I could not be sure I'd end up getting the time off work and couldn't afford to loose the money

Thanks in advance

Helix

Who is paying the fee? Are you getting a loan or paying yourself.

If you are paying yourself then a lot of the policies are going to be university specific. Have you actually tried calling up and speaking to someone you will probably get a lot further that way.

If you have attended for a month then I am not sure why you are expecting that for free, although I wouldn't expect you to have to pay for the whole year.

panelparc

Helix wrote: »

Who is paying the fee? Are you getting a loan or paying yourself.

If you are paying yourself then a lot of the policies are going to be university specific. Have you actually tried calling up and speaking to someone you will probably get a lot further that way.

I was paying for it in installments but was told by the admin to just cancel it when I deferred. So I paid £250+ to enroll which is returned to the student if they drop out within one month.

I emailed them in good time before the month was up saying I may not be able to continue as I had work commitments (it was a part-time course) and asked what would happen to my fee. I was advised wait until the end of the month to defer and didn't really get the answer I was seeking from admin about what would happen to my fee, even after multiple emails (they replied with things like "oh will have to ask another dept. about that").

If you have attended for a month then I am not sure why you are expecting that for free, although I wouldn't expect you to have to pay for the whole year.

I could actually live with losing the £250+ but I heard legally they were entitled to ask for the full fee if I deferred and then had to withdraw at the end of the year.

Wish admin was a bit clearer on this. If they said - yes you will lose your £250+ paid and will be liable for the outstanding fees then I would have said "Ok, I can't risk that money when I don't know 100% if I can return in the future."

amiehall

Universities in general are normally entitled to ask for the full year's fee if you attend one single day yes. This is unrelated to any deferral/withdrawal issues. On the whole, most of them don't do this and instead charge pro rata fees but they could charge you the full year if they wanted to.

If the uni has a policy where you pay nothing if you withdraw within one month, I wouldn't normally expect this to apply to someone who deferred instead of withdrawing. If you wanted to benefit from this, you could have withdrawn and reregistered later?

You haven't given any indication of what university this is so people probably can't help you. They will have extensive regulations and I would expect that they will deal with your case in line with these.

panelparc

Thanks for the reply although I'm even more stressed since last time.

As I mentioned I asked the admin of my course in a few emails what was the deal with paying fees etc. and they told me to cancel my direct debit and pay when I resume (planning on deferring for 2 years btw). Fine

I received an email from the Uni's fees office telling me I owe them money for the first term..fine too except then I got a 2nd email saying that if I didn't pay within x amount of days they can kick me out of the Uni

I am in the process of emailing them ringing them but it takes ages and I can't get through to them

Just wondering if anyone had a similar experience? Am I expected to pay those fees upfront even if I've deferred? I would obviously expect to pay them eventually but one of the reasons I deferred was earn a bit more cash/get comfortable in my job so I could ask for time off

I've already paid them 300 of the fee (was coming out by Direct Debit which I was told to cancel by admin once I got conformation of deferral).

amiehall

Those threatening letters are probably automated and will be sent to any student who is "behind" on their fees.

Have you tried to look up their regulations? They're probably published online. I would definitely suggest the phone/a direct meeting to get this sorted and follow up with a letter outlining what has been agreed. Just keep ringing them until you get through.