Policies

Refund, Cancellation and Deferral Policy

REFUND POLICY:

Tuition fees are not refundable. However, for International Students resident overseas fees will only be refunded if:

If a student visa application has been refused, then the amounts paid will be refunded less an administration charge of €100 (plus any courier and transfer charges) on production of the following documents to be sent to PayToStudy and ECM:

1. Copy of the visa refusal letter;

2. copy of the Student’s passport showing both the photograph and signature; and

3. where the payor was not the Student, an original authority letter from the Student authorising the repayment to the payer.

4. Refunds are payable within 60 days of refund approval or visa refusal letter issue date.

For International Students already resident in Ireland, fees will not be refunded under any circumstances after commencement of the course. Where a visa is required to be renewed during the ECM programme of study it is the responsibility of the student to check with the relevant authorities that the renewal application will be approved. Course commencement and start date are subject to student numbers. For Students whose course is not General English andfor whom English is not a first language will be required to sit an English language test prior to commencement of their course. Students whose level of English does not meet the required standard will be redirected to an English language programme appropriate to their English language standard. Tuition fees for this additional English language tuition will be charged to the student. Upon successful completion of exams students may be allowed to commence their original first choice programme, subject to availability. Refunds are paid within 60 days of refund approval or visa refusal letter issue date.

Cancellation and deferral

The Student may (unless studying on a student visa) no later than two weeks prior to the commencement of the Programme cancel his or her acceptance by providing the College with written notice. If the Student so cancels their study, the Student’s liability to the College will be limited to payment to the College of a cancellation fee of €100 which may be deducted from any applicable refund. Any refund made by the College will be made to the original payer. Full course fees will be payable if less than two weeks’ notice is given and no refund will be made in such circumstances. Refunds are not available of any amounts paid for study materials, where the materials have been supplied to the Student.

The Student may (unless studying on a student visa) defer enrolment in the Programme for one academic year, provided the College receives written notice at least two weeks prior to the Programme commencement date (the “Date of Deferment”) and the Student pays a €50 administrative fee. The fees or any deposit paid by the Student will not be refunded but will be carried forward to the following academic year. Should the College fees change between the Date of Deferment and the date of commencement of the following academic year the Student will be liable to the College for any additional amount due and must pay it before the commencement of such academic year. Should the Student defer enrolment in the Programme and should the Programme not be continued by the College such following academic year, the College’s liability to the Student will be limited to a refund of the applicable fees paid by the Student for the Programme less the €50 administrative fee referred to above.

Punctuality Policy

In accordance with the regulations of both ACELS (Accreditation and Co-Ordination of English Language Services) and GNIB (The Garda National Immigration Bureau), our punctuality policy is as follows:

All classes are split into 2 blocks: 1h 30 minutes before the break (15min) and 1h 30 minutes after the break.

Morning

The first block of morning classes starts at 09:00. Thus, all students must be present from 09:00 until the break at 10:30 to accrue one block of attendance.

The second block of morning classes starts at 10:45. Thus, all students must be present from 10:45 until 12:15 to accrue the second block of attendance.

Afternoon

The first block of afternoon classes starts at 13:30. Thus, all students must be present from 13:30 until the break at 15:00 to accrue the first block of attendance.

The second block of afternoon classes starts at 15:15. Thus, all students must be present from 15:15 until 16:45 to accrue the second block of attendance.

All students who are late must enter the classroom within 15 minutes of the beginning of the class. Any student who arrives more than 15 minutes after the beginning of the class will not be allowed to join the class and will not accrue attendance for that block.

Attendance Policy

All students must complete their course with a minimum attendance of 85%. Non-EEU students who do not complete their course with a minimum of 85% they will be notified to GNIB as per GNIB instructions.

All attendances are recorded daily by the Student Liaison.

Students absent for 10 consecutive days: Students who have 10 consecutive days absence are at risk of being expelled. (See Absenteeism and Expulsion)

Low Attendance notifications for non-EEU Students:

When student's attendance falls below 80%:

If the student's attendance falls below 80% during the first 6 weeks of their course, students will be notified via e-mail by the attendance officer advising the student that they will be at risk of being reported to GNIB if their attendance falls to 75%.
If the student's attendance falls below 80% after the first 6 weeks of their course, students will be notified via e-mail by the attendance officer, advising the student that they need to improve their attendance and reminding them that their minimum attendance should be 85%.

Students who get 25% of uncertified absences in their first 6 weeks will be communicated to GNIB and INIS.

Students who do not make up attendance to a minimum of 85% before the end of their course are not meeting the attendance requirements and this will be communicated with GNIB and INIS.

Students cannot make up for absences by attending extra classes, either during or after the end of their course.

All attendance requests are done by e-mail. If you want to request your attendance percentage, please e-mail request@ecmcollege.iewith your full name.

Absenteeism and Expulsion Policy

In the event that a Student is unable to attend their class for any reason, written confirmation giving reason for non-attendance is required and should be given to the administration at the students’ earliest opportunity. This requirement is mandatory for non-EU/EEA students in order to comply with both ECM and GNIB regulations.

Students absent for 10 consecutive days: Students who have 10 consecutive days absence without approval or medical certificates to support their absence are at risk of being expelled.

Student with low attendance: Student whose attendance falls under 50% over the duration of the course is subject to being expelled.

Student will receive their first notification when attendance falls below 85%. They will receive final warning when their attendance falls below 60%. Upon reaching 50% the student will be notified of their expulsion from the school and consequently their attendance will be communicated to GNIB and INIS.

Misconduct:

Expulsion should be a proportionate response to the student’s behaviour. Expulsion of a student is a very serious step, and one that should only be taken by the Director of Studies in extreme cases of unacceptable behaviour. The school should have previously taken significant steps to address the misbehaviour and to avoid expulsion of a student including, as appropriate:

• Meeting with the student to try to find ways of helping the student to change their behaviour.

• Making sure that the student understands the possible consequences of their behaviour, if it should persist.

• Ensuring that all other possible options have been tried.

A proposal to expel a student requires serious grounds such as that:

• The student’s behaviour is a persistent cause of significant disruption to the learning of others or to the teaching process

• The student’s continued presence in the school constitutes a real and significant threat to safety

• The student is responsible for serious damage to property.

Student Sick Leave

Students who are absent due to illness are to inform the Student Liaison Officer on the first day of absence either via e-mail (Jennifer@ecmcollege.ie) or phone call (01-5143789).

Student has to inform the school daily of their condition and upon returning to classes has to bring a medical certificate or doctor’s note. In failing to provide either of these the student will not received justified absence/s and can be expelled as per the Absenteeism and Expulsions policy.

Student Holidays and Breaks

All non-EEA students enrolled in an academic year course are entitled to 8 weeks of holidays. Four weeks of holiday must be taken on completion of tuition; this is not optional.

Students are entitled to book 4 weeks of holidays after completing 3 months of studies or more. Holidays are granted and scheduled in the first two weeks of course commencement. It is ECM College policy that holidays be requested on-line, via the student request mechanism on the College website, and Student Support will process them accordingly.

No student will be able to take uncertified breaks or Holidays outside the agreed time.

Student Complaint and Grievance Policy

ECM takes all complaints made against our services, staff or facilities very seriously.

Should you have any problems or complaints please speak to the Director of Studies, the assistant director of studies or the Academic Coordinator. Should your complaint not be resolved by these parties, a further complaint can be made to the College Director.

Student complaint forms can be obtained from the college reception. See an example below.

Completed Form to be returned to:

John Doherty, Director of Studies, ECM College.

Health Insurance Policy

Medical insurance is mandatory for all international students by Irish Law. Students must provide their Insurance certificate when applying for their student visa.

Students may opt for the insurance policy provided by O’Driscol O’Neill through ECM College which is available at a group discounted rate (€120) for the duration of a year or they may choose another provider, as long as coverage of up to €30,000 is provided and the document is written in English as per visa regulations.

ECM end-of-programme Exam – TIE

The main external exam of choice at ECM is the TIE exam. The Test of Interactive English (TIE) is recognized by ACELS, a service of Quality and Qualifications Ireland, a statutory body of the Dept. of Education and Skills.
It is the obligation of every student who studies at ECM to take an external exam and it is the obligation of ECM to enter all students for the exam. During initial student orientation, students sign an agreement stating that they understand that they must take an external exam at the end of their course. Students who fail to come to their exam cannot receive a certificate of completion from ECM.
All students are emailed six weeks before they finish their course. This allows sufficient time for students to make arrangements as regards other commitments or notify us if the date does not suit them. The final exam booking is communicated to TIE two weeks before the specified exam date. Student names are entered on a spreadsheet along with their date of birth and current English level. This is then emailed to TIE. The TIE exam is held in-house on a monthly basis or fortnightly if needed.
The designated person in ECM with responsibility for external examinations is the academic coordinator, currently James Duggan. He can be contacted on the following address; jduggan@ecmcollege.ie
External exam grades are communicated to ECM two to three weeks after the exam. All grades are recorded on our internal system (Class.net). These records are available upon request to the relevant students, INIS or relevant internal personnel.

Emergency Procedures

In case of an accident or injury in the school please contact the first aid officer/s:

Michael Espino; Jennifer Dick; Bruno Ribeiro.

For emergencies after school hours please contact:

John Doherty – jdoherty@ecmcollege.ie – Tel: +353 86 7751700

In case of fire please follow the evacuation procedure shown below for each floor:

Grievance form.docx