These terms and conditions apply to all students at SST Colombia. All students who enrol for any course at SST Colombia must accept and fully agree with SST Colombia and Universidad Central terms and conditions. It is the student’s responsibility to ask for a translation at the reception, if they feel their Spanish isn’t good enough to understand the terms and conditions below.
Please read through all of the General Terms and Conditions carefully.
AGE
Minimum age for group classes is 18 years old.
REGISTRATION AND FEES
Students’ registration and enrolment for courses, as well as extending courses, will serve as a binding agreement to follow the course to completion and to pay the full fees.
When making a booking you must pay a non-refundable registration fee of USD 45.
Students who book their course before coming to SST Colombia should make the payment by a bank transfer.
Please note that you need to cover any additional Bank fees (if applicable) to the fee if you are making the international bank transfer.
If you want accommodation, you must also pay: a non-refundable placement fee of USD 45 and a full accommodation fee.
Course fees do not include course books, materials, travel expenses, social events where fees are charged, or personal and health insurance.
Course fees are subject to change with no prior notice.
Students who want to make payments monthly and pay for the first and the last month in advance, are entitled to discounted rates – as in the price list. Students then should pay each instalment before the first lesson of every month, unless agreed otherwise at the registration. These students don’t pay for the last month. If a student decides to extend the course, the fee from the last month is moved to the month that the next course finishes.
If visa is needed and refused we will require a letter from Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Colombia confirming the refusal and we will refund all payments minus USD 100 administration fee. If student booked accommodation we will refund all payments minus USD 100 administration fee.
VISAS
Please check if you need to get a Visa to enter Colombia here: http://www.colombia.travel/es/informacion-practica/visas
For courses longer than 180 days you will require a Visa. Please contact us for further details on temporary visas.
Currently many nationalities do not require a Visa to enter Colombia. You can apply to a 90 day temporary permit to remain in Colombia as soon as you arrive at airport’s immigration. You could also extend that permit later for 90 additional days if applicable.
SST will provide you with the necessary letters in order to apply for the above permits. The letter will state the length of your course (paid course).
It is the students responsibility to book their course early enough to allow the visa to be processed in time. You must let us know at least 2 weeks before you are due to start your course if you need to postpone your start date. If a course is postponed longer than 6 months we will not refund your registration fees and your accommodation deposit.
Students must show their passport and Colombian visa (if applicable) before starting their course.
Any student breaking Colombian immigration rules will have their course terminated. No refunds will be provided.
No refunds will be given if a student withdraws their application after we have sent a visa letter.
No refunds will be given if a student decides to study with another school or University after we have sent a visa letter.
VISA REJECTION REFUND. In the case where your Temporay Visa application has been rejected, you will need to provide evidence of this refusal before a refund can be considered. Without the appropriate refusal letter no refund will be considered.
If we discover any fraudulent methods have taken place to obtain documents from SST Colombia to apply for a visa, Colombian Immigration authorities will be informed. Students will be expelled from the course and no refunds will be given.
Any refund that is granted will only be for the course fees. Registration fees are non refundable.
If a student is asked to leave Colombia or is expelled from a course, no refund will not be given.
It can take between 2 to 6 weeks to process a refund.
A refund will be paid by bank transfer only.
COURSE CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY
We strongly recommend that students take out insurance to cover fees and all costs in case of cancellation or leaving early.
If students pay for a course or extend their course at SST Colombia, SST Colombia normally will not refund any of the fees under any circumstances. The exceptions may be:
When students’ personal circumstances mean that a refund of course fees is appropriate (serious illness, death in the family). Refunds of this type are at the complete discretion of the management of SST Colombia and may be refused for any reason. We may ask to see documents to prove the truth of any claims (for example a sick note or death certificate).
If students give early cancellation notice – provided written notice of cancellation is received more than 4 weeks before the start of the course, all paid fees will be refunded less the registration fee, bank transfer fees and accommodation booking fee (if applicable).
If written notice of cancellation is received less than 4 weeks and more than 2 weeks before the start of the course, SST Colombia will refund 50% paid fees less the registration fee, bank transfer fees and accommodation booking fee (if applicable).
If written notice of cancellation is received less than 2 weeks before the start of the course or when the course has already started, SST Colombia will not refund any of the fees. Students who have received a visa letter and resign from a course at any time before its start date, will not receive a refund, unless they show a visa refusal letter.
Refunds may take up to 30 days to process once a written notice of cancellation has been given.
SST Colombia does not permit the transfer of credit from one student to another.
Group classes cannot be transferred to one-to-one lessons.
SST Colombia reserves the right to cancel, move or merge any class where there is insufficient demand or any other justifiable reason to do so.
For cancelled classes SST Colombia will offer an alternative class of the same value or lesson vouchers.
Cancellation of one-to-one classes: if a student wants to move or cancel a lesson, they need to notify SST Colombia a minimum of 24 hours in advance. If a student fails to do so, SST Colombia will not be able to reschedule the class to another day or refund the fee.
Any student whose behaviour causes inconvenience, offence or distress to other students or University staff, will be excluded from lessons. Persistent offenders will be expelled from Universidad Central and their course cancelled. No refund of course fees will be made.
All students will also need to comply with Universidad Central Terms and conditions based on behaviour, attendance and academic rules. These Terms and conditions must be accepted on the first day of lessons.
LEVEL OF SPANISH
Students cannot choose the level at which they want to study as this will be determined by Universidad Central.
We recommend you take our online test on www..com/test. This assessment, combined with a verbal placement test at the University will determine your level of Spanish.
HOLIDAYS, SICKNESS AND ATTENDANCE
Students must ask for any time off from class in advance by emailing SST Colombia at [email protected]. If you give advance warning of 1 week, we will accept your request and this will be marked as holiday. You can take 1 week holiday if you join a 12 week course or 2 weeks holiday if you join a 24 week course. Those weeks will be added on to your course.
If you have used all holidays, absences due to illness can also be added; this is on the condition that you show us a certificate from a doctor.
Absences due to illness will only be added to the course if, over 3 days and a doctor’s certificate of illness is provided.
Failure to arrive for classes on the start date and not contacting SST Colombia for more than two weeks from the start date will result in course cancellation. No fees will be refunded.
All one-to-one or private classes which are up to 20 hours of study must be taken within 12 weeks from the registration or start date. One-to-one or private classes of more than 20 hours must be used within 24 weeks of the registration or start date.
Students must understand that if they are not at the recommended level of Spanish for a particular course or particular stage of the course they may be asked to stay on the same level until they are ready to move up. Students may also be asked to repeat a level if they have low attendance.
Students are eligible to receive a SST Colombia / Universidad Central certificate on the condition that they attend a minimum of 80% of classes. We keep a record of student attendance.
We expect students to be on time, attend every lesson and complete homework. If you regularly arrive late for lessons we have the right to not allow you into the class.
SST-UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL CLOSING DATES:
Please go to https://goo.gl/5vS2Ec for the Academic Calendar, which contains Course Start Dates, Plublic Holidays and Vacations/Holidays of SST and the University.
STARTING DATES
From February to November on the first Tuesday of each month. No starting dates on December and January. Please see our site www.sstcolombia.com for a complete list of starting dates.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILMING
SST Colombia reserves the right to use photographs of students or a film of students (in classes and during social activities) for promotional purposes.
Students must inform SST Colombia in writing before the course starts if they do not allow us to use the photographs or video recordings in our promotional material.
SST Colombia reserves the right to use reviews left by students for promotional purposes.
DATA PROTECTION
Under the Data Protection Act (Habeas Data), SST Colombia must protect any information collected from you. All personal information received is treated confidentially and will only be accessible by selected personnel so they can carry out their work duties. The data is held on a secure password protected server.
Under Colombian law, we must give information to Colombia’s Immigration Office if requested to do so.
LIABILITY
Students are advised that the University, its employees and its representatives accept no liability for personal injury and / or loss of / damage to personal property on the University premises, whether by fire, burglary, theft or otherwise. This condition also applies to public and private places when students are on trips or excursions.
FORCE MAJEURE
SST Colombia and Universidad Central are not liable for failure to perform its obligations if such failure is a result of Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (regardless of whether war is declared), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, terrorist activities, nationalisation, government sanction, blockage, embargo, labor dispute, strike, lockout or interruption or failure of electricity or telephone service. Refunds are not be made in such cases.
OTHER
SST Colombia takes all feedback and complaints seriously, either made informally or formally. If you have a problem or complaint, email the student services officer at: [email protected] Complaints about the University’s courses or services should be made immediately as complaints made after the course finish date will not be accepted.
By registering and making the first payment or extending the course, students confirm that they have read, understood and agreed with the above terms and conditions.
A SST Colombia Universidad Central student certificate confirms the level of study at the end of the course. The certificate will only be presented if attendance is above 80%.
In very rare circumstances the stated maximum class size might be exceeded. If this does happen, it will only be by one person and for a very limited period.
SST Colombia reserves the right to cancel or alter a course. If we do so, we will offer either an alternative course or a refund of all fees. If the student decides not to take the alternative course offered, we will not be liable for any losses incurred by the student for cancelled travel arrangements.
Where there is only one person on a particular group course, we reserve the right to offer the cost-equivalent number of individual lessons instead of the group course.
If your Spanish level is not suitable for the course you have booked, we reserve the right to move you onto a different course or to refuse you admission to the school.
SST Colombia reserves the right to change teachers at any time during the course.
SST Colombia reserves the right to alter dates, fees and any particulars in the brochure without prior notice. SST Colombia (Universidad Central) reserves the right to move classes between rooms and premises as appropriate.
The Managers of SST Colombia reserve the right at their absolute discretion to refuse any application for enrolment of any student at any stage of the application or booking process. SST Colombia shall be under no obligation whatsoever to give reasons for the decision of the Managers. If an enrolment is refused, all paid fees will be refunded.
Calle 118 # 19-52 Bogotá, Colombia
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