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Chinese Courses 

F.A.Q.
About Us 
Student Terms and Conditions

The following is terms and conditions of students studying at The Sinology Institute or mmMandarin.

Student Conduct

Attitudes towards a number of issues can be different in China when compared to a student's home nation. It is extremely important that students are polite and respectful at all times and students must conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of P.R. China.

 

If a student is disrespectful to the school or to a teacher or staff member, or is physically or verbally abusive, or is found to have broken the laws of the P.R. China, that student will forfeit all classes purchased and will cease to be a student at the school and will not be eligible for a refund of any kind. In this circumstance, if a student is staying in China with a visa sponsored by the school, the school reserves the right to withdraw visa support and the student's visa will be terminated.

Refund Policy

We do not offer refunds under normal circumstances. Situations where we would offer a refund would only include those where we are unable to provide classes.

 

If a student wishes to apply for a refund, they should submit an application in writing stating the reasons that they request a refund.

 

In all cases where a student is applying for a refund because they do not have a visa, the student shall be eligible for a refund of up to 90%. A 10% fee shall be kept by the school to cover administration costs and courier fees. The student must apply in their home nation to be eligible for a refund. Students may be able to apply in other countries, but the school only officially supports students who are applying in their home nation or in a nation where they have legal permanent residence granted in their passport. As a result, in order to qualify for a refund, a student must first proceed according to the following steps.

 

If a student is applying for an X2 Student Visa in their home nation, or in a nation where they have permanent residence granted in their passport, and is applying using documentation supplied by our school as the supporting documentation and the applicant is unsuccessful in obtaining the visa, then we reserve the right to require a student to allow us to check and confirm their documents, and then resubmit their application to the relevant Chinese Embassy or Consulate, and then we will contact the Embassy or Consulate and attempt to understand if there is any issue and, if possible, resolve any issue so that the student can successfully obtain their visa.

 

If a student is applying for an X2 Student Visa in their home nation, or in a nation where they have permanent residence granted in their passport, using the school's documentation, and is denied the visa, and requests a refund from the school, the school will either issue a refund directly, or the school will require the student to allow the school to check and confirm all documentation, then the student will re-submit the documentation at the visa centre, and then the school will contact the visa centre or Embassy/Consulate and confirm the reason for the visa being denied. The school will then either accept that the visa is not going to be granted and will issue a refund the student the course fees already paid minus a 10% administration charge, or the school will make arrangements for supporting documentation to be provided so that the visa may be granted (at the school's discretion). In the event that the student is required to attend an interview or provide supporting documentation in order for the visa to be granted, the student will need to provide this documentation or attend an interview before the application will deemed unsuccessful and the student deemed eligible for a refund.

 

In all cases, the school will make every effort to ensure that our students' visa is granted without issue. Students must also cooperate with the visa application process and provide documentation if required in order to be eligible for a refund in the event that their application is denied.

Lesson Length

Where documentation may refer to one hour of class or a one hour lesson, this refers to 50 minutes of teaching time with a 10 minute break, usually at the end of the class. This is to allow teachers and students to have an amount of personal time on a regular basis throughout the day, as well as to allow teachers and students to begin their next class on time.

Group Classes

There are no catch up classes for missed group classes. Classes will run according to the class timetable and on a regular basis unless the class falls on an official Chinese public holiday, or if the school agrees to reschedule a class. The school reserves the right to add students of a similar language level to your group at any time or to re-form classes where only one student is continuing from one group and it would be appropriate for that student to join another group at the same or similar level.

Lessons will not overrun if a student is late, and the teacher is not obliged to begin a class early if a student requests it, however may agree to do so if both the student and the teacher are happy to do so.

 

Single student policy

Where only one student has registered for an intensive group course, the course will still run but the number of hours per day will be reduced to 3 hours instead of 4.

Where only one student has registered for a regular group course, the course will run normally for 4 hours per week.

Flexible Private Classes

The validity period for Flexible Private lessons depends on the amount of lessons purchased in that time.

 

Purchases of less than 50 lessons are valid for 6 months unless otherwise stated.

Purchases of between 50 and 99 lessons are valid for 9 months unless otherwise stated.

Purchases of over 100 lessons are valid for one year, or unless otherwise stated.

 

After lessons have passed their validity date, the lessons will be considered the same as having been delivered and the student will be required to purchase further lessons in order to continue studying.

In the event that a student purchases lessons whilst still having remaining class hours, the oldest lessons (lessons with the closest expiry date) will be considered to be taken first when the student attends classes. This means when calculating how many class hours a student has remaining, the school will always deduct lessons with the shortest validity to ensure that lessons will always be valid for the longest amount of time possible.

 

If a student cancels class less than 24 hours in advance there will be a 100% cancellation fee. If a student cancels class and gives more than 24 hours prior notice, the lesson will not be deducted from that student's remaining class hours and the student and teacher will be free to rearrange that lesson for as long as it remains valid.

Medical and Travel Insurance

All students at the school will be expected to take out any medical and/or travel insurance as is required whilst they study at the school.

 

The school does not provide medical insurance or travel insurance for students and neither the school, nor any staff at the school, will pay for medical expenses that are incurred whilst you are in China. Similarly, it is the student's responsibility to take out travel insurance and ensure that they take care of all their belongings whilst they are in China. Neither the school, not any staff of the school, will be responsible for any loss or damage incurred by a student, whether they are a current student, a prospective student, or a past student.