Policies and Procedures

TRANSFERS

1. A transfer occurs when a student moves from one course to another within the School.
2. Course transfer can be considered by the school provided valid reasons are provided in writing to substantiate the transfer request. The request will be approved by the Principal with inputs from the Studio Manager. Course transfer is approved only when the student meets a new course requirement. For students below the age of 18, a letter of consent from the parents/guardian is required for transfer application.
3. A student will be considered officially withdrawn from the current once the approval for course transfer is effected. The student must sign a new Student Contract based on the new course that she/he decides to enroll in. There is an admin transfer fee payable by the student for processing of the transfer application.
4. There will be no refund of school fees to the student for an approved transfer. The school will calculate the additional amount of money required based on the fees already paid. Students are required to pay the difference between the tuition fee for the new course and the amount of money remaining (i.e. original tuition fee minus the sum of money based on the fees consumed for attending the original course) plus any admin fees incurred such as the transaction fees for FPS.
5. The school will acknowledge the transfer request within 3 days to the student applying for transfer of course. Approval of the transfer will be made known to the student in writing within 2 weeks.
6. This transfer policy will be communicated to students via the school website, student handbook and during student orientation. The transfer policy will be reviewed annually to ensure it remains relevant and fair to students.

Withdrawal

Students who decide not to complete his/her course of study for whatever reason are considered to have terminated his/her course of study and withdrawn from the School. Specifically, a withdrawal is defined as:

• withdrawing from Inspiration Design International School (complete or partial) and applying to another school in Singapore, or
• withdrawing from Inspiration Design International School (complete or partial) and returning to his/her native country.

1. All applications for course withdrawals must be made in writing and supported by the necessary documents. For students under the age of 18, a formal letter from his/her parent/guardian is required for withdrawal. The date of notification is the date upon which written notice is received by the school. Proof of postage by the student is not proof of receipt by the School. Administrative charges will apply.
2. The withdrawal process will take 4 weeks from the date of receipt of the withdrawal application.
3. Students who wish to withdraw from the course after commencement shall adhere to the terms and conditions of refund stipulated in the Standard Student Contract (SSC). All notices from the student must be in writing.
4. There is a course termination admin fee charged for students who decide to withdraw from the school. Students withdrawing 15 days after the commencement date of the course are liable to pay the unpaid course fee due to Inspiration Design International School, and are subject to the terms and conditions of the refund, as stipulated in the SSC.
5. In the case of any withdrawal, there will be a counseling session between the student and the school staff to understand the reasons for withdrawal, and where appropriate to offer alternative courses to the student. The student makes the final decision on whether to remain at Inspiration Design International School or to proceed with the withdrawal or transfer.
6. Students with medical conditions or family commitments must support their claims with official documented evidence given to the school.
7. All requests pertaining to withdrawal matters are submitted to the Principal for consideration and decision.
8. Acknowledgment of the withdrawal request will be made within 3 days to the student applying for withdrawal. The approved withdrawal request will be made known to the student in writing within 2 weeks.
9. Agents representing Inspiration Design International School are required to explain to students in their native language where necessary.
10. Students who are caught by the authorities for committing criminal acts that are against Singapore’s laws are regarded as a withdrawal without any valid cause. No refund of fees will be made to the student regardless of whether the course has commenced or not.
11. The transfer/withdrawal policy will be reviewed annually based on staff and student feedback.

DEFERMENT POLICY

Students who wish to defer the whole course, or the remaining part of the course, must submit a Student Request Form to the school stating his or her reasons for doing so. The date of notification is the date upon which the application is received by the school. Proof of postage by the student is not proof of receipt by the School.

Students who have signed up for a course and are unable to join in on the commencement date are allowed to defer the course for a maximum period of 1 year starting from the date of enrolment. After this one year grace period, the student will have to re-enrol and pay the tuition fees again. For current students who wish to defer their next semester, the one year grace period begins from the commencement date of the deferred module.

Students deferring their studies are required to pay the tuition fees in effect at the time of their re-enrolment. Application for deferment will only be accepted upon the completion of a module. All fees paid will be kept by the School as fee payment for the student when he/she recommences the course. Please note that there will be a one-time administration charge of SGD 100.

The time frame for processing deferment request is 7 days from the date of receipt of deferment application.

Deferments are granted at the sole discretion of the school and will be considered on a case-to-case basis. The school is not responsible for difficulties arising from a student’s voluntary variation of his or her class schedule.

Terms and Conditions for Deferments

1. The school will not consider any course deferments unless there is valid reason.
2. Students must submit the Student Request Form to apply for deferment.
3. Deferring students are liable to pay the stated course fees for that year or term.

REFUND POLICY

All requests for fee refunds must be made in writing and supported by necessary documents. The date of notification is the date upon which written notice is received by the school. Proof of postage by the student is not proof of receipt by the school.

If a request for a refund is approved, and if the applicant has been issued a training kit or materials, he/she must return all items in the training kit in its original, intact and unused condition. If items in the training kit have been used, the applicant will be charged for the used item based on retail price.

Refund for Withdrawal due to Non-Delivery of course

The PEI will notify the Student within three (3) working days upon knowledge of any of the following:

(i) It does not commence the Course on the Course Commencement Date;

(ii) It terminates the Course before the Course Commencement Date;

(iii) It does not complete the Course by the Course Completion Date;

(iv) It terminates the Course before the Course Completion Date;

(v) It has not ensured that the Student meets the course entry of matriculation requirement as set by the organisation stated in Schedule A (in the Student Contract) within any stipulated timeline set by CPE;

The Student should be informed in writing of alternative study arrangements (if any), and also be entitled to a refund of the entire Course Fees and Miscellaneous Fees already paid should the Student decide to withdraw, within thirty (30) working days of the above notice.

Refund for Withdrawal Due to Other Reasons:

If the Student withdraws from the Course for any reason other than those stated in Clause 2.1, the PEI will, within thirty (30) working days of receiving the Student’s written notice of withdrawal, refund to the Student an amount based on the table in Schedule D (in the Student Contract).

Refund during Cooling-Off period:

The PEI will provide the Student with a cooling-off period of seven (7) working days after the date that the Contract has been signed by both parties.

The Student will be refunded with the highest percentage (stated in Schedule D in the Student Contract) of the fees already paid if the Student submits a written notice of withdrawal to the PEI within the cooling-off period, regardless of whether the Student has started the course or not.

Refund Table

*Course Commencement Date refers to actual date whereby the student commences his/her first term of studies and not subsequent terms start date

Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) via Industry-Wide Course Fee Protection Scheme (IWC)

The Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) serves to protect student’s fees in the event a private education institution is unable to continue operating due to insolvency, and/or regulatory closure. The Fee Protection Scheme also protects students if the private education institution fails to pay penalty or return fees to the students arising from judgment made against it by the Singapore courts.

Students enrolled in courses that are either 50 hours and below or less than 1 month in duration are exempted from the FPS.

CPE registered private education institutions are required to adopt the Fee Protection Scheme to provide full protection to all fees paid by their students. All fees refer to all monies paid by the students to be enrolled in a private education institution, excluding the course application fee, agent commission fee (if applicable), miscellaneous fees (non-compulsory and non-standard fee paid only when necessary or where applicable, for example, the re-moderation fee.

Inspiration Design International School has chosen to adopt the IWC scheme to provide protection to all its students.

For more information on the Fee Protection Scheme, please visit the Committee for Private Education website at www.cpe.gov.sg.

STAFF AND STUDENT SUGGESTION AS FEEDBACK

Inspiration encourages staff and students to submit constructive feedback regularly for improvement of the school services.

The following flowchart provides the procedure to facilitate staff and student suggestion:

NOTE:

• These policies can be found in the SSC, the school’s website and the Student Handbook. The policies will be explained to students at the point of entering into a contractual agreement between the school and the student, as well as during the orientation.
• Agents representing Inspiration Design International School are required to explain the policies to the students in their native language where necessary.

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ISSUANCE OF ACADEMIC CERTIFICATE

The certificate will only be issued upon the student’s graduation from the school with an overall pass in all his/her assessments, and no further outstanding financial obligation(s) are to be settled. The certificate will be withheld if outstanding fee payment(s) with regard to the student’s studies are not promptly settled.

A student will be deemed to have completed a course when he/she has successfully met all the academic requirements. Upon successful completion of the course as stated in their Student Contract, the student will then be awarded the relevant certificate.

A student may also have his/her certificate withheld/withdrawn under the following circumstances*:

1. Plagiarism of assessment work(s) is suspected
2. Exhibition of behavior/action(s) that is deemed to tarnish the reputation or may threaten to bring disrepute to the school
3. Failure to complete the course as stipulated in their Student Contract
4. Failure to attend the school graduation ceremony

*This list is non-exhaustive, and the school’s Academic and Examination Board will have the final say on whether the certificate will be awarded.