ENROLMENT POLICY

(approved September 2022)

Purpose

 

  1. This document sets out the terms of your enrolment with the college. It applies to all students who are enrolled on a course of study, whether this is full-time or part-time, and whether it is assessed and leads to a qualification or not.
  2. When you enrol onto any course at the college, you accept the conditions of

enrolment which are published in the college’s handbook. This includes that you accept the college’s rules and regulations and undertake to pay all fees due, by the dates specified by the college. It is important that you read and understand these conditions. If your course lasts more than one academic year, and you have to re-enrol each year, you will be notified of any changes to these regulations which are of relevance to you.

 

Section one: enrolling as a student of Cornerstone College Cambridge
  1. The enrolment process will differ, depending on the kind of course you plan to take. For short courses, including online courses, correspondence courses, camp courses, you will provide information as part of the application process which is held by the college. Your enrolment is confirmed when you pay the fee, and is ratified on the first day of attendance. By paying the fee and attending a class, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of enrolment. For higher or further education courses, the college will require you to complete an online enrolment task which enables you to confirm the personal details that the college holds for you such as contact information, and to provide additional information where required. At the end of this process, you will be asked to confirm your agreement to the college’s regulations. For students who need to bring documentation to the second stage of enrolment (new students, and students who hold a Tier 4 student Visa), there will also be instructions about what documents you need to bring to a face-to-face meeting during the first week of term to confirm your right to study in the UK.

 

 

 

IF YOU HOLD A TIER 4 STUDENT VISA, YOUR ATTENTION IS PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:

4.1 Cornerstone College Cambridge is only currently issuing Student Visitors Visa but plans to hold a Tier 4 Sponsorship in the not-too-distant future. In the interim we have adopted the conditions required for a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor of International Students. As such, the college is obliged to operate within the requirements of the relevant Immigration legislation and formal regulations for Sponsors. These include:

  1. Ensuring that a record of passport, Biometric Identity Document (BID) and documents used to process an offer (current qualifications) is held for each International student.
  2. Ensuring that contact details are maintained and up to date for every student.
  3. Ensuring that students are meeting the attendance criteria for their course of study.
  4. Reporting any non-compliance to the UKVI within the mandatory timescales.

 

Equally, if you hold a Tier 4 student visa, there are obligations you must meet as a student when you arrive at the college to start your course of study, described in the following section:

  1. you will be invited to attend a face-to-face session which you must attend bringing with you your passport and your Biometric Identity Document (BID) and original qualification certificates for inspection. Only original documents will be accepted. The college is required to take and retain a copy of those documents for its records. If you have not yet collected your BID, you must bring your travel vignette
  2. You will not be able to fully enrol onto your course of study until you have satisfied this requirement.
  3. If you do not have your full documentation, you must still attend the face-to-face session and provide evidence of your progress with the visa process. The documentation must be provided to the University as soon as it is available.
  4. Until you are able to provide us with your passport and Biometric Identify Document, you will be enrolled on a temporary basis only for a period of one week after the course start date, or until the required documentation is produced.

 

  1. In the event that you fail to produce all of the required documentation within two weeks of the course start date, including originals of any certificates confirming your current qualifications, steps will be taken to terminate (withdraw) your place on the course and your non-compliance reported to the UKVI.

 

During your course of study:
  1. You must re-enrol at the start of each academic year and make suitable arrangements to pay any fees due, in accordance with the College’s Fees and

Charges Payment policy.

  1. You must attend a face-to-face session at the start of each academic year, bringing with you your passport and visa documentation for inspection. Only original documents will be accepted. The College is required to take and retain a copy of those documents for its records each year.
  2. You must inform the College of any changes to your personal and/or academic circumstances which might have an impact on your visa status.
  3. Any change to your address, of visa status or passport details must be reported promptly by you to the College.
  4. It is your responsibility to ensure that the College always has a copy of a valid, in date passport.
  5. You are responsible for ensuring that your visa remains valid from the commencement of and for the duration of your course and that you apply for any necessary extension/renewal in good time.
  6. You will be expected to meet all the attendance and submission dates relevant to your course of study.
  7. You must inform the International Office of the details of any approved placement you are undertaking as part of your course. This includes the name and address of the organisation where you will be working.

4.4 Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to your suspension from the College and ultimately the termination (withdrawal) of your place on a course at the College with your non-compliance being reported to the UKVI.

4.5 If your enrolment on a College course comes to an end for any reason (whether you choose to withdraw, or the College terminates your studies):

 

  1. The College will report the cancellation of your place on a course to the UKVI who may take action under the relevant legislation, which may include cancellation of your student visa.
  2. You will no longer be sponsored by the College and you may have to seek sponsorship from another institution if you wish to continue your studies in the UK.
  3. If your visa is curtailed (cancelled) by the Home Office, you must provide the College with your departure information from the UK or confirmation of acceptance at another UK institution.

 

5.1.2 EEA Nationals, including UK students:

One of the following:

  • Passport (valid or expired) showing that the holder is a British citizen, or a citizen of

the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK, or a national of the

EEA (European Economic Area) or Switzerland

  • Valid photo identity card (EU countries only)

Alternatively, we will accept other Photo ID, PLUS ONE of the following (one of

which must contain your address as held by the College):

  • Correspondence from the Student Loans Company or Student Finance England
  • Original birth certificate (or adoption certificate where appropriate).

5.2 You will not be able to fully enrol onto your course of study until you have satisfied this requirement.

5.3 If you do not have your identification documents you must still attend the face-to-face session.

5.4 Until you are able to provide us with your identification documents, you will be enrolled on a temporary basis only, until the required documentation is produced.

5.5 In the event that you fail to produce the required documentation within two weeks of the course start date, steps will be taken to terminate (withdraw) your place on the course.

5.6 You must re-enrol at the start of each academic year and make suitable arrangements to pay any fees due, in accordance with the College’s Fees and Charges Payment policy.

5.7 Non-EEA nationals must attend a face-to-face session at the start of each academic year, bringing with you your passport and visa documentation for inspection. Only original documents are permitted.

5.8 If your place on a course is terminated (withdrawn) by the College for any reason, your contract with the College will terminate and the termination provisions will apply.

 

Section two: conditions of enrolment
  1. Your contract with the College comes into effect at the point that you formally notify the College that you have accepted an Offer of a place (or for short courses, evening courses or summer schools, once you have paid the fee).
  2. Exceptionally, the College may be required to amend its Offer to you after you have accepted it. In these circumstances, the College will communicate the changes to you fully, and will endeavour to make a suitable alternative Offer. If this happens, you will have the right to transfer to the new Offer, or to cancel your acceptance with no penalty.
  3. It is a condition of entry on to the course, and of your subsequent continuation in each academic year, that you formally enrol via the College’s online enrolment process (or by completing an appropriate form provided by the College) and present identification as requested.

 

  1. The College’s admissions and enrolment processes are subject to the Consumer

Rights Act 2015. After accepting an Offer you have the right to cancel your acceptance of the Offer at any time up to 14 days after you confirm your acceptance. If you cancel within this period you will be entitled to a refund of any fees which you have paid and you will not be bound by these conditions.

  1. As part of the enrolment process, you are required to provide the College with an emergency contact name and their contact details, which the College will use only when necessary

 

Section three: during your studies
  1. You are required to notify the College promptly of any changes to the information which you submitted on application or enrolment. This includes if you change your correspondence address or other contact details. You should do this by accessing the student online portal and amending your information; or, if you do not have an online account, by confirming the change in writing to School Office.
  2. Any student convicted of a criminal offence involving a court hearing must provide immediate details to the Principal.
  3. Notification, in writing, within 24 hours of diagnosis must be given by any student suffering from or in contact with an infectious disease. Attendance must not be resumed without a doctor’s certificate of clearance.
  4. Any student under the undue influence of alcohol or in possession of, or under the influence of, illegal drugs will be asked to leave the premises immediately. Such behaviour will be considered through the Student Disciplinary Policy, and in extreme cases may result in expulsion from the College.
  5. Students are not permitted to smoke (including e-cigarettes) in the College buildings.
  6. Students who use vehicles (belonging to the College, hired or their own) for any activity, either as part of the College curriculum or for related activity such as setting up shows, work for the Students’ Council or similar, do so at their own risk.
  7. As described in the Student Disciplinary Procedure, the College reserves the right to take action against a student who breaches any of its policies; this includes a failure to abide by the expectations of behaviour, both on campus and in the local community, as set out in the Student Handbook. In the most serious cases, permanent exclusion may be the only available penalty which is appropriate to the nature of the offence. The College reserves the right to take action against those who are no longer students, including graduates, where evidence comes to light of potential misconduct during the period of enrolment. In extreme cases, this may involve the revoking of an award.

 

 

Section four: Termination of studies
  1. You must notify the College promptly in the event that you choose to withdraw from your course for any reason. You will remain enrolled, and liable for any fees, until the College has received written notification that you wish to withdraw.
  2. If you fail to engage in your course of study, for example by failing to attend on a regular basis, and your Course Leader/Tutor believes that you will be unable to successfully progress or complete the course, OR you fail to respond adequately to the College’s attempts to seek your re-engagement with your course of study, the College will consider that you have withdrawn from the course, and will terminate your enrolment. This termination will be notified to you in writing to the most recent correspondence address you have given the College.
  3. If you cease to be enrolled on the course for any reason, either because you have withdrawn or because the College has terminated your studies, you must:
  4. cease attending lectures or other classes, or undertaking research
  5. return all items and materials issued to you but owned by the College, including your College Student ID Card and any equipment you have borrowed (including Library books)
  1. pay any outstanding sums owed to the College
  2. move out of halls of residence (if applicable).
  3. If your enrolment at the College is terminated as a result of disciplinary action taken against you, the termination will apply immediately and you will not be given any notice, unless the College confirms otherwise in writing. You should note that your studies may be terminated if you are dismissed or expelled from any other institution or organisation which you need to be a member of or able to access as part of the course.
  4. If your enrolment with the College ends for whatever reason (whether you withdraw, or your studies are terminated), you will still be liable for any fees or other outstanding debt which you owe to the College at the time your enrolment ends. If there is an outstanding debt, the College will usually refer this to a debt collection agency if necessary. Further details are given in the Fees and Charges Payment Policy.
  5. The termination of your enrolment with the College does not prevent the College from taking action against you under its Disciplinary Procedure, or the Academic Misconduct Policy, if appropriate.
  6. The termination of your enrolment with the College equally does not prevent you from making an academic appeal or a student complaint, providing you do this within the timescales stipulated within the respective procedures. If you have made an academic appeal or student complaint and are not satisfied, you are entitled to take your case to the Office for the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) as long as it is within their remit, and you apply within the relevant timescales.
  1. If your enrolment ends, either because it is terminated by the College or because you decide to withdraw, the College is not liable for any loss or damage which you suffer in relation to this, as long as it has acted in accordance with its published policies and procedures.
  2. The Offer of a place at the College will be withdrawn, without penalty to the College, if:
  1. after you have accepted an Offer there is a change in your circumstances or if the College becomes aware of information not previously known to it (including, but not limited to, information about criminal convictions, subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) which in the reasonable opinion of the College makes it inappropriate for you to study on the course; or
  2. in the reasonable opinion of the College, you have supplied false or misleading information relating to your application for the course.

These conditions will continue to apply after you have started the course.

  1. The College will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver the course in accordance with the description applied to it in the College’s Course Handbook for the academic year in which you begin the course. However, the College has finite resources which must be managed in an efficient way, in the context of the provision of a wide range of courses to a large number of students (both onsite, online and via correspondence). In addition, the College needs to ensure that all courses are kept up to date, taking account of developments in the discipline, and in technology. Accordingly, the College may, exceptionally, seek to amend the course of study so that it better meets the needs of students. If this change takes place after your enrolment, the College will discuss the change with you or your elected representatives. In all cases, the College endeavours to ensure that any change is in the student interest.
  2. There may be some rare occasions where, for reasons beyond the College’s control, some aspects of the terms and conditions of enrolment are changed. This could be because of changes to Government legislation; the establishment of legal precedent in relation to matters of health and safety or other forms of compliance; or because of circumstances sometimes described as Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), or war or other military or civil disorder, industrial action, or the failure of electricity, internet or telephone service. In such extremely rare cases, the College will keep you informed of any changes and the reason for it, but may not be able to consult with you. The College undertakes that it will take reasonable steps to minimise any impact on you and your experience, and will give timely notification of any change which it has been necessary to make.
  3. The College is registered as a Data Controller by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It only uses your data in accordance with its legal obligations. The College’s Data Protection Policy is available on the website, and you should read the Data Processing Notice before you enrol to ensure you are aware of how your data will be used.

 

Reviewed in September 2023 by

Dr. Emmanuel Obikwu