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► Sanctions Procedures January 2009
Sanctions Procedures
These procedures are designed for use by academic and support staff and should be read in conjunction with the University’s approved Sanctions’ Policy, which sets out the sanctions that may be applied should a student fail to pay tuition, residences, nursery fees or fail to repay Bursaries, Awards, Scholarships and Allowances as required.
Invoices
The amounts payable for tuition fees and the related bursaries are determined by Registry & Planning Services (RPS), while residence fees are determined by Residential Services. Tuition fees are calculated based on the data entered on to SITS by the School and RPS regarding the programme, mode of attendance and the status of the student. RPS and Residential Services are responsible for raising the relevant invoices. In the case of tuition fees, the invoices are transferred as data files to the Finance Department, where the transactions are recorded in the individual students account, and the invoices are e-mailed to the students at their University e-mail address. Residences invoices are printed by Residential Services, and are issued with the student’s keys. Nursery invoices are printed by Finance, and are sent to the students at their term time address.
The invoices set out the amount due and due date. All due dates take into account University holidays and weekends including the different term dates which apply to postgraduate Business School students.
The invoices also remind students that if they have a query about the invoice or how to pay or if they are experiencing difficulties, they should contact the Finance Department to discuss the matter.
Queries
Schools, RPS, Residential Services and Finance have the following responsibilities:
· Issues such as changes to the programme of study or mode of attendance or requests for Leave of Absence should be referred to the relevant School.
· Issues about accommodation should be referred to Residential Services
· Issues such as the fee amount due or the accuracy of the wording on the fee invoice should be referred to the originating department, i.e. RPS or Residential Services as appropriate.
· Issues about the due date and how to pay are dealt with by the Finance Department
Often the student is not sure which department to contact and could approach his/her School, RPS, Residential Services or Finance to raise a query. Where possible, the member of staff first approached by the student should take responsibility for resolving the issue through discussion with staff from the relevant department and as a minimum will try to agree with the relevant department who will see the student to discuss the matter.
Methods of Payment
Fees are due and payable in full on the due date unless an alternative arrangement has been agreed in advance by the Finance Department. At present a record of any arrangements agreed is entered on to the student’s debtor records by the Finance Department.
Payment can be made by cash (in sterling), credit or debit card or bank transfer. Card payments can be made in person at the cashier’s office, over the telephone or via the web.
The most common alternative is the payment of tuition fees by instalment – this is a concession by the University, which allows the student to pay three instalments, 50% of the fee in November and the balance in two equal instalments in January and April, but only if the student completes the online card instalment request using the portal (MAP), or complete the a direct debit mandate. This is because of the significant administrative burden of processing a large volume of payments in a timely manner.
The direct debit mandate must be established by the stated due date for tuition fees, as published in the ‘How & When to Pay Fees’ booklet. The rationale for this is that at the due date either the fee is payable in full or the alternative instalment arrangement needs to be in place. However, in practice, although fees are due and payable on or before enrolment, a degree of latitude is allowed, provided that fees are paid or an instalment plan established by 31 October. This allows sufficient time for the Direct Debit to be set up and notification to be sent to the student, as required by the Direct Debit agreement, before the payment is taken. If a student defaults on a Direct Debit instalment sanctions are imposed immediately and no further Direct Debit payments will be processed.
Finance have also introduced an alternative instalment method, where a student completes the online card instalment request using the portal (MAP) to pay their tuition fees in three instalments, 50% of the fee in November and the balance in two equal instalments in January and April. However they must make the payment using their debit/credit card on the University’s Web based payment system. If a student defaults on a web payment instalment sanctions are imposed immediately.
Any variation from this arrangement constitutes an alternative settlement plan, the operation of which is explained below.
Confirmation that these direct debit or web payment plan instalments have been set up is sent to the student’s University e-mail address, confirming when the instalments are due to be paid.
Any student who enrols at a non standard time of year, for example in January or April, may arrange to pay their fees in instalments.
Due Dates
Due dates are set out in the ‘How & When to Pay Fees’ booklet and on the University web-site, and are also shown on the invoice. In certain circumstances due dates can vary, for example, as a result of a delay in issuing tuition or residence invoices, but the formal due date is never earlier than that originally published.
Overdue debts
If invoices have not been paid by the due date, the sanctions procedure is implemented.
The first step is for the Finance Student Credit Control section to send out reminders to students with an overdue debt, to the student’s University e-mail address. The e-mail and letter will invite students to contact Finance Student Credit Control if they are experiencing difficulties. The second step is for the Finance Student Credit Control section to prepare a report of tuition fee debtors, listed by School and programme area, which is sent to the nominated representative of the School, asking for positive confirmation that it is appropriate to impose sanctions in accordance with the policy (this is also copied to RPS who check for any inaccuracies). The purpose of this is to ensure that any personal issues or academic requirements affecting the students are brought to the attention of Finance before sanctions are imposed:
– if the School determines that it would be inappropriate to impose sanctions for personal reasons, no action is taken, and the position is periodically reviewed;
– if the School believes sanctions should be deferred for academic reasons, e.g. to allow a student to complete a specific assignment, this is accepted, and sanctions will only be imposed after the assignment has been completed, or after a defined (and reasonable) period.
If Finance receives no response from the authorised officer in a school concerning sanctions lists within 10 working days, the Deputy Director of Finance will seek authority to impose sanctions from the Head of School and/or the appropriate Director.
The Finance Department reconfirms the list of contacts within the Schools at the start of each academic year to ensure that the debtor information is being forwarded to the appropriate staff.
In the case of residence debtors a similar report is sent to Residential Services for the same reasons.
Once confirmation is received that it is appropriate to commence sanctions, the Student Credit Control section will send an e-mail to the student’s university e-mail address; asking them to pay the amount due within seven days and stating that failure to pay will result in sanctions being imposed. Students are asked to come to the Aston Student Advice Point (A.S.A.P) to discuss the position and, in addition, are reminded that the Students' Advice Centre in the Student Guildand Student Support is also located in A.S.A.P separately provides independent advice on financial matters.
At the student's request, an appointment for a private meeting with a member of the Student Credit Control section will be arranged in the Aston Student Advice Point. This can be arranged by the student visiting the Aston Student Advice Point, and seeing a member of the Enquiry Point Advisers.
If the student requests formally in writing or e-mail to the Finance department, the Finance Department will also discuss the position with staff from the Students’ Advice Centre to ascertain whether an appropriate arrangement for settlement of the fees can be agreed upon. In such cases, both the student and the Students’ Advice Centre will be included in communications regarding the progress on resolving the position.
If a student, having discussed their position with the student credit control, has a genuine case for deferring payment, an alternative settlement plan is agreed. The factors taken into account include personal circumstances and the student’s previous history in paying fees. The precise requirements for information required from the student will depend on the particular circumstances. Once an alternative payment plan has been agreed, sanctions will be lifted, but on the strict understanding that they will be re-imposed should the student default on the agreement. In exceptional circumstances, a student can appeal against the decision to not allow deferred payments, by writing to the Deputy Director of Finance.
Once sanctions have been imposed all communication with the student will be by letter sent to the student’s term time address.
Imposing sanctions
Sanctions will only be imposed when all of the following conditions apply:
· the student does not have a genuine justification for deferring the payment of fees
· the student has not agreed an alternative settlement plan
· the School has approved the imposition of sanctions
· the Finance Department has given a written warning that sanctions will be imposed.
Tuition fees
The first sanction to be imposed is the withdrawal of library access for 30 days, if payment remains outstanding the second stage of sanction is the withdrawal of computer access. The SITS system is flagged by Finance to indicate that the student is to be sanctioned and this flag on the student record over night updates the computer, library and e-mail systems to withdraw the relevant rights.
The sanctions flag is also used by the Schools and RPS to identify debtor students who should not be receiving formal results letters and formal transcripts.
Prior to Graduation Ceremonies separate reports are prepared by Finance for students involved, where tuition fees have not been paid, so that, where necessary and appropriate, action can be taken to exclude attendance graduands from Degree Ceremonies and/or not to issue certificates and other formal transcripts.
Students in debt at the end of the current year are not permitted to re-enrol for the following academic year. If the student does not settle the outstanding debt by 31 October in the following year, the student will be required to withdraw from the University.
At the end of each academic year, students who have not settled their tuition fees receive a ‘letter before action’ from the University’s solicitor, indicating that legal action will be taken if fees are not settled. In many such cases, students respond by agreeing to a settlement plan and legal action can be deferred.
Normally, legal action will only be imposed if the student ignores the 'letter before action' or has withdrawn from the University.
Starting in 2006/7 Home undergraduate students may be entitled to an Aston Bursary, a Subject Specific Award, a University placement allowance and a placement bursary. If a student has to repay an overpaid Bursary or Award but fails to do so by the due date, sanctions will be imposed. The sanction process is the same as the process for tuition fees. The first sanction to be imposed is the withdrawal of library access for 30 days, the second stage of sanction is the withdrawal of computer access; progressing to a ‘letter before action’ and legal action as above.
Residences fees
In the case of residences, students must pay their fees in advance for each term. The sanction for failure to pay their fees for Terms 1 and 2 is that firstly students will be issued a reminder letter, secondly they will receive a ‘letter before action’ reminder and finally they will be served a 'notice to vacate' the accommodation in Terms 1 and 2. If the fee is not paid after this sanction, legal action is initiated. For Term 3, this sanction is not considered to be effective and so the legal action is initiated immediately.
Nursery fees
In the case of nursery, if a student fails to pay nursery fees by the due dates, it may result in the student being required to remove their child from the nursery until the outstanding debt is paid.
Collection agents
To supplement the work of Student Credit Control, the decision may be taken to engage debt collection agents to try to recover fees from both current and withdrawn students. This is not legal action, but a further step available to help the University to recover debts. Should students not respond to the contact with the collection agents, the case may be passed to the University’s solicitors.
Settlement of overdue amounts
Once a student has cleared their debt, the sanctions imposed will be rescinded. Typically this will be within 24 hours of the payment being processed (except that payments received after 4pm daily, weekends and University holidays will processed on the next working day and the sanctions lifted 24 hours after that), but at peak times, it may not be always be possible to process all of the receipts promptly due to the volume of transactions and the lifting of sanctions may be delayed. The quickest payment method for clearing an outstanding debt is using a debit/credit card on the web based payments system.
Key messages for students
The following are the key messages for students:
· you should regularly check your University e-mail account as all Finance Department communication about fees and deadlines are e-mailed there;
· you should read and understand the information received from the Finance Department about what fees are payable and by when;
· if any of this information is not clear please do not hesitate to ask Student Credit Control to explain the position;
· if necessary we will be pleased to make an appointment for you to meet with a member of staff from Student Credit Control to discuss your individual circumstances;
· if you have any concerns about your financial situation please visit the Guild's Students’ Advice Centre or the Aston Student Advice Point for independent advice;
· above all do not ignore letters/e-mails from the Finance Department, debt collection agencies or solicitors, particularly if the information stated does not accurately reflect what you consider to be the correct position.
Role and Responsibilities of Sanctions Officers
The key role of the Sanctions Officers is to support the work of the Finance Department in attempting to maximise the income of the University and reducing the levels of student debt, by reinforcing the message that students should make payments by the due date and should contact the Finance Department promptly if they are having problems in making payments.
A limited number of Sanctions Officers shall be appointed by the Head of each School with authority to authorise the imposition of sanctions on student debtors - the Head of School will determine how many are required depending on the number of students and the organisational structure of the School. Sanctions Officers need to be aware of the academic consequences and personal/financial circumstances of the students, and have sufficient seniority, knowledge and experience to make judgements about whether or not sanctions should be applied in individual cases. Sanctions Officers also need to have the time to look through the lists of student debtors and to make judgements thereon in a reasonable time frame.
No sanctions will be imposed by Finance without the Sanctions Officers’ prior approval.
Once Sanctions are imposed the relevant Director of Study has the authority to ask for the sanctions to be lifted temporarily if there is an important assessment/examination to take place which requires access to computing or other facilities.
The Sanctions Officers have the following responsibilities:
• To consider the list of student debtors for their School/Subject Area and to respond to the Finance Department by the specified return date.
• To consider whether there are any reasons why sanctions should not be applied to each individual debtor, having regard to their personal circumstances and any factors that might impact on their health or mental or physical well-being.
• To consider whether there are any important assessments that would be affected by the imposition of sanctions and if so to recommend to Finance that sanctions be deferred pending the completion of the assessment(s).
Monitoring of the Sanctions Policy and Procedures
The Sanctions Sub-Group will monitor the effectiveness of the Sanctions Policy and Procedures. Performance indicators will include: the number of students in debt, the length of time students are debtors, the total amount of debt, the number of students sanctioned and average duration of sanctions. The Sanctions Officers will also have feedback from students if the sanctions procedures are not being applied properly or as they expect.
January 2009
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