Terms & Conditions

INFORMATION – PLEASE READ

To book a course, you will need to complete a Booking Form which you will find on our web site. To complete the booking you will also need to pay the course fees or the first instalment, if you are paying in instalments.

How to Pay

You can pay for your course fees by using one of the following methods:-

• Credit card or debit card using on line banking, or directly with your local bank branch.  We shall provide our bank details.
• Bank transfer (either on line banking (Third Party payment) or direct transfer at your bank). We shall provide our bank details.
• Cheque – made payable to Lewis Secretarial and Computer College and posted to 5 Ilsham Road, Wellswood, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 2JG.
• Instalments are paid by standing order and the number of instalments is to be agreed when booking. The first instalment is payable by cheque, credit/debit card or bank transfer. 

Please note that course fees DO NOT include exam and/or assessment fees.  These are payable as and when you book to sit an exam (Secretarial exams) with an OCR test centre, or submit an assessment to us (IT and Admin Diplomas).  Further details can be found below.

This means the exam/assessment fees are spread over the duration of the course.

We are regulated by the Distance Selling legislation which entitles you to a 7 working day cancellation period.

CONFIRMATION AND CANCELLATION

Upon receipt of your completed Booking Form we will confirm via email to you that your place has been reserved on the required booking start date for the course you have applied for, within 2 working days of receiving your Booking Form (except holiday periods, when we shall confirm as soon as possible upon our return), together with details of the course booked and the course fees payable by you.

We reserve the right to refuse an application should we consider the course is not suitable for a particular individual.

You have the right to cancel your booking within 7 working days from the date we confirm your booking to you. If you have paid any monies to us then you will be entitled to have this refunded to you if you cancel within this time. This will be refunded to you either by bank transfer or by cheque within 10 days of the date of cancellation. You can cancel your booking within 7 working days as detailed above either by email or by post, but not by telephone.

After the cancellation period has expired you are required to pay the full course fees either in full or by instalments as agreed.

COURSE TIME LIMITS

If we do not hear from you with some completed course work for 2 months or more then your course will be terminated as we will deem you no longer wish to continue with the course.

You will need to study at least 5 hours per week on average during term time.  If you study more than 5 hours per week during term time, you will be able to complete your course in a shorter time.  You can study your course full time or part time, depending on what suits you - or a mixture of both.

There is an overall time limit to complete your course as follows:

PA Secretary - 3 Diplomas	18 months
Executive PA (Fast Track)	14 months
PA Secretary -2 Diplomas	10 months
Secretarial and IT/ Secretarial and Admin/ IT and Admin	8 months
Advanced Audio Secretarial	5 months
Audio Secretarial	3 months
PA Secretary - 1 Diploma	6 months
CLAIT/ITQ Level 2	5 months
CLAIT/ITQ Level 3	6 months
CLAIT/ITQ Combined Course	10 months
Shorthand	8 months
Administration - each Level	6 months
Medical Secretarial with Level 2 MT	12 months
Medical Secretarial with Level 3 MT	18 months
Intermediate/Advanced Medical Terminology	9/12 months
Legal Secretarial and Administration	15 months

The course time limits will be extended to take into consideration holiday periods as required - either when the College is closed or you are on holiday.

In exceptional circumstances these course time limits can be extended by agreement.

COURSE/TUTOR PROVISION

On your booked start date, we will send to you your first lessons via email.  You will also be able to access course material from links to various storage areas on the Internet.

You will need to be able to access these links and download programs - please ensure if using a business email that security settings will allow this.  If not then you will need to ensure you use a different email/connection to access the course material.

You will be provided with the relevant courseware as you progress through your course, which gradually builds into a comprehensive manual.  All the courseware has been written by this College and is specifically designed for those studying through distance learning.

You will be guided by your personal tutor, via email, lesson by lesson, on which exercises to do next as you progress through your course. You will also receive feedback on submitted work and any additional tuition you may require to complete the exercises satisfactorily.

You may also raise questions or request additional help to complete tasks either via email or by phone as you progress through the course. You may also be provided with additional teaching material if your course tutor feels you require additional help to assist you on your course.

As you progress through your course, you will complete Assessments and/or mock exams, to prepare you for set exams.  Most students gain new qualifications on a monthly basis after the initial phase of the course, gradually building their qualification portfolio throughout the course.

You will continue to receive this support until you have completed and achieved all the exams (where relevant) you have booked to study subject to the 2 month contact requirement above and the course time limit period as detailed above.

If you have not finished your course within the time limit and you wish to continue, then at our discretion we may be able to extend the time limit further, depending on the circumstances. 

Alternatively, you can pay additional reduced course fees to complete your course, should you wish to, or have the remaining courseware sent to you to complete in your own time.

WHAT EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED TO STUDY

You will need the following equipment/programs:

A computer, Internet connection and an email account which will accept links to storage areas on the Internet and programs. 

Relevant software ie Microsoft Office 2003 or Microsoft Office 2007

If you wish to use a business email address/connection, you will need to ensure you are able to download program files and click on links, as these form part of your course and some security settings in businesses do not allow this.  You can check with your IT department and it may be possible for them to modify the settings to allow this.

Printer - you will need to print off instructions/assignments and mock papers to complete the course.

Text books are required for some courses.  Details of what is required is provided when you are ready to start that section of the course, or at the beginning of the course if required straight away.

EXAMINATION BOOKINGS AND FEES

Text Processing (Secretarial) Exams and AMSPAR Medical Terminology Exams

If you are studying a Text Processing Diploma/Medical Terminology, you will need to sit all the exams for that Diploma at a local OCR/City and Guilds test centre.

Past students have used over 100 different exams centres - most of which have been within one hour's travelling from their home or place of work.

Nearer the time when you are ready to sit your exams, we shall let you have details of OCR/C&G test centres within an hour's travelling of where you live or work, if available.

We cannot guarantee to provide a test centre within a certain travel distance but in most cases test centres are within 1 hour’s travelling time from either a student's home or place of work.

For specialised exams eg Medical Terminology, students may need to travel further as these exams are not provided by as many test centres as other exams.

You will need to make the final arrangements with the OCR test centre by contacting them directly which will enable you to ask your own questions, and make an informed decision as to whether you would like to sit your exams there.  Some questions you would need to ask include:

• Dates and times available to sit exams
• Arrangements to make payment for the exam entries and what their charges are
• Some centres are open on a Saturday or in the evening, and you may also find it useful to sit more than one exam on one day to reduce travel times.  (Medical Terminology exams are set dates only).
• What version of Office they have at the centre

These exam test centres are independent of ourselves and are approved OCR/C&G exam centres.  We cannot be held responsible for their conduct of exams and any arrangements made with the test centre and any failure on their part to provide test facilities at the times and dates agreed or any related matter.  Any grievances concerning a test centre needs to be addressed directly to that test centre.

You will need to confirm to us the exam arrangements in order that we can prepare your revision schedule to ensure you are fully prepared for your exams.

Secretarial Exams - Series dates

OCR Secretarial exams are available upon demand, and there are 3 exam series available.

• Spring (available February - May)
• Summer (available May to August)
• Autumn (available October - December)

When booking your exams, please note the time of year and ensure you sit your exams within the series you have booked, otherwise you will lose your exam entry fees.

Set exam dates

Other examinations - namely

• Shorthand
• Medical Terminology - AMSPAR

are held on set dates only.  These vary from year to year and you will be notified once this information is available from the examining board.

Exam fees are usually at least £35 for each exam.  You will know what the exam centre charges before deciding to sit your exams with that centre.

Assessments for IT and Administration Diplomas

These Diplomas are assessed through completion of Assessments which you will complete at home/work and then submit to us either via the post or through email.

When you submit your entry you will be required to pay the exam entry fee which is currently £35 plus VAT for each module.

AVAILABILITY

We have a limit as to the number of students who can study with us at any one time as we teach our students individually.  This means we have a limit as to the number of new students we can accept at certain times of the year.

This ensures we provide a quality service to our students and can provide adequate supervision of their course and progress.

Feedback and marking of submitted work is carried out as quickly as possible, and usually within 2 days excluding weekends and holiday periods. However, we cannot guarantee to reply within a certain time limit due to unexpected demand, heavy exam periods, holidays, illness or any other unforeseen circumstances. We will do our best to inform you if there is to be a delay in replying to your work, of more than 3 working days.

From time to time relevant exam boards will modify their exam syllabus and exam format - sometimes at short notice.  You will be informed of these changes if these affect you and any necessary additional teaching will be provided to meet the new exam requirements.

HOLIDAYS

The College is closed over the Christmas and Easter holiday periods, as well as in the summer for 4 weeks in July/August.

Occasionally odd days are also taken as holidays - and this time is added onto the length of the course.

OUR RIGHT TO TERMINATE YOUR COURSE

We reserve the right to terminate a student’s course if their behaviour is aggressive, abusive or threatening.  A written warning will be provided initially and should we experience repeated agressive, abusive or threatening behaviour then we shall terminate that student’s course and no course fees will be refunded.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

We aim to provide you with the best possible services and to put you first.

If you are dissatisfied about anything we have done, or if there is anything you feel we should have done but failed to do, please tell us. Unless you let us know we will not be able to put it right.

Because we care about you we aim to investigate effectively and fairly any complaint we receive. We will do our best to put right any mistakes we find, and we will always tell you the result of our investigation.

HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT

If you have a complaint, please make it in the following way:

1 Discuss the matter with your personal tutor directly if you feel you can do so. This can be either by telephone or email. It is always best to resolve matters informally if at all possible.

2 If you are not happy with the outcome, please complete a Complaint form – you can request one from news@lewiscollege.co.uk (ie a non teaching section of the College).

3 We will acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days (during term time) and tell you what we are doing. We may contact you to agree how to proceed.

4 If necessary your complaint will be discussed at a special meeting held between all staff to see how the matter can be resolved.

5 We will then write to you with details of our response to your complaint.

DATA PROTECTION ACT

We are registered under the Data Protection Act Registration Number Z1311996 as we retain information about students for administrative purposes.

This information includes, names and addresses, date of birth, course details, payments, examination results and teaching.

None of this information is passed onto any other person or organisation and remains confidential to this College.

If you do not wish any of your details to be stored on a computer, please let us know in writing and we will retain manual records.