Bridge Mills Galway Language Centre

GENERAL COURSE CONDITIONS 2021

1.     ALL LESSONS:  45 MINUTES.  GROUPS:  MAXIMUM 12 (EG20PM max. 15); MINIMUM 3.

2.     MINIMUM ENROLMENT:  Courses are subject to a minimum enrolment of 3.  For groups of 2, students are given 8 lessons for every 10 group lessons booked.  One student only: 4 private lessons (1:1) for every 10 group lessons booked. Usually, this affects only Beginners, non-exam Proficiency courses and afternoon groups, but can apply to any level.

3.     PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:

11 December 2020– 03 Jan 2021 – Christmas – New Year Holidays (school opens 4 January 2021)

17 March – St Patrick’s Day Holiday

02 April – 05 April – Good Friday – Easter Monday, inclusive

03 May – May Bank Holiday

07 June – June Bank Holiday

02 August – August Bank Holiday

25 October – Halloween Bank Holiday

17 December 2021– 09 Jan 2022 – Christmas – New Year Holidays (school opens 10 January 2022)

4.        PAYMENT OF FEES:  All course and accommodation fees are to be paid at the time of booking.

5.        REFUNDS / CANCELLATIONS:  No refunds are given for the original bookings or for partial weeks of attendance or for uncompleted courses 7 days after the course has begun.  

CANCELLATION OF BOOKING and REFUNDS before course has begun –: Cancellation charge €160 applies in all cases plus the school shall retain a portion of the course fees as follows: notice of receipt of cancellation 21 days before the start of a course, 10%: 14 days before, 20%: 7 days before and up to 7 days after course commencement, 30%. No refunds will be made for partial weeks of attendance or an uncompleted course following 7 days after the course begins. Insurance, Registration fees and Examinations fees are non-refundable in all cases.

Refunds will be made within a maximum of 2 months following the cancellation date and processed by Patrick Creed: info@galwaylanguage.com.

If a visa application is refused, the funds will be returned within 20 working days of the decision being received by the provider, less cancellation charge of €160. (Examination fees, registration fees and insurance are non- refundable after payment)

In cases of all fees (tuition, examination, accommodation, additional services)  no refunds will be issued for courses cancelled or delayed due to Health and Safety issues, Government closure orders or suspension of operations, Pandemics or Acts of God or for any unforeseen circumstances. Classes if run online will be in place of all face to face classes.

For accommodation refunds, see below.

6.        HOST FAMILY ACCOMMODATION:  Family accommodation is booked in units of 7 nights, beginning and ending on Saturday or Sunday.  Students wishing to arrive earlier in the week before the beginning of their course or wishing to remain in the family for extra days (maximum: 2 days) at the end of the course must make special arrangements at the time of booking (not possible in high season).  Ordinarily, students must leave their host family at the end of their course.  

Cancellation of Accommodation – September to May:  Students leaving before completion of a course will be given a refund only for full weeks after departure from the family, provided notice of departure is given one full week (weekend-to-weekend) before leaving.  A cancellation fee of €160 is charged in all cases (registration fee is non – refundable).  

Cancellation of Accommodation – June, July & August:  Terms as above (for cancellations of Accommodation September to May) and additionally a refund of only 50% of the accommodation fees will be given for full weeks after departure from the family.(registration fee is non – refundable).  

Changing Host Families:  Students cannot change host family accommodation in the first two weeks of the stay without forfeiting the accommodation fee.   If a student wishes to change host families after that period, they must give a full week’s notice (weekend-to-weekend) to vacate.  A cancellation fee of €160 will be charged.   

Temporary Absence from the Host Family:  A reduced fee of €100 per week is charged for retention of the room when a student is absent for one week or more.  Students should notify the family and the school of their plans in advance.  Reductions are not given for absences of less than 7 days

7.        ARRIVALS & TRANSFERS:  Transfers on arrival and departure are not provided by the school or the host family. To be certain of the family’s availability at the time of their arrival, students are requested to send their arrival time in Galway in advance to the host family and/or the school.

8.        PRE-COURSE TESTING:  Students will be notified of a time to take a short language test at the school.  The test is usually given on the Sunday evening or Monday morning before the course begins, depending on the student’s arrival time in Galway.

9.        ACTIVITIES:  The school offers several informal social & cultural events each week (including weekend excursions) either free or charged at cost.  Information about these activities is circulated or placed on the school notice boards at the beginning of each week.

10.     EXTENDING COURSES: Students wishing to extend long-term courses of over 12 weeks into the summer season should confirm availability with the School Administrator before finalising travel plans. If a student wishes to upgrade a short term booking for a longer term booking, and avail of longer term tuition rates, this can only be done during the first 2 weeks after commencement of study.

11.     CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCE: Certificates of attendance and level achievement will be issued to all departing students.  Students requiring end-of-course progress reports or other special documentation should notify the school office on arrival.

12.     INSURANCE: All students from outside the EU must provide evidence of full medical insurance on arrival at the school.  If not, they must obtain medical insurance coverage, either privately or through the school, before beginning lessons. EU students must obtain the EHIC / EEA card before travelling to Ireland.  For further details: www.ehic.ie. (insurance is non-refundable after payment)

13.     COMPLAINTS: If you have any complaints please come and tell us immediately. You can discuss with your teacher or come to the office. We are always happy to hear from you in person, on the phone or by email.

14.     LATENESS: We ask all students to come to class on time so as not to disturb others. If you are running late telephone us so we can inform your teacher.  We ask you to wait for the start of the next lesson if you are late.

15.     ABSENCE:  In case of student absence the school must be notified. No refunds are given. The school will not make up any classes missed once a course has begun. Any student absent for an unexpected reason should phone or email the school or get host family to contact the school. 

16.     TEACHER ABSENT: If your teacher is absent a replacement teacher will take your class.

17.     ATTENDANCE:  Students are required to attend all classes they have registered for. This is of particular importance for visa requiring students who are obliged to attend as part of their student visa. Any change in your circumstances MUST be notified to the office immediately.

18.     DISCIPLINE:   We expect all students to be respectful of all members of staff and fellow students. If a situation arises where discipline is an issue your teacher or a member of staff will speak to you directly to rectify the problem. If a student refuses to follow school rules they will be asked to leave the school without refund.

19.     VISA REQUIRING STUDENTS:

Cancellations: See above under refunds.

Attendance:

Students must keep an attendance rate of at least 85% for their programme and must not be more than 5 minutes late to class. A student will be recorded as absent is they are more than 5 minutes late to class or depart 5 minutes early. Students more than 15 minutes late will not be allowed to class and will have to return after the following class break.

Recording of attendance will be by the teacher in class and checked at the end of each week by the Academic Manager.

Absence:

In the case of a student being absent for 2 days the school (Academic Manager) will try to make contact with the student by phone or email to seek clarification on the situation. If unsuccessful a letter/email will be sent to the student within 10 days of absence. If the school is unable to make contact with the student or receive good cause for absence then the student will be expelled from the school (by the School Director) within 4 weeks of the initial absence and reported to the local immigration office.

All standard correspondence as part of this process will be retained and available on request to relevant internal personnel and external authorities. Absenteeism and expulsion procedures are implemented in a timely manner – the disciplinary action follows immediately after the absenteeism issue has been identified by management. (Non-EEA students will not be expelled towards the end of their programmes in relation to issues identified at an earlier point in the programme)

Sick Leave:

Students must email (info@galwaylanguage.com) or call (00353 (0) 91 566468) the school on the first day of sickness and each day subsequently. Students must submit a certificate from a doctor on the first day of return to school. The procedure regarding absenteeism and expulsion is referenced in the requirements as activated in the case of uncertified sick leave beyond the statutory entitlement.

Holidays and Breaks:

No unscheduled breaks are permitted except in documented cases of illness or close family bereavement. Any queries should be forwarded to Student Support (support@galwaylanguage.com). Student holidays and breaks must comply with the Department of Justice and Equality’s requirements. For EG20 Am long term bookings 1 holiday break is permitted. It must be reserved at the time of booking and cannot be altered and must adhere with Department of Justice rules. For EG20 PM courses no holidays are permitted during the course of study. Holidays in this case will automatically be added to the end of the student study period.

End of programme and exam entry requirements:

External authentication of exam results / grades received by students;

Examinations provided by the school are as follows (exam fees are non-refundable after payment):

Programme Title

Title of Award/ End of Programme exam

External Authentication Examining / Awarding Body

EGTIE

EGPET

TIE

General English /PET

ACELS

Cambridge English Language Assessment

EGF

General English / FCE

Cambridge English Language Assessment

EGA

General English / CAE

Cambridge English Language Assessment

EGP

General English / CPE

Cambridge English Language Assessment

EGIELTS

General English /IELTS

British Council

EGETAPP

EGTRINITYF

EGTRINITYI

ETAPP

Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Foundation 

Integrated Skills Exam (ISE) 1

ACELS

Trinity Examinations UK

Trinity Examinations UK

Students are obliged to sign an agreement at the beginning of the programme stating that Bridge Mills Galway Language Centre will enter the student for the appropriate end of programme exams and that the exams are mandatory. The student must sign the agreement stating that they understand the exam is mandatory and agree that they will sit the exam. This document is available for inspection in respect of each student.

Procedure for entering students for the required exams

The school is a TIE and ETAPP examinations centre and can register students onsite.

The school is a Cambridge examinations centre (PET/FCE/CAE/CPE) and can register students onsite.

The school can register students for IELTS examinations via the local IELTS examination centre

The school can register students for Trinity Examinations as needed

The person responsible for this is the Student Support Officer support@galwaylanguage.com

A record of grades received will be available on request to students, INIS and relevant internal personnel and the relevant data protection permissions are agreed with students accordingly.

Complaints or Grievances:

If students have complaints or grievances they should report to the office immediately. This includes (not exclusive list);

Host family /accommodation problems

Class issues (level/teacher/other students/ timetable/course duration/final examinations etc). The person responsible for this is the Academic Manager academic@galwaylanguage.com

The maximum duration from receipt of a complaint to resolution of the issue is 5 working days.

Insurance:

Students requiring a student visa must have adequate medical insurance to cover their stay in Ireland. The policy must be in English. The school can arrange medical insurance before a student arrives or on arrival. Cost: E160.(non- refundable after payment)

Protection for Learners:

If required the school has arrangements in place for the protection of students in the event that a programme ceases prematurely i.e. arrangements for a student to complete the programme with another provider(s) through membership of Marketing English in Ireland (www.mei.ie). Student protection arrangements cover the period from when a student enrols on a programme until the time the student has successfully completed the programme (and the end-of-programme exams as appropriate).

Revised: April 2020