Open in-person programmes terms and conditions

Please read carefully. This page contains important information about your contract with the University, including rules that apply to your conduct, behavior and use of University services, circumstances when your studies at the University may be suspended or terminate, and how changes might have to be made to teaching or services in certain circumstances.

Contract with the University

1. The purpose of these Terms and Conditions is to set out the contractual basis for your relationship with the University, and to draw your attention to key terms.

2. Your contract with the University is made up of:

a. these Terms and Conditions,

b. the programme description on the programme web page which is available through the website (you should consider printing a copy of the programme web page as a record of the information provided),

c. the offer letter from the Saïd Business School,

d. the University’s Statutes and Regulations, and rules and policies made under them (see paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 below).

3. Your offer of a place on an Open Programme is set out in the offer letter from the Saïd Business School (the 'Offer'). By accepting your Offer you enter into your contract with the University.

4. You will enter into this contract with the University even if your fees are paid by a third party on your behalf.

Conditions of your contract with the University

5. Your contract with the University may be subject to academic and/or financial conditions set out in your Offer or accompanying documents.

6. It is also a condition of your contract that any information submitted with or in relation to your application is true, accurate and complete (ie does not omit information you have been asked to provide).

7. Failure to meet any condition has the following consequences:

a. if you have received an acceptance email from the Saïd Business School but have not yet paid your fees for your programme, your offer from the University may be withdrawn at the University’s discretion; or

b. if the failure to meet a condition is discovered once you have started your programme, disciplinary proceedings may be brought against you under Statute  XI, which may result in sanctions including suspension or expulsion.

University statutes, regulations and policies

8. By paying your fees you agree to comply with the University’s Statutes and Regulations as amended from time to time and with the Statements and Codes of Policy, Practice and Procedure which are made under them. These include:

a. the University’s Code of Discipline under Statute XI;

b. other regulations concerning your studies, conduct, and behaviour including regulations relating to harassment, the use of IT facilities, health and safety issues, and legislative requirements such as data protection;

c. any Health and Safety Instructions (‘HSI’) setting out standards of behaviour required of you during any pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. HSI means any University code, policy or guidance issued in such circumstances. If an HSI is in force you must comply with it as a condition of in-person access to teaching and facilities, and may be disciplined for non­-compliance;

d. the Saïd Business School’s (“Department’s”) policies and guidance as amended from time to time.

9.    You may be removed or suspended from the programme if the University considers that you are in breach of any of these rules including the Code of Discipline, or if you are found to have breached any HIS.

Your responsibilities

10. It is your responsibility: 

a. to act as a responsible member of the University’s community, including treating other members of the community, fellow programme participants and the public with courtesy and respect. 

b. to comply with any measures or instructions given by the University to reduce risk of transmission of any illness or to safeguard health during a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency, including any HSI (eg wearing a face-mask, using hand sanitiser or following distancing procedures, if required). You must also immediately declare to the Department if you have any serious and easily transmissible infectious illness (and the Department will inform you if at any point they require students to declare Covid-19 infections).

c. To comply with any other reasonable instructions in relation to the delivery of the programme (eg other health and safety requirements, confidentiality, use of devices in sessions and complying with licence terms on programme materials)

d. To attend all teaching sessions, arrive promptly, carry out all relevant preparation for programme sessions and engage fully with programme activities. 

e. to follow good academic practice, including following the University’s policies and guidance on conduct during assessments, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest. 

f. To obtain an appropriate visa or immigration permission if necessary, abide by any visa/immigration conditions including maximum permitted working hours and the types of work allowed and provide a copy of your visa/immigration status and passport page when requested by the Department. If your visa/immigration permission expires during your programme and you no longer have valid leave to remain in the UK, or have breached the terms of your student visa, the University may be required to inform UK Visas and Immigration. Failure to comply with these obligations may result in legal consequences for you under UK immigration law, which may affect your ability to complete your studies with the Department. Disciplinary action may also be taken if false or intentionally misleading statements or documents are provided to the University regarding visas or immigration status. Affected students are encouraged to seek support and information from the Department.

11. If you fail to comply with clause 10 without proper reason, the Saïd Business School reserves the right to exclude you from sessions to ensure your behaviour does not have a detrimental effect on other participants, or to take action in accordance with clause 9, if appropriate. If you fail to meet the attendance requirements of the programme, you will not receive a certificate of attendance.

Fees and payment

12. Details of the fees and charges you will have to pay are set out on the programme web page.

13. Once you have accepted your Offer, an invoice will be issued to you with full details of how to pay. It is your responsibility to ensure that the programme fees and all other charges relating to the programme.  Your place is not confirmed until your fees are paid in full.

14. If your fees are to be paid by a third party which informs the Saïd Business School that it accepts full liability for your fees, then the University will invoice the third party directly and will seek to recover any unpaid fees from the third party in the first instance. However, the University reserves the right to seek payment from you if recovery from the third party is unsuccessful.

15. The University reserves the right to refuse you admission to your programme if you have not paid all programme, registration, and accommodation fees (if booked through the Saïd Business School) before the programme starts.

16.    If accommodation has been arranged by the Saïd Business School with a third-party provider and you wish to cancel your enrolment on a programme or transfer onto a later iteration of the same programme as provided for within these Terms and Conditions then you will only be entitled to a refund of the accommodation element of fees if, and to the extent that the Saïd Business School is able to obtain a refund from that third-party provider. (The Saïd Business School has different contracts with various hotels, some of which retain 100% of fees if bookings are cancelled with less than 5 weeks’ notice, though it often depends on whether it is one attendee asking to cancel or a number of attendees.) Cancellation charges made by external accommodation providers are outside the control of Saïd Business School.

17. All payments must be in GB Pounds Sterling. You must pay any currency conversion costs or other charges incurred in making the payment or in processing a refund.

Cancellations and refunds – within 14 days

18. You have the right to cancel your contract for education services at any time within 14 days of its commencement (ie from the date the contract commences when you accept your Offer – see clause 3, above). You will receive a full refund of any payments you have made.

19. If you choose a programme that is due to start within 14 days of commencement of your contract and you then wish to cancel after your programme has started, you will be required to pay for any part of your programme that has taken place before you gave notice of cancellation This amount will be calculated on a pro-rata basis, taking account of any programme materials, services or sundry items which have been provided to you or purchased on your behalf. 

20. To cancel, please contact the administrator at execed@sbs.ox.ac.uk. You may use the cancellation form provided with the acknowledgement email or letter if you wish, but you are not obliged to do so.

Cancellations and refunds – after 14 days

21. If you cancel your place on a programme at any time after the expiry of the 14-day period you will not be entitled to a refund, except at the discretion of the University. If a refund is made, an administration fee may be charged.

22. Programmes at the Saïd Business School are usually over-subscribed well in advance of programme commencement. Participants are encouraged to ensure they book out the time to attend a programme in their diaries as:

(a) over-subscription usually means another potential attendee has missed out on a place, and 

(b) programmes are taught in small groups so reduced numbers due to cancellations may impact the experience of other attendees.

23.    Participants may, subject to availability, transfer to a later iteration of the same programme, provided that the Saïd Business School is notified prior to the commencement of the original programme and on payment of the following transfer fees: 

a. 6 weeks’ notice or more prior to the commencement of the original programme – no transfer fee payable;

b. Between 3 and less than 6 weeks’ notice prior to commencement of the original programme – 25% of the fees for the original programme. Less than 3 weeks’ notice prior to commencement of the original programme – 50% of the fees for the original programme

24.    The transfer fees above are payable in addition to the full fees for the iteration of the programme that you will be attending.

25.    If a transfer to a later iteration of the in-person programme is agreed less than 12 weeks prior to the start of the original programme and you then cancel your place on the new iteration of the programme (at any time), the Saïd Business School shall be entitled to retain the transfer fee and to charge the cancellation fees that would have been applicable to cancellation of the original programme based on the timing of the transfer.

26.    You are eligible for one transfer only.

27.    If there is a transfer fee and programme fees outstanding, then any payments will be applied to the transfer fee first. Both the programme fee and transfer fees must be paid before a programme place is secured.

28.     To cancel after 14 days, or to ask to transfer to a different programme, please write to us as early as possible, preferably by email to execed@sbs.ox.ac.uk or, alternatively, by post to: Saïd Business School, Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HP, United Kingdom explaining your reason for requesting the cancellation or transfer, details of the programme you are cancelling and your invoice number reference. Please write the name of your programme in the subject line of your email or at the top of your letter. If you are asking to transfer you should also tell us the programme you wish to transfer to and include a completed application form for the new programme.

Cancellation by us

29.    Where there are good reasons to do so the University may cancel your programme and will make every reasonable effort to give you as much notice of cancellation as possible (normally at least 15 working days prior to the start date). The University will endeavour to offer a transfer to another programme if practical and acceptable to you, subject to payment or refund of any difference in the purchase price, but if no acceptable alternative can be offered it will refund all fees paid by you.

30.    The University’s liability when it cancels a programme will be limited to a refund of any fees or charges paid for the cancelled programme, and to a refund of received University accommodation fees (if booked through the Saïd Business School). For partial cancellation of a programme, such refunds will be made on a proportionate basis, subject to the specific paragraphs at 34 and 35 below applicable to circumstances connected to a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. Consideration of whether any refunds are applicable, and the level of any refunds, will take into account the fact that the Department’s programmes that include elements which are usually provided face to face or in person (eg accommodation and/or meals during residential programmes, field trips and study tours) are subsidised by fees received across the whole Department.

Changes to programmes – general provisions

31.    The University will seek to deliver each programme in accordance with the description set out on its programme web page.

32.    However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in programme provision, either before or after enrolment. The University therefore reserves the right to:

a. make reasonable changes to the timetable, location or academic staff specified for a programme; and

b. make reasonable changes to the content and syllabus of a programme.

33. In exceptional circumstances we may need to suspend, discontinue or combine programmes. This may be because of academic changes within subject areas, or as a result of low student numbers on a programme.

Changes as a result of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency

34. In addition to the above, where a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency necessitating measures to reduce risk of infection or illness arises or has already arisen, the University may make reasonable changes to comply with government or local authority regulations or guidance, and/or its own health and safety advice and/or to ensure the health and safety of staff, students and third parties and/or to respond to consequential staffing or resource constraints. If it makes such changes the University will inform you and will ensure that the key learning outcomes of your programme are still provided. The University will also provide broadly equivalent teaching and assessment services, and key University services by alternative means, if reasonably possible, although the manner of delivery may need to change. Examples of possible changes under this paragraph are explained in the Changes to Programmes  Policy (which applies to all programmes offered by the Department).

35. No refunds, discounts, damages or waivers of programme fees or other charges will be payable to you where changes or delays have resulted from, been caused by, or are in relation to a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency necessitating measures to reduce risk of infection or illness. The University will also not be liable for any consequential losses or expenses you may incur (eg travel or accommodation costs) as a result of any such pandemic, epidemic or health emergency measures.

Events beyond the University’s control

36. The University will not be in breach of its obligations under its contract with you, nor liable to you for any loss caused to you under its contract with you, which results from events which are beyond the University’s reasonable control, such as: a pandemic, an epidemic or a local health emergency necessitating measures to reduce risk of infection or illness; industrial action; acts of God; acts of terrorism; government order or law; action by any governmental authority; the unanticipated departure or absence of key members of University staff; or failure or delay by third party suppliers and subcontractors. In such circumstances, the University will take reasonable steps to mitigate the impact on you and to restore teaching and services. This paragraph is not intended to restrict any legal rights where doing so would be unlawful (eg under consumer law).

Personal data

37. The University will collect and use your information about you in accordance with the principles set out in the University’s Student Privacy Policy on the University website. This includes ensuring that your data will only be used in a way which is fair, lawful and secure.

Complaints procedure

38. If you have a complaint you should submit details to execed@sbs.ox.ac.uk

Termination

39. Your contract with the University will end in the following circumstances:

  1. when you finish your programme or if you cancel or withdraw from your programme and so cease to be a current student;
  2. if the Department exercises its right to cancel or discontinue your programme under paragraphs 29 or 30 above;
  3. if you cease to be a current student as a result of a University or Department procedure such as a disciplinary procedure. No refunds will be payable to you where you are excluded from the programme, in these circumstances; or
  4. if you fail to comply with paragraph 5 or 6 above.

40. The following terms will survive termination of your contract with the University for any reason:

a. terms relating to personal data as described at paragraph 32 above; and

b. terms relating to University procedures to the extent that they relate to events that occurred prior to termination including the complaints procedure, the disciplinary procedure, the harassment procedure and/or the academic integrity in research procedure.

Jurisdiction

41. Your contract with the University and any dispute arising from it (including non-contractual disputes) shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.