Terms and conditions

» Agreement

By accepting the Student Declaration, you agree to be bound by the following regulations and publications which together form your contract with the University:

University Regulations - Rights, Responsibilities and Regulations for Students - 2012/13

This document is also available for reference in the Student Information Centres, the Learning Resource Centre, Students' Union and Faculty Offices.

Course/Programme Regulations: these are available from your Programme/Module Leaders and on the website.

Any other University rule or regulation referred to in this Agreement or from time to time in force, as published. In particular you should familiarise yourself with the Health and Safety regulations which affect all individuals at the University.

» Participation agreement

By accepting the Student Declaration, you agree that:

• You will provide Student Support & Information Services with an emergency contact name and details for use by the University and Derbyshire Student Residences Limited at their discretion;
• You will notify Student Support & Information Services of any changes to the information which you have submitted on application or enrolment; for example, if you change your address;
• You will participate fully in those activities which are described in each module as essential;
• You will inform the Module Leader if circumstances oblige you to miss any of those essential activities and give details of the relevant circumstances to the Module Leader;
• You wish to have your performance assessed according to the approved procedures;
• You will observe and meet the deadlines and timetable prescribed for each module; and
• Failure to participate adequately in the essential activities may lead to termination of your enrolment on your programme of study. You will be invited to explain your failure to participate before termination on the programme occurs. Failure to engage in this process will be considered to be withdrawal.

» E-Submission

Your rights over your work

The intellectual property in the assessments that you do will normally be owned by you (see Intellectual Property Rights Policy).

The university will require you to submit certain pieces of work by way of E-Submission. The E-Submission system uses the Turnitin database, and work that you submit may be used by Turnitin for the purpose of checking the originality both of your work and other students' work.

By making the Student Declaration you agree that your work may be used in this way.

» Data collection, publication and sharing of personal data

The University of Derby is notified as a data controller with the Office of the Information Commissioner. The university's Data Protection Officer is the Director of Information and Technology Services. Specific enquiries about student related data should be made to Student Planning & Information Services (Student Support & Information Services), in the first instance. University, via Academic Departments, Student Support & Information Services, and other departments, allows employees and agents of the University to access appropriate information about students, when they have a legitimate reason to do so. Where your personal information is shared by the University of Derby it will be in accordance with the Data Sharing Code of Practice published by the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK.

Student information is disclosed to a variety of third parties or their agents, notably:

• Student sponsors (including Student Finance, the Student Loans Company and Funding Councils);
• University of Derby Students' Union (for membership purposes);
• Derbyshire Student Residences Limited (for accommodation purposes);
• Relevant government departments to whom we have a statutory obligation to release information (including the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Teacher Training & Development Agency for Schools and Council Tax offices);
• Examining bodies, other educational establishments and other relevant academic bodies;
• Potential employers of our students;
• Potential providers of placements and/or education to our students;
• Police (in accordance with the law of England and Wales, including your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998, and with university policy).

Disclosures will be made to other organisations not listed above in specific legitimate circumstances. Consent from the student will be sought where necessary.

The University recognises the importance of the protection of personal data. For information on how your data may be processed please visit our Data Protection Statements.

The university undertakes to maintain student data in secure conditions and to process undisclosed data only within the terms of its Data Protection notification. The details of disclosure can be found in the Rights, Responsibilities and Regulations for Students 2011/12.

Information relating to your studies, including your name and results, may be published on the university notice boards and the University of Derby Online (UDO). The email address that you enter when you enrol may be displayed within UDo and other related systems (eg: Blackboard) and may be viewable by other students on your module or programme. Please consider this when choosing and entering your email address when enrolling.

You may meet the criteria required to be contacted in the future in relation to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey (DLHE) & the National Student Survey (NSS). If you would prefer not to take part you have the right to opt-out. Information on how to opt-out will be provided when the University invites you to take part.   

For further information regarding HESA and the Student Collection Notice please visit the HESA website.

» Criminal convictions

By accepting the Student Declaration you are confirming that you have no unspent criminal convictions (excluding motoring offences). If this is not the case you must notify the University prior to enrolment so that the University can consider whether such convictions are compatible with membership of the University and, in particular, with a place on your programme. For some programmes disclosure of spent convictions may also be required, as specified by Admissions.  If you commit an offence whilst you are a student, this will need to be declared to your programme leader as it may affect your place at University.

» Fees and payment

It is your responsibility to make sure your tuition fees and all other expenses relating to your programme and accommodation are paid. The tuition and accommodation fees will be as stated in the Fee Information Publication and as reviewed and revised each academic year. From acceptance of online enrolment by the University on the confirmation of arrival date, you are bound by the University's regulations on the payment of fees, refunds in the event of withdrawal from your studies and the consequences of non-payment, as amended from time to time. These are set out in the Rights, Responsibilities and Regulations for Students 2012/13 and on the University's website.

You will also be liable for any fees payable for residential accommodation provided to you by the University or by any third party and all incidental expenses such as examination fees, travelling expenses and other course costs such as bench fees, unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing.

When making any payment to the University it is essential that you let us know what the payment relates to (for example tuition fees, accommodation costs, library fees etc). This is to enable the University to correctly allocate your payment against your various accounts. If you do not tell us what a particular payment relates to we will try to contact you at the address, email address or telephone number you have provided to ascertain what the payment relates to. If we cannot contact you in this way within a reasonable period of time, we will automatically allocate your payment according to our Cash Allocation Rules, a copy of which is available from the Finance Office, on the website or on request. If you do not wish any particular payment to be allocated according to the Cash Allocation Rules, you must tell us in writing how you wish your payment to be allocated within 7 days of making that payment.

» Cancellation and refund policy

You are entitled to cancel your enrolment by giving notice to the University within the period set out in the current Refund Policy which is contained in the Fees Information Publication. The date on which you give notice will determine the amount of any tuition or accommodation fees that will be refunded.

Professional courses - withdrawals and refunds of fees

The University has regulations regarding withdrawals from individual papers (the University refers to them as "modules") or from an entire programme or academic year of study. These regulations vary for different programmes, and the following is a summary of those that apply to part time professional courses.

• If the University is unable to run a module, all fees paid will be refunded in full.
• In all other cases, for any refund or reduction in fees payable, notice of withdrawal must be in writing.
• In such cases, a portion of the tuition fee will be chargeable (the withdrawal fee), plus £25 to cover the cost of any materials provided (e.g. class hand-outs, module/programme handbooks).
• You are deemed to have enrolled on a module if you have done any of the following:
  • Attended any classes for that module
  • Completed or partially completed1 the enrolment process for a module.

Withdrawal fees

Exceptions

In certain extreme circumstances outside your control, it may be possible to transfer to another module, or transfer fees to the next academic year. The reasons for the circumstances must be discussed with the Programme Leader at the earliest opportunity, and appropriate evidence will usually need to be submitted. The following circumstances are examples of situations that would not normally be regarded as falling within the above category:

• Workload (whether due to your studies or to your employment). Please make sure that you understand the level of commitment required before you enrol.
• Employer no longer allowing study leave/no longer paying your fees.
• Changing job/moving house.
• Short-term or minor illness.
• Inability to arrange childcare.
• Failure of an exam.
• Exceeding the deadline for application to the professional body for registration/exemptions/exam entry.
• Rejection of your application for exemptions (unless it can be shown that you had every reasonable expectation of receiving the exemptions, applied within the appropriate deadlines and submitted the correct evidence to the professional body).

You are required to notify the Programme Leader of your withdrawal from any module (even where no reduction in fees or transfer applies) using the prescribed Withdrawal Form.

Professional body refunds

The professional bodies are unlikely to refund fees in most circumstances. The University is unable to intervene in such claims for refunds.

1 Completed means you have Confirmed your enrolment. Partially completed means you have started the web-based enrolment process.

» Complaints procedure

You should address any complaints to the University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB by following the procedure described in the University Regulations.

» Termination of Agreement

Your rights and obligations under this Agreement will end automatically, subject to your rights of internal appeal and your obligation to pay Fees, if your studies with the University are terminated as a result of:

• Action taken against you in accordance with the University's disciplinary or fitness to practice procedures;
• A decision of an assessment board, based on your academic performance;
• Non-payment of fees, in accordance with the University's Regulations on payment of fees:
• Failure to participate in your programme of study, as defined in the participation agreement.

If you are expelled or dismissed from the University or other organisation which you are required to attend or be a member of as part of your programme, the University may end this Agreement immediately by written notice to you.

In addition, the University may end this Agreement by written notice to you in the following circumstances:

• If, between accepting an offer and starting your programme, there is a change in your circumstances which, in the reasonable opinion of the University, makes it inappropriate for you to study on your programme;
• If the University becomes aware of information about you which it did not know before (for example, unspent criminal convictions) which, in the reasonable opinion of the University, makes it inappropriate for you to study on your programme;
• If, in the reasonable opinion of the University, you have failed to provide the University with all relevant information, or have supplied false or misleading information, relating to your application for your programme.

» Requirements on termination of this Agreement

If at any time this Agreement terminates:

• The University shall be entitled to refuse to enrol you on your programme (if, at the date of termination, you have not already enrolled);
• The University shall be entitled to require you to stop studying on your programme and to leave the University immediately (if, at the date of termination, you have enrolled);

If at any time this Agreement terminates, your obligations are:

• To return to Student Support & Information Services, the Student Identification Card issued to you on enrolment, together with all property owned by the University;
• To pay all outstanding fees immediately;

Any contract you have for University accommodation will terminate in accordance with its written provisions.

Any action taken by the University under the above provisions will not restrict its ability to take any other action against you which it may be entitled to take. The University will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result.

» Notices

Any notice given under this Agreement shall be in writing. Letters will be addressed to you at your term time or home address as appropriate, at the last address you gave to Student Support & Information Services for either residence. Student Support & Information Services must be kept updated by you at all times. Letters shall be deemed to have been properly served when delivered by hand to that address, or 48 hours after being posted to that address if sent by pre-paid first class post. Good service may also be given by email to the last email address you gave to Student Support & Information Services in which case service shall be deemed effective 48 hours after sending. It is your responsibility to ensure that you notify Student Support & Information Services of any change in address, telephone and email details.

» Proof of enrolment

At the completion of online enrolment you will be shown a summary of your online enrolment. This enrolment will become accepted by the University when your registration is confirmed. Confirmation of your registration occurs at an event you attend if you are studying on campus, or when it is processed by the enrolment team if you are studying off-campus. When it is accepted, an email will be generated and sent to the preferred email address you provided to us. This document is proof of your enrolment on a programme of study within the current academic year. It will be used by the University to validate your status. This email is a very important document and you are advised to take good care of it. The date when your registration is confirmed is the date upon which your registration at the University will be formalised.

» Student declaration

I declare that the information given by me is correct and that I have no unspent criminal convictions (excluding motoring offences). I undertake to pay all fees and miscellaneous expenses relating to my programme/module of study and any accommodation not paid for by the Student Loans Company or my sponsor and promise to pay in accordance with the terms and conditions of payment. I understand that amounts paid and/or payable by me will be checked by the University and I undertake to pay any shortfall within 14 days of demand by the University.

I acknowledge that the University is entitled to refuse to enrol me if I am indebted to it. I agree to be bound by the Conditions of Entry and University Regulations for Students 2012/13 and programme/module regulations. I agree that it is my responsibility to ensure that I am familiar with conditions of entry, the handbooks and all applicable regulations and to become acquainted with them. I shall be bound by the Participation Agreement and the other notices.

» Financial information

The 2012/13 fees information is available for all students in the Fees Information Publication. This includes detailed information on withdrawal terms and refunds.

» For Full-time Home/EU Undergraduate students

A copy of your Financial Notification Form must be presented to the Student Support Centre within 4 weeks of the commencement of your studies for 2012/13, if not presented at enrolment. Failure to do so will result in you being liable for the full fee.

» For company sponsored students

An original letter of authority from your sponsoring organisation must be presented to the Student Support Centre within 4 weeks of the commencement of your studies for 2012/13 if not presented at enrolment. Failure to do so will result in you being liable for the full fee.