Covid-19: why am I still paying tuition fees? 2 April 2020 at 8:15AM in Student MoneySaving 14 replies 948 views

gwen97

Okay so I understand that this pandemic is out of everyone's hands at the university, however I'm baffled as to why I'm still paying tuition fees if university is closed. I am a PGCE student paying for my tuition out of my bursary, and have £4625 of tuition to pay this April when I won't be going back into University again possibly forever as it's closed. We have one 3hour online lecture a week now which does not justify that amount of tuition! 
Is anyone else in the same boat? Is there a way we can have a refund for all the disruption we've had this year?

Ed-1

gwen97 said:

Okay so I understand that this pandemic is out of everyone's hands at the university, however I'm baffled as to why I'm still paying tuition fees if university is closed. I am a PGCE student paying for my tuition out of my bursary, and have £4625 of tuition to pay this April when I won't be going back into University again possibly forever as it's closed. We have one 3hour online lecture a week now which does not justify that amount of tuition! 
Is anyone else in the same boat? Is there a way we can have a refund for all the disruption we've had this year?

All funding remains in place. You still receive your funding even if you are not attending so the university expect to still receive theirs...

sheramber

Should your bursary be cut as you are  only doing one 3 hour online lecture a week?

gwen97

sheramber said:

Should your bursary be cut as you are  only doing one 3 hour online lecture a week?

Not really. Bursary is an agreed amount for training. If training has been cut short then I could argue that my bursary should be paid in lump-sum rather than installments? But that's not the point. The point is that they aren't postponing tuition, they're cancelling it. If it was postponed then I'd have no issue paying the fees.

Chloe901

You've said you're doing one 3-hour online lecture per week now; how does this compare to pre-lockdown? If you only had three hours of contact time originally then you're no worse off. If there are other elements of your course which are no longer happening (e.g. practical classes) then you should speak with your university about how that learning will be delivered; they may be offering or planning an alternative. I doubt many universities will be offering refunds/reductions as they are (for the most part) still teaching/delivering learning, just in an alternate format. Ultimately, if you're not happy with what's being offered and the costs associated, you're free to withdraw.

silvercar

Will you gain your pgce qualification in the usual timescale?
(General curiosity rather than a dig at whether you should pay. I'm just wondering as I imagine you will miss out on a placement as well as courses and exams.)

zagubov

silvercar said:

Will you gain your pgce qualification in the usual timescale?
(General curiosity rather than a dig at whether you should pay. I'm just wondering as I imagine you will miss out on a placement as well as courses and exams.)

I've heard rumours that qualifications like PGCEs will still be awarded even if placements can't take place this year, as the schools will need to keep their workforce topped up.

krnlwr

Can I ask why my daughter has had to pay another £1000 for private housing which she had to leave due to uni being closed and self isolating? Is this the norm with other students?

sheramber

Is the house still available?
What does her rental contract say about an refunds?

nomorekids

krnlwr said:

Can I ask why my daughter has had to pay another £1000 for private housing which she had to leave due to uni being closed and self isolating? Is this the norm with other students?

£2640 for my daughter, nothing in the rental agreement about covid-19(obviously) so landlord getting this amount x 17 empty rooms. Nice earner for landlords eh?

pjcox2005

nomorekids said:

krnlwr said:

Can I ask why my daughter has had to pay another £1000 for private housing which she had to leave due to uni being closed and self isolating? Is this the norm with other students?

£2640 for my daughter, nothing in the rental agreement about covid-19(obviously) so landlord getting this amount x 17 empty rooms. Nice earner for landlords eh?

Just on this point it's not a nice earner for landlords as they would have had that income with minimal extra outlay whether the students were in the rooms or not. The only way they'd increase is if they had rented out again which i doubt they can do as part of the contract. I would imagine that landlords may get a hit when the next set of students are delayed for example or people are reluctant to sign 1 year contracts due to these circumstances.

I'm not a landlord, but I've got to admit I was glad landlords provided a service when i was at uni so i didn't need to live at home nor have to buy a house just for a 3 year period. Similar when i first started work and i had a chance to live somewhere away from parents whilst i tested areas/relationships.

In an ideal world it would be nice if landlords repaid some, i also understand the frustrations of paying for something your daughter isn't using (although presumably could if they wanted to do lockdown there?) but there is also the fact that contracts are signed to protect both parties and to know the position up front should anything happen. Sorry for piling in in a negative manner but i think people need to accept some responsibility for their own actions. It's not nice, particularly if you're struggling due to furlough, redundancy etc (I expect a landlord to be compassionate there) but I don't think we need to slate them.

View may differ somewhat if uni accommodation and/or landlord accommodation that the other party has shut down so can't be used.