SHORT COURSES AND JUNIORS. Terms and Conditions. rcs.ac.uk/shortcourses

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1 SHORT COURSES AND JUNIORS (Dance and Drama) Terms and Conditions

2 2 Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before applying for a short course, summer school, the Junior Conservatoire of Dance or Drama, or a creditrated short course and use this information to help you complete your application. Course descriptions and further information is available on our website: We recommend that you read this course information, particularly for guidance on selection levels and audition processes (where relevant), before applying for a course. Applying for a Course Booking a place To book a place on any short course, please visit our website and complete the online application form and payment stage of booking. Please note that the majority of short courses are open access. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and confirmed only on receipt of payment. Your name will not appear on a course register unless full payment has been received or a phased payment plan has been agreed via our online booking system. Some courses require previous experience or entry is by audition/ interview. Please check relevant course descriptions for any specific performance levels/requirements and booking instructions; please only apply if you meet the criteria. Your contract with us When you enrol in a short course, summer school, Junior Conservatoire of Dance or Drama, or credit-rated short course, you will be: Weekly classes Holding that place for the full academic year. Responsible for payment per term in full no less than four weeks prior to the start of each term unless you have chosen the online monthly payment option. Liable for all scheduled payments under the agreed payment plan selected at the time of booking. Liable for all absences, which must be paid for whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised. All other courses Responsible for payment in full no less than four weeks prior to the start of the course. Liable for all scheduled payments under the agreed payment plan selected at the time of booking. Liable for all absences which must be paid for whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised. Waiting lists Our short courses fill up quickly and we allocate places on a first-come, firstserved basis. If you are unsuccessful in obtaining a place on first application for an open access course, your name will be placed on a waiting list and you will be given priority, in order of reservation chronology, if or when a place becomes available. Selection process Some of our courses have a selection or audition process. Please check relevant course descriptions for more information or prescribed level(s) of performance. For credit-rated short courses, there is a selection process and a 25 application fee. The 25 application fee will be levied at the point of application. This fee is separate from course fees and is non-refundable. These selection processes are in place to ensure that students get the best possible experience from our courses. The decision to offer a place will be made by the Course Leader and will be based on a student meeting the set criteria. Bursary The Agnes Allan Bursary is available to students who can demonstrate clear financial need to help meet some of the cost of tuition fees for classes, courses, projects or summer schools. For further information on the Agnes Allan Bursary please see the Royal Conservatoire s website. The offer of a bursary is made subject to your taking up a place on the course of study as detailed. It is a condition of this bursary award that any change in your financial circumstances, particularly any subsequent award from elsewhere, must be made known to the Short Courses Administrator in writing. It is a further condition that failure to complete the course during the period to which the bursary award applies will result in the award being treated as a loan to be repaid by a date to be specified in that event.

3 3 You can check with the UK Border Agency via their website using the section Do I need a Visa?. You will also find a list of Visa Application Centres (VACs) and contact details for the British Embassy/Consulate in your home country should you wish to get in touch with them for more information. English language If English is not your first language, please tell us to what level you feel competent in order to help us support you during your time studying with us. More information about language levels can be found on our website. Discounts We may offer access discounts on some short courses at certain times. Please note that in all instances we will ask for proof of eligibility. It is the responsibility of the booker to check if the student qualifies for the discount on offer. We reserve the right to refuse discount at any time. Access requirements, additional support needs and medical information We welcome all students to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, including students who may have access requirements or require additional support. To help us create a safe and enjoyable educational experience, it is important that we are aware of any requirements or support needs students may have. This will help us prepare and plan our work as well as support every student s participation in class. We also ask that students outline any medical conditions (such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, etc.) that they have and/or medication which they use that we would need to know about in the event of a medical emergency or managing a condition. Please indicate as fully as possible where these issues are applicable, and give as full and accurate details as possible. Any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence. If you let us know that you have an access requirement or additional support need, we will contact you by phone or to discuss this further. This is so that we are able to fully understand how best to support you, and to agree any reasonable adjustments or supports which should be put in place. visas If you are travelling from outwith the UK to study with us it is important to ascertain if you require a visa to enter the country. Equal opportunities monitoring The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland welcomes a diverse population of staff and students. The Conservatoire is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its activities and it aims to provide a performing, learning, teaching, working and research environment free from unlawful discrimination against applicants, staff and students on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, actual or perceived religious or similar belief, sex and actual or perceived sexual orientation. In order to assist us in monitoring our equal opportunities policy, you are invited to provide information for reporting purposes which will be kept in the strictest confidence. Criminal convictions You should not be deterred from applying for a short course if you have a criminal conviction as you will not necessarily be excluded from any selection process and you will certainly not be automatically excluded. We will want to ask you about the nature of any conviction. As part of your application you will be required to declare whether you have any criminal convictions.

4 4 Paying for Your Course Payment of tuition fees Payment options are as follows: Weekly classes Online payment system for monthly installments. Cash, cheque or debit/credit cards for termly fees only. All other courses Payment must be received in full by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at least four weeks before the course start date. Your name will not appear on a course register unless the cost of your tuition is met in full via: Online payment system for the full course fees or a scheduled payment plan. Cash, cheque or debit/credit card either over the phone or over the counter at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Cheques should be made payable to Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Student s name and course title should be written on the back of the cheque. International bank transfer (for students from outwith the UK). Invoice - where a company is paying for an employee to complete a short course. In instances where fees remain unpaid after the four week deadline, or where alternative methods of payment have not been arranged, we will have no option but to cancel your reservation and offer the place to the next person on the waiting list. Paying online Payment for all short courses, summer schools and Junior Conservatoire courses can be made online through our secure booking system, Sage Pay. Our Payment Service Provider is Sage Pay (formerly Protx), the largest independent payment service provider (PSP) in the UK and Ireland. Sage Pay provides a secure payment gateway (Level 1 PCI DSS), processing payments for thousands of online businesses, including ours. It is Sage Pay s utmost priority to ensure that transaction data is handled in a safe and secure way. Sage Pay uses a range of secure methods such as fraud screening, I.P address blocking and 3D secure. Once on the Sage Pay systems, all sensitive data is secured using the same internationally recognised 256-bit encryption standards. Sage Pay is PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant to the highest level and maintains regular security audits. They are also regularly audited by the banks and banking authorities to ensure that their systems are impenetrable. Sage Pay is an active member of the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) that defines card industry global regulation. In addition, you know that your session is in a secure encrypted environment when you see in the web address, and/or when you see the locked padlock symbol alongside the URL. So when buying through our site, you can be sure that your card details are completely protected. More information about shopping securely with Sage Pay can be found at Non-payment of tuition fees All payment deadlines must be adhered to. If you develop a debt profile with us you will be withdrawn from course registers and placed on the waiting list until the tuition fees are settled in full. You will not be able to enrol in further short courses and will not be able to begin an undergraduate or postgraduate degree study with us until the outstanding debt is cleared. Please contact our Finance department or Short Courses department immediately if you have a query about your tuition fee account and/or would like to settle any unpaid tuition fees that have accrued.

5 5 Cancellation Policy If you cancel your BOOKING If you cancel your booking for any short course we ask that you give us no less than four weeks notice in writing to the Short Courses Administrator. Withdrawal from a weekly class or course must happen four weeks before the start of the class/course, otherwise, you will be expected to pay the full cost of tuition fees for the forthcoming term/course. We will only accept written or notification sent to the Short Courses Administrator if you wish to cancel. If you provide at least four weeks notice we will refund 75% of the fee paid either directly back onto your payment card or by cheque, and will endeavour to do this within 10 working days. We will retain 25% to cover our administrative costs. If you give us less than four weeks notice we will offer no refund. Please note that no refunds will be given if you choose to leave a short course once the course/ term has begun. For any withdrawals from a course/term after the start date students will be required to meet the full cost of the course/term started. Changes to courses We endeavour to deliver courses as stated in our course outlines and according to the schedules indicated on our website and in our prospectus. However, we reserve the right, when necessary, to: make adjustments to a course syllabus. amend the timetable and delivery mode of a course. substitute the course tutor(s) and other professionals involved in courses. change the course venue. postpone or cancel courses due to adverse weather conditions, building maintenance, tutor illness or insufficient numbers of students when changes are required, students will be notified in advance by , letter or phone. If we cancel YOUR course It is rare that we must cancel a course, however, where this is the case we will offer students the option to transfer to a similar course or, where this is not suitable, fully reimburse the cost of tuition fees. This is the limit of our liability. If we are forced to cancel a course we aim to give you at least three weeks notice for any summer course, and at least two weeks notice for every other course. If a suitable replacement date for the course cannot be found, we will refund your fee in full. Insurance It is the responsibility of the individual booker, their parents or guardians to ensure adequate insurance for their course and trip, including cover for travel and accommodation cancellation. We expect students travelling to join a short course to obtain suitable insurances, to cover them in case of ill health prior to or during their trip, for personal liability, baggage or equipment loss or damage (including musical instruments), and any unforeseen reason that may cause them to be unable to travel or to cover the cancellation of the trip or course.

6 6 Keeping You Safe CCTV It is important that all courses take place in a welcoming, positive, fun, and most importantly, safe environment. Please be aware that all public areas, including corridors, café bar and the student zone are protected with CCTV cameras and are monitored throughout the day for the security of our staff and students. DOOR ENTRY SYSTEM (KABA) The safety of our staff and students is important to us and we operate an electronic door entry system across the estate. If students require access to certain areas of the building, they will be issued with a Kaba swipe card. Students requiring a Kaba card must sign the Kaba terms and conditions upon receipt of their card. If a card is either lost during your course or not returned within one week of the end date of the course, you will be charged a replacement fee of 10. CHILD PROTECTION AND VULNERABLE ADULT POLICY The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland operates a policy for the protection of children and vulnerable adults. This is designed to ensure that performing arts activities can take place in a positive and safe environment. The policy means that there are strict procedures which the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland must follow, which include relevant staff completing a satisfactory Disclosure Scotland/PVG check (Police and Criminal Records Office check) and following agreed working practices when working with students. As well as covering the activities which take place in our courses, the policy also places responsibility on Short Courses staff for dealing with any disclosure that a student may make during the course of a class or project work. Any student or parent/guardian who wishes to see a copy of this policy should contact the Human Resources department or download it from the Royal Conservatoire s website. Permission for the use of photographs and recorded images Your online application asks for permission to use images of the student for our promotional purposes. These may be used in publications, for training and archive purposes, on our social networking sites and on our website. We recognise the need to ensure the welfare and safety of all students involved in our activities. As part of our commitment to ensure the safety of students we will not permit photographs, video or other images of students to be taken or used without the consent of the parents/ guardians (where applicable) and the student. For students under the age of 18, permission must be given by the legal guardian of the student. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland follows national guidance for the use of images of children and young people. We also take all steps to ensure these images are used solely for the purposes for which they are intended, which is the promotion and celebration of the activity of our students. If you become aware that these images are being used inappropriately you should inform us immediately. If at any time you (the student or parent/guardian) wish the data to be removed from the website or from a publication, notice must be given to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in writing, after which the data will be removed within an appropriate timescale.

7 7 Attendance and absence The capacities of students numbers in our courses are limited to ensure the best learning environment for you. Demand for places is therefore very high. In light of this, we expect that all students show their commitment to their course of study by attending classes on a regular basis. If you are going to be absent from a class, you must alert us on as soon as you are aware that you are unable to attend. If you are a deaf student and need to contact us please contact Short Courses by text on This will be reported to the class tutor and the lesson plan adapted for the rest of the group. If we notice that a student is absent from class without having notified us, we will contact them or the designated parent/guardian (for students under the age of 18) by text message. Attendance is monitored and any student who has a large number of absences may forfeit their place. We reserve the right to discontinue the student s course of study should this occur. Please note that, as places on our courses are in high demand, all absences must be paid for. This policy applies to all students and is designed to avoid places being filled by those who are not fully committed to the course. Keeping in contact It is important to keep your personal details and emergency contacts up to date in case of an incident while participating on a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland short course. In case of an emergency, we will contact the named emergency contact directly by telephone. For other communications our preferred method of contact is by . If you do not provide an address we will post information to you. In this case, please note that unfortunately we cannot guarantee its receipt and that it could result in you receiving delayed information. Please note that information will be ed or posted to a designated parent/guardian for students under the age of 18. Please ensure this this contact information is correctly entered at the point of application. We also ask that, if appropriate, a mobile number and for secondary school students is provided as we may occasionally send information directly to students about their course work. We would like to keep in contact to provide you with information relating to your course, casting opportunities, events and additional courses that may be of interest to you. All applicants are automatically subscribed to our database and you will receive notifications and newsletters from us. You can unsubscribe to these notifications at any time. CONTACT US Short Courses Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 100 Renfrew Street Glasgow G2 3DB Telephone: shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk For summer school enquiries and applications please contact us on: summerschools@rcs.ac.uk

8 SHORT COURSES AND JUNIORS (Dance and Drama) Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 100 Renfrew Street Glasgow G2 3DB Telephone: