All students are required to pay their tuition fees in line with the published liability dates provided to you with your offer letter
What will happen if I have a tuition fee debt to the University?
If you have not paid the applicable instalment of your tuition fees within 28 days of the liability date, or has not made alternative arrangements which are acceptable to the University, the University may do one or more of the following:-
- withdraw the facilities of StudyNet and Canvas, which will prevent you from accessing study materials and submissing assignments.
- withdraw you from your course. If you are an international student this means we will withdraw your visa sponsorship meaning you will have to leave the country.
- prevent you from registering to study in the next academic year.
- prevent you from registering for and attending your graduation ceremony.
- refuse to provide results or confer a University award (for international students on a Student visa this means you will not be able to apply for the Graduate Route visa).
- not examine research students and require them to leave the research programme.
- not arrange work placements for students and/or require them to leave their placement.
The University may also take more formal steps to recover any unpaid tuition fees, such as engaging a debt collection agency and/or commencing legal proceedings. If it does so, the University reserves the right to require the student to pay in addition any costs and expenses (including legal costs) reasonably incurred by the University in recovering the unpaid sums.
The University will withhold examination results but may issue such results in non-standard format to enable you to undertake any referred/deferred assessment. The University will not normally bar you from attending resit examinations, provided that arrangements have been made with Student Finance to pay your debt.
If you have withdrawn or applied to suspend your studies you will still be contacted to pay any outstanding debt. You will not be entitled to resume your studies or register to study a new course until all outstanding debt has been cleared in full.
If you are an international student on a Student visa please note that once visa sponsorship has been withdrawn it may not be reinstated even if you pay your fees and are permitted to return to study. In this case you will need to leave the UK and apply for a new visa.
What to do if you are blocked
Paying outstanding debts
The easiest way to make a payment is online. Alternative ways to make payment can be found on our website.
If you are blocked from Studynet and Canvas due to debt you should make every effort to make payment as soon as possible and the Studynet block will be subsequently lifted within a 48 hour maximum period.
- you should continue to attend classes.
- you should attend any in person assessments and/or examinations.
- you will not be able to access learning materials from Canvas and you must not contact staff to get access to these (this is part of the sanction associated with being in debt).
- you will not be able to submit assignments via Canvas or take part in online tests. You must not email assignments to staff.
- you will not be able to see your results for assessments/examinations as these are released via Canvas and you should not ask staff to let you know your results.
- if you feel unable to submit your assignment due to not being able to access learning materials during your block, then do not submit the assignment. A deferral opportunity will be automatically granted and you can submit in the next semester - you do not need to apply for this deferral if it is due to a debt block. You will see this as 'DEF' grade on your student profile following the Exam Board.
- you will not be able to apply for an extension to the assessment deadline on the grounds of the Studynet block so you will need to decide whether yo submit by the deadline or accept the automatic deferral opportunity.
**Consequences of choosing to defer your assessment rather than submit on time**
It is advisable for you to submit your assessments on time as taking the deferral will mean extra work next semester on top of your other modules.
If you are in your final year/doing your dissertation or project then deferring the submission of your assessment will mean that your graduation ceremony will be delayed. You may also incur extra living expenses.
If you are an international student on a Student visa a deferral may also put you at risk of not being able to complete your studies within your current visa duration. This may result in the need to apply for a new Student visa and/or affect your ability to apply for the Graduate Route visa. There is no guarantee you will be eligible for a new CAS. It may also affect your ability to apply for the Graduate Route visa. Please note that you cannot apply for a new CAS just to wait for your results.
You need to think through the implications of not submitting your assignments very carefully.
Support and Guidance
The University encourages any student unable to pay their tuition fees to contact the University’s Student Finance team, tuition-finance@herts.ac.uk to discuss alternative sources of funding.
For support and guidance about visas please contact SITadvice@herts.ac.uk
Herts SU is a separate organisation to the University, of which all students have membership. Herts SU Advice offers free, confidential, and impartial advice and guidance regarding how students can approach the University to resolve tuition fee debt – whilst also linking students in with other sources of support. If you would like to speak to an Adviser from Herts SU Advice, you can either complete our appointment request form or e-mail the team directly via advice@hertssu.com.
If you require emotional support, you may make contact with the University’s Counselling Service in Student Wellbeing on telephone 01707 284453 or email studentwellbeing@herts.ac.uk