The University of Nottingham Terms and Conditions

Last updated January 2021. 

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Definitions

“Contract” means this agreement together with the Key Terms.
“Key Terms” means those terms that are set out in Schedule 1.
“Programme” means a programme of study for which you have received an offer from the University of Nottingham or on which you are registered.
“Registration” or “Register” means the completion of the University’s formal registration process which is set out in the University quality manual.
“University” means the University of Nottingham, a body corporate incorporated by Royal Charter and registered with number RC000664, of University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD.
“You/your” means an applicant and/or Registered student of the University of Nottingham.

Introduction

1. This Contract together with the terms of any offer of a place made by the University of Nottingham to you, sets out the basis on which you agree to undertake your studies at the University.
2. Note that you may have other contractual arrangements (for example for accommodation, or with the Student Loans Company) and these will be subject to separate agreements.
3. Before you accept the offer of a place at the University you should read this Contract including the Key Terms.
4. You will be required to agree to and accept the Contract when you accept your offer from the University. You will be bound by the Contract for the duration of the Programme.

The University of Nottingham’s offer

5. When you accept an offer of a place at the University of Nottingham, the University and you form a legally binding Contract. The University’s offer to you may contain specific conditions that you must meet before you can take up a place on a Programme at the University. If you meet the conditions of your offer you can complete Registration at the University in accordance with the University’s offer and the terms of this Contract.
6. You have a statutory right to cancel this Contract without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day you accept the offer of a place at the University of Nottingham.
7. To exercise the right to cancel in Clause 6, if you received your offer through UCAS you may cancel through UCAS, otherwise you must inform the University admissions office of your decision to cancel this Contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or e-mail). You may use the model cancellation form attached in Schedule 2, but it is not obligatory.
8. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication stating that you are exercising your right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
9. If you cancel the Contract as set out above the University will reimburse to you all payments received from you.
10. If you cancel the Contract after the statutory cancellation period has expired, any refund of fees will be dealt with in accordance with the University of Nottingham’s regulations for fees.
11. The offer of a place which the University makes to you, and any subsequent Registration (where the conditions of the offer have been met by you), are based on the information which you have provided. If you have supplied information that is not true and complete (including any qualifications

Changes to Contract Information

12. Teaching of the Programmes at the University of Nottingham will be reviewed annually to take into account for example, desirable developments in subjects and Programmes. Sometimes the bodies that regulate the University (such as the Quality Assurance Agency for higher education) require changes to be made by the University which in turn may require changes to a Programme. These types of changes may mean that certain modules may be added, revised or deleted in your chosen Programme. Changes may for example be made to take into account the most recent research developments, to be responsive to relevant changes in world events, for the maintenance of academic standards in higher education or to comply with legislative changes. These changes may occur during your period of study and the University will be entitled to make such reasonable changes. In the main these types of changes will not be significant and will not adversely affect you. The University will seek not to make significant changes which will have an adverse impact on your chosen Programme.
13. If as a consequence of circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the University, it is necessary to make significant changes to your Programme or to other related services and facilities after your acceptance of an offer, the University will tell you about these at the earliest opportunity. Such changes may occur either before or after your Registration, but the University will take account of the reasonable expectations of any student affected by the change. Examples of such circumstances include:

(a) changes imposed by professional, statutory and regulatory bodies
(b) industrial action by University staff or third parties
(c) the unanticipated departure of key members of University staff or significant staff illness or other unexpected absence where a Programme is reliant on a person’s expertise
(d) power failure
(e) acts of terrorism
(f) damage to buildings or equipment
(g) severe weather, fire, civil disorder and/or political unrest
(h) the acts or omissions of any governmental or local authority including government or local authority restrictions;
(i) An epidemic, pandemic or serious concern with regard to the transmission of serious illness making delivery of a Programme and provision of services by the University unsafe; or
(j) where the numbers recruited to a Programme are so low that it is not possible to deliver an appropriate quality of education for students enrolled on it, or it is not possible to offer a particular Programme module

In these circumstances, the University will take all reasonable and proportionate steps to minimise the resultant disruption to those services and to affected students, by, for example:

• offering the opportunity where reasonably possible to move to another programme
• deferring the start date for the Programme;
• offering the opportunity to defer entry to the programme to another academic year
• delivering the Programme in a different way, from another location or online, or at another time;
• delivering a modified version of the same Programme
• assisting you to transfer to complete the Programme at another School location or another institution;
• delivering other services and facilities in a different way, from a different location or online.

14. Other than taking the steps set out at paragraph 13 above, to the full extent that is possible under the general law the University excludes liability for any loss and/or damage suffered by any applicant or student as a result of those circumstances.
15. The University of Nottingham does not exclude or limit in any way its liability for:
    (a) death or personal injury caused by its negligence or the negligence of its employees, agents or
    subcontractors
    (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
16. The University of Nottingham does not accept responsibility and expressly excludes liability to the full extent possible under the general law for loss or damage to students’ property or for infection of students’ equipment caused by computer viruses, and for the consequences of any such damage.

The University’s Obligations

17. Subject to the terms and conditions in this Contract the University of Nottingham will deliver your chosen Programme in accordance with this Contract, and the offer of a place which the University has made to you and which has been accepted by you.

Your Obligations

18. You agree to abide by the University’s Ordinances, Regulations, Policies and Procedures as amended from time to time and which are included in the Key Terms.
    You agree to pay the fees and charges due from you to the University. The sanctions that the
19. University of Nottingham may impose for non-payment of any fees and charges due are set out in the Key Terms and in particular the section that refers to regulations for fees.

Personal Data

20. By accepting the offer from the University of Nottingham you agree to the collection and use of your individual personal data, including sensitive personal data in accordance with the current data protection legislation and the University’s data protection policy which is included in the Key Information.

General

21. This Contract shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and the parties agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
22. If any provision of this Contract is or becomes void, invalid or unenforceable that shall not affect the legality, validity or enforceability of the other provisions.
23. The Contract is personal to you and does not confer any third party rights or benefits for the purposes of the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
24. Failure to enforce any of the provisions of this Contract will not constitute a waiver of any provision and will not affect either party’s right to enforce that or any other provision.
25. A reference to a statute or a regulation shall include any amendments, extension or re-enactment made from time to time under that statute or regulation and includes any subordinate legislation for the time being in force made under it.
26. Any notice or other information that is required to be given either by the University of Nottingham or by you relating to this Contract, must be in writing and may be given by hand or sent by post or email. If you are holding an offer from the University, the University will send notices to the email contact details that you have provided in your application. Once you have Registered the University will use your University student email address, or the current local or permanent home address that you provide. You are responsible for checking your emails and correspondence regularly. You are also responsible for informing the University of any change to your contact details. The University will send any notices or information to the last email or postal address provided by you.

Schedule 1
Key terms

The following information sets out the key policies, rules and requirements which you are agreeing to. The web links will provide the detailed information. Any text below a web link outlines some of the important aspects, so you should read the full information provided at the web link.

General points:

1. As an applicant or an offer-holder, the Universities Policy on Inappropriate Applicant Behaviour will apply to you. Please use the link to read this policy.
2. Your satisfactory conduct and progress in studies and payment by you of all monies due to the University of Nottingham as and when required by University regulations will at all times be a condition of Registration.
3. You agree to undertake all of the study activities required by your Programme, to pursue these diligently and to take all required assessments/examinations at the prescribed time.
4. You agree that work produced by you for assessment may be submitted to text recognition software and material may be retained in the database.
5. You undertake to inform the University of Nottingham of any circumstances that may affect your ability to study or Registration as a student, including criminal convictions where relevant (e.g. if you are enrolled on a Programme leading to membership of a regulated profession such as medicine, allied health professions or teaching). This requirement is covered in the University’s Quality Manual.
6. If it is a requirement of your Programme (e.g. professionally regulated courses and other courses with practical/placement elements), you agree to undergo an enhanced Disclosure Barring Service check (organised by the University of Nottingham) at the appropriate time. Depending on the outcome of these checks, you may not be eligible to enrol or continue on such courses, may be required to transfer to an alternative course, or to leave with a lower award.

Registration

You must register at the University of Nottingham once you have accepted an offer of a place and met the conditions of the offer. The registration page tells you when to register, how to register and what will happen if you do not register as required by the University. Registration is important and if you do not follow the requirements, this may result in you losing your place at the University. Please note in particular:

•  All students must register with the University when they first begin their studies and again at the beginning of each academic session. All students need to register online via the portal, new full time students will also need to confirm their attendance in person.
•  New students should complete Registration within 3 weeks of the Programme start date or they will not be permitted to join the Programme.
•  Your Registration will not be finalised nor your status as a student of the University confirmed until you have completed all the necessary stages of Registration.
•  If you do not complete Registration, you will not have full access to the University’s IT systems that you will need during your studies.

Attendance confirmation

As part of the Registration process, new full-time students are required to confirm their attendance in person. The registration page details when and how to confirm your attendance, and what you need to bring with regard to your personal details and identification documents.

Programme specifications

Programme specifications enables students to view their specific Programme specifications.

Data protection

Data protection details the University’s responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), applicable data protection laws, the University’s Data Protection Policy and explains how your personal data will be held and the purposes for which it will be used and shared. By entering into this Contract you agree to the University processing your personal data in accordance with its Data Protection Policy and Privacy Information for students and applicants and in accordance with current data protection legislation.

Regulations of the University

Regulations of the University of Nottingham details the various regulations that govern for example:

• Registration, attendance and study

The below details the various policies that you will be bound by in respect of Registration, attendance and
study, including:

• Student engagement
• Attendance and engagement
• Taught programmes regulations
• Traffic regulations
• Regulations for library and computer use
• Code of Discipline for students
  
  This document includes the regulations concerning general student discipline, conduct and disciplinary procedures.
• Intellectual Property
  
  This document details the University’s statement on the provision and processing of intellectual property rights for students and graduates at University.
• Regulations or fees
• Tier 4 immigration sponsorship

Module enrolment regulations

Note that it is the student’s responsibility to see that the selected combination of modules accords with the regulations for their Programme.

Student protection plan

The University’s student protection plan sets out what students can expect to happen should a course, campus, or institution close. The purpose of such a plan is to ensure that students can continue and complete their studies, or can be compensated if this is not possible. The University is obliged to have and to regularly review its Student Protection Plan.

Complaints

This details the student complaints procedure as well as the student complaint policy.

Appeal

The University’s academic appeals policy and procedure applies to various decisions, such as conditions imposed on progression to the next stage of a taught Programme; a classification decision; a decision of the University’s Fitness to Practice Committee or Practice Assessment Panel.