Terms and Conditions
Academic Year 2023 - 2024
1. Introduction
These terms and conditions represent an agreement between you, a prospective or registered student (‘you’), and West Dean College of Arts and Conservation (‘we’ or ‘us’ or 'the College'). These terms and conditions along with:
- the College’s regulations, procedures and policies (‘regulations’);
- the offer letter from our Registry comprising the offer (‘offer’) made by us to you for a place on a programme of study (‘course(s)’); and
- the material pre-contract information provided to you following your acceptance of the offer, form the contract made between you and us (the ‘contract’).
2. In the event that the provisions of these terms and conditions conflict with the provisions of any other documents forming part of the contract, you and we shall comply with the provisions of these terms and conditions.
3. West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is a part of The Edward James Foundation Limited (charity number 1126084 and company number 6689362) with its registered office at Estate Office, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0QZ. Our VAT number is 927421133. Our contact details can be found on our website. We are subject to regulation by the Office for Students and many of our courses are validated by the University of Sussex.
2. Admissions and the contract
1. The offer we make to you is subject to you satisfying the academic requirements for admission prescribed by the College's relevant school of studies (as set out in the prospectus, the offer or otherwise), any language requirements we request and, for international students, the requirements set out below at paragraph 2(5). The offer may be conditional or unconditional. If the offer is conditional, we will set out in the offer the conditions you need to fulfil in order to be admitted to the course. If you have not fulfilled the conditions of your offer before the date notified to you in the offer, we reserve the right to withdraw the offer or to defer your entry. We may make changes to the offer at any time before you accept it, but will inform you immediately if this is the case and issue an updated offer. By accepting the offer, you signify your consent to the terms of the contract and agree to be bound by its terms.
2. We may withdraw or amend any offer or revoke your subsequent registration as a student of the College, without liability to you [other than to return any fees you have paid to us less your deposit for your course (which covers our reasonable administrative costs),] if we discover that your application contains incorrect, misleading or fraudulent information or if you are found to have omitted key information from your application.
3. Your admission to the College is subject to you complying with the terms of the contract. At our request, you will provide satisfactory evidence of your qualifications (including English language qualifications if required) before admission. Failure to provide such evidence to our reasonable satisfaction will result in the withdrawal of your offer, the revocation of your registration as a student of the College and the termination of the contract. We shall randomly audit the authenticity of documentation required to evidence your qualifications prior to admission. If we terminate the contract in accordance with this paragraph we shall return to you any fees you have paid to us less your deposit for your course (which covers our reasonable administrative costs).
4. The contract between you and us is usually made exclusively by means of distance communication (for example via email). Where this is the case, you may cancel the contract by informing us in writing within fourteen days of you accepting the offer (the ‘cancellation period’). In order to cancel the contract within the cancellation period, you must inform us by contacting the Academic Registry ([email protected]) or completing the cancellation form sent to you at the time the offer was made and returning it to the Registry. If any payment has been made under this contract prior to the date of cancellation, we will provide you with a full refund within 14 days of us receiving your written notice of cancellation. We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
5. All students from outside the European Union applying to study at the College will need to demonstrate, prior to registration, that they have a valid immigration status to undertake the proposed studies. It is also your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct permission for the duration of your course. You must notify us immediately if there are any changes to your immigration status at any time before or after registration and during the course of your studies at the College.
6. We shall deliver your course with reasonable care and skill and, subject to paragraphs 4 and 5 below, in accordance with the description applied to it in the material pre-contract information provided to you following your acceptance of the offer and we shall explain the academic requirements for the course to you.
7. You agree to fulfil all the academic requirements of your course (including submission of course work and completion of relevant work placements and other assignments) and attend assessments in accordance with the terms of the contract.
3. Course fees
1. The course fees can be found within the prospectus or on the College website and your specific course fees (‘course fees’) are confirmed in your offer. Information in relation to how to pay for your course fees or for units within them and the deposit required to secure your place on the course will be provided to you in your offer. If you accept an offer, you agree to pay all course fees (and other related costs and expenses), as and when they fall due, in accordance with the payment terms specified in relation to your offer including paying any required deposit.
2. Please note carefully what is included and what is not included in the course fees, as set out in your material pre-contract information. By way of example:
a) Study trips – travel costs associated with these are included in the course fees where the trip forms part of the assessed course;
b) Materials – the course fees allow for provision of some basic materials, but exclude specialist or project-specific materials;
c) Meals – the course fees include refreshments on all weekdays when attendance on-site forms part of the course but exclude any meals. The course fees also exclude any meals or refreshments during: i) study trips; and ii) work placement periods;
d) Work placement periods – a nominal weekly travel allowance (rate subject to change) will be allocated for periods of work placement which form part of the assessed course;
e) Conferences – fees and travel and subsistence costs associated with conference attendance are not included in the course fees; and
f) Tools - the course fees allow for the use of basic tools and equipment, but do not include the cost of specialist or project-specific tools.
3. We may routinely increase our course fees from year to year for one-year courses and may review and change such course fees without notice. Changes to your course fees will not be made during the term of that course where it is a one-year course. Your course fees for courses lasting for two or more years may be routinely increased from year to year by no more than the change in the Retail Prices Index. Details of such changes will be notified to you as soon as reasonably practicable in advance of your arrival for the next year of your course and in any event, not less than [3] months before the start of the academic year to which the fee increase is intended to apply. Please note that two or more one-year courses studied one after another do not constitute two-year courses, even if they are commonly studied together.
4. Course fees are due for each full academic year but may be paid by equal instalment. Termly instalments do not reflect the amount of academic activity undertaken within a specific term but rather an equal breakdown of the total course fee spread over the number of terms (part of a term is charged at the full-term rate). In the event that a third-party sponsor has agreed to pay all or part of your course fees, you will still remain primarily liable for the payment of the course fees.
5. Please ensure that you check carefully the terms of any bursaries or other funding you may receive, as it may only cover certain aspects of your course fees or living expenses and/or only a specified period of study. You will still remain primarily liable for the payment of the course fees.
6. During the course of studies, the College will not permit students to register for another year of study unless course fees are paid or are being settled under an agreed payment plan. Registration may be withdrawn if students do not keep up with the terms of their agreed payment plan for course fee debts.
7. Once students have completed their studies, if they have not paid their course fee debts, or such fees due are not being settled under an agreed payment plan, the College may withhold the award of the degree, diploma or certificate and/or the student may not be permitted to attend a graduation ceremony.
8. In all cases, irrespective of the level of course fees due, the student is entitled to receive the transcript of academic credit attempted.
9. Any refunds of course fees where necessary if the College is no longer able to preserve continuation of study or when you withdraw from or are withdrawn by the College will be made in line with the College’s Refund & Compensation Policy.
4. Prospectus information
1. We endeavour to ensure that prospectus and programme specification document content is current and accurate at the date of publication. However, due to the period of time between publication, application to and attendance at the College, circumstances may change due to factors internal to the College or due to factors beyond our reasonable control, such as the withdrawal of involvement of external providers, the requirements of the University of Sussex (which validates many of our courses), legal requirements such as health and safety, relevant theory and practice, and/or the requirements of regulatory bodies such as the Office for Students, and it may sometimes be necessary to vary the entry requirements, terms or content of the course or services or method of delivery or assessment described in the prospectus. Courses and/or units on courses may also be withdrawn. We also do not guarantee the involvement of any particular members of staff or external tutors or lecturers with any courses.
2. Any amendments made by us to the prospectus and programme specification document content prior to us making you an offer of a place on a course will be included in the latest web versions of the prospectus and you are advised to consult our website regularly at www.westdean.org.uk/ to ensure that you are aware of any updates to the prospectus and/or programme specification documents. In the event that we are required to make any significant changes to the courses, we shall take reasonable steps to bring these changes to the attention of applicants and students as soon as practicable.
5. Withdrawal or variation of courses, units and placements after offer/ registration
This section should be read in conjunction with the College’s Student Protection Plan.
1. We will take all reasonable steps to provide educational services in the manner set out in the prospectus and programme specification document current as at the date of your offer, subject to the terms of this contract. However, we do not guarantee the provision of such services in all circumstances. We may, from time to time, need to vary the content or method of delivery or assessment of a course, discontinue a course or merge or combine a course with other courses or amend any of the documents constituting the contract in certain circumstances due to legislative and regulatory changes, the requirements of regulatory bodies such as the Office for Students or the Charity Commission, our need to manage our funding cost effectively and efficiently in accordance with our charitable status, the withdrawal of involvement of external providers, the requirements of the University of Sussex (which accredits many of our courses) and/or our need to constantly review the content of courses with a view to enhancing the quality of student experience and ensuring that it reflects current theory and practices in subject areas. Any changes will be notified to affected students in advance and the College will take all reasonable steps to minimise any disruption to affected students. Should material changes be made to a course to the detriment (in the College’s reasonable professional judgement) of affected students, a student may:
- terminate their course of study and request a refund in accordance with the College’s Refund & Compensation Policy (see paragraph 3(6) above); or
- request to switch to an alternative course offered by the College.
The College will, wherever possible, attempt to bring changes into effect only for the next cohort of students on a course but this may not be possible in all circumstances and earlier changes may be required.
2. Some courses or units may be subject to minimum student numbers and, if this applies to your course, we will make this clear in your offer and your offer will be conditional on the minimum numbers being reached. If there are not sufficient applications to make a course or unit viable, we may cancel the course or unit. If you have received an offer for any course described in the prospectus but we discontinue the course or unit prior to you commencing the first term of study, you may either withdraw from the College without any liability for course fees and accommodation fees or transfer to such other course (if any) as may be offered by us for which you are qualified.
3. Neither party shall be liable for failure to perform any obligations under the contract if such failure arises from circumstances beyond their reasonable control, including industrial disputes (including disputes with the College's employees which it is not within the capacity of the College to resolve), acts of God, war, terrorism, fire, flood, natural disaster, failure of utility or telecommunications networks and national emergencies (‘Force Majeure Event’). If either the College or you seeks to rely on this provision, either party shall ensure that the consequences of any failure to act in accordance with this contract are kept to a minimum. If the College is forced to discontinue your course as a result of a Force Majeure Event, we will notify you as soon as possible and use reasonable endeavours to transfer you to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified. If you are unhappy with the replacement course offered by the College or if we are unable to provide a suitable replacement course, you may terminate the contract and withdraw from the course without incurring any further liability for your course fees.
4. If your course includes an integrated placement period which you must undertake in order to demonstrate the learning outcomes for your course, it is normal for placement providers to select the successful placement student from the applicants, and the final onus remains on you to secure your acceptance on placement by a provider. If you are unsuccessful in securing a placement in this process, you will be offered an alternative work experience in order to demonstrate the learning outcomes for your course. We do not guarantee that placements will be available at any particular institution or venue but will ensure that all placements and work experiences are appropriate to demonstrating the learning outcomes for the associated course.
6. Property, facilities and services
1. We endeavour to provide the best possible equipment and facilities for all courses and units and other student services. Such facilities, services and equipment may, however, be provided by third parties and not by us and we will take reasonable steps to ensure there are adequate facilities, services and equipment in place. In the event of any withdrawals of facilities, services and equipment provided by third parties, we will provide a suitable alternative in order that you are able to demonstrate the required learning outcomes for your course.
2. The provision of a facility or service including accommodation may be subject to an additional charge (i.e. separate from course fees). Where this is the case, we will make this clear in advance and payment for such service shall be made in accordance with any additional contract made between us.
3. Parking on campus is permitted, but may be restricted from time to time. All vehicles parked on campus must at all times have a valid MOT certificate, be taxed and insured.
7. Liability
1. While we take all reasonable care to ensure the safety and security of students on our campus or occupying College managed accommodation, we cannot accept responsibility, and expressly exclude liability, for loss or damage to students’ personal property (including computer equipment and software) including any financial or other consequential loss where such loss or damage is a result of theft, fire, flood, computer virus or any cause related to our computer facilities, or any other cause, except where and/or to the extent such loss or damage is caused by our negligence, breach of contract or dishonesty. It is recommended that you insure personal property against such risk of loss and damage.
2. We shall not be held responsible for any injury to a student, financial or other loss or damage resulting from such injury, or for damage to property, caused by any other student, or by any person who is not an employee or authorised agent of the College except where and/or to the extent such loss or damage is caused by our negligence, breach of contract or dishonesty.
3. Nothing in these terms and conditions shall limit or exclude the College’s liability to you:
- for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
- for wilful default;
- for death or personal injury caused by the College’s negligence; or
- in respect of any other liabilities which may not be lawfully excluded or restricted.
4. Subject to the foregoing, the College shall not under any circumstances whatsoever be liable to you for any special, indirect or consequential losses.
5. Except for those circumstances described above, the liability of the College to you in contract, tort, breach of statutory duty, misrepresentation or any other liability, however arising, is limited to the value of the course fees and any additional costs paid by you or on your behalf.
8. The regulations
1. By accepting these terms and conditions, you are also agreeing to comply with the regulations. Key provisions of the regulations include:
- If you have a complaint about an admissions decision or an aspect of the admissions process, please follow our complaints procedure at https://www.westdean.ac.uk/CollegeChannel/FullTimeCourses/College.aspx. Once you have registered as a student of the College, if you have a complaint about us, please follow our complaints procedure at https://www.westdean.ac.uk/CollegeChannel/FullTimeCourses/College.aspx. If you are dissatisfied with the College’s provision, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education
- (the “OIA”). Full details regarding the OIA can be found at OIA website and usually require the student to have exhausted the relevant internal procedures detailed in the regulations first.
- The College’s expectations regarding conduct and student behaviour. If you do not act in accordance with this contract, or any of the documents referred to in it, or if you do anything else that is or may be harmful to the work, good order or good name of the College (as set out in our code of conduct for students), we may take disciplinary action against you, under the regulations for student discipline which can be found at https://www.westdean.ac.uk/CollegeChannel/FullTimeCourses/College.aspx. One of the possible outcomes of such an action is that your contract with us may be terminated and you may be removed from the course.
- The College’s rules regarding assessment offences, including plagiarism, which can be found in the Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure.
The consequences of academic failure and non-attendance set out in the Student Assessment Policy. - The College’s policy surrounding Fiitness to Study. This outlines the steps the College will follow where there are concerns about a student’s health and wellbeing which raise questions about their fitness to study.
- For provisions relating to student created intellectual property please see our IP Policy.
2. The above list is not intended to be exhaustive but to indicate the most likely circumstances where the College may take disciplinary action, withdraw you from your course and/or terminate your registration.
3. The College reserves the right to add to, delete or make reasonable changes to the regulations where it is of the reasonable opinion that this will assist in the proper delivery of education. Changes are usually made for one or more of the following reasons:
- to update the regulations to ensure that they remain fit for purpose;
- to reflect changes in the external environment, including legal or regulatory changes, changes to funding or financial arrangements or changes to government policy, requirements or guidance;
- to incorporate sector guidance or best practice;
- to incorporate feedback from students; and/or
- to aid clarity or consistency of approach.
4. Any changes to the regulations will normally come into effect at the start of the next academic year, although a change may be introduced during the academic year where the College reasonably considers this to be in the interests of students or where this is required by law or other exceptional circumstances. The College will take all reasonable steps to minimise disruption to students wherever reasonably possible, for example, by giving reasonable notice of changes to regulations before they take effect, or by phasing in the changes, if appropriate. The updated regulations will be made available on the College’s website and may be publicised by other means so that students are made aware of any changes.
9. Data protection
1. If you apply for admission to a course at the College and/or enter into a contract with us, we will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and our Data Protection Guidance for Students. The College’s [Privacy Notice for Students] explains what data we might hold about you and how we use it, who we might share it with and the reasons for doing so, along with the rights that you have in respect of your personal data. For more guidance on data management relating to students, see our Data Protection Guidance For Students Policy.
2. After you complete your studies, we will retain basic registration details, results and your address, and any information that may be required in relation to matters that are still outstanding and that we are required to keep for legal or regulatory reasons. Basic information will also be added to our alumni database. Any remaining information will be destroyed in accordance with our document destruction policy in place from time to time.
10. Disability
1. The College is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible environment, and strives to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate individual needs. If you have a disability, you are encouraged to notify the College at the earliest opportunity so that any appropriate support arrangements can be discussed.
2. All offers are conditional upon the College being able to implement the specific adjustments reasonably needed for you to complete your course. We are more likely to be able to implement such adjustments in a prompt and timely fashion if you notify of any disability early in the recruitment process and you engage in any necessary discussions or health assessments as required by us.
11. General
1. We use all reasonable steps to ensure that the contract and the documents referred to in it set out the entire agreement between you and the College and that all information given to you on any visits to the College e.g. open days or interviews or in any correspondence does not contradict the contract. If you have been told something specific about the College and/or course upon which you are basing your decision to apply for a course but this information does not appear in the contract or the documents referred to in it, please notify us before you accept an offer in order that we can confirm whether or not what you have been told is accurate.
2. No failure or delay by us or you to exercise any right or remedy provided under the contract or by law shall constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor shall it preclude or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
3. If any provision or part-provision of the contract is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part provision shall be deemed deleted. Any modification to or deletion of a provision or part provision shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of the contract.
4. The terms of the contract shall only be enforceable by you and the College and shall not be enforceable by any third party.
5. The contract and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it (including non-contractual claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
6. On registration at the College, you will be allocated a College email account. All email communications from the College will be sent to that account and you are expected to use that account for all communications with us. You are expected to check this e-mail account regularly. Any communication sent to you, by us, to your College email account will be regarded as properly sent and received by you.