Student/IR Student School Policies

Admission Criteria

In order to be admitted to the General English and IELTS programme students must have a minimum level requirement of A2 /A2+. They must also be in the possession of the appropriate visa and relevant documentation.

Punctuality

It is essential that students taking this course are punctual when attending classes as late arrivals may miss part of the lesson in hand. Lessons cannot be delayed to cater for late

arrivals. However, they may be able to arrange a time with their teacher so that they can catch up. Students who are late will not be allowed to enter the class after 15 minutes of

the class starting  or leaving 15 minutes early are marked absent for that block. Absence is recorded by the teacher and reported to the DOS.

Absenteeism and Expulsion

Students who are feeling unwell must contact the school by email (info@donegallanguageschool.com) or by text on 087 0518592.

Students on Internationalisation Register courses are required to attend a minimum of 85% of classes. If the student is absent without a medical certificate, any absence will

be calculated re his/her attendance percentage. Attendance is calculated on a weekly basis. Any student who is near to the minimum allowed is advised of this by the school

manager.

If a student is absent for 2 weeks or longer, s/he will be required to see the Director of Studies and take the placement test again on return. DELS reserves the right to suspend or expel any student who does not fulfil their visa requirements.  Further details are available either from administration upon request, or directly from the GNIB website.  Students attendance and grade records are readily available.

Should a student be absent through illness or for any other reason, a copy of class notes/ materials will be given to them on attendance. If the student requires a one to one session

to cover what they have missed, this can be arranged at the students’ expense as these sessions will not be included in the overall tuition fees.

Holidays/Breaks

With the exception of weekends, holidays/breaks as in compliance with the Department of Justice , no unscheduled breaks are permitted except in documented cases of illness or close family bereavement.  All requests for unscheduled leave must be submitted to the DOS. These are then kept on record.

Copies of class notes/materials will be provided on their return. If students require one- to-one sessions to cover what they have missed, these can be arranged at their expense as

these sessions will not be included in the overall fees.

End of Programme Exam Entry

The students on the General English and  IELTS programme are informed before entry that they are required to sit an official end of course examination (IELTS).  We are responsible for registration for said exam.  12 weeks before the completion of the course, students are given the application form and all relevant information pertaining to the exam.  Teachers assist the students in completing the application form within one week.  These are then gathered by the DOS who ensures that all application forms have been received and correctly filled in. The forms are then sent to the examination centre, which then liaises with both ourselves and the students to confirm the dates and times of the oral and written test.Once the students sit the exam, the examining body sends a copy of the results to the student and ourselves.  All results are kept on file and entered into the final progress report. The student signs the agreement stating that they understand the exam is mandatory and agree that they will sit the exam. This document is available for inspection in respect of each student. We expect all registered students to sit the end of course exam, however, in some extreme cases such as illness, hospitalisation etc, this may not be possible.  In such cases, we endeavour to reregister to student in question for the exam at a later date.

Student Welfare

At DELS, we want our students to get the very best out of their time spent with us. We want them to look back on their period of study as one which was not only successful

in promoting their language learning skills, but also rewarding on a personal and social level. We have a range of services to provide advice, support, encouragement and pastoral care

including an open door policy. Help and advice are provided to all students when it comes to such things as finding accommodation, opening a bank account, gaining access to medical services

and finding employment etc.

Each student is assigned a coordinator who helps the student  to ensure the smooth transition into daily life at DELS. Each student also meets the DOS, school manager and head

coordinator, who reassure the students as to their accessibility should any issues arise.

The coordinators are on hand 24/7 and DELS provides all students with an emergency contact number which is 087 0518592.This number is accessible 24 hours a day.

Medical Insurance

You can get insurance either in Ireland or in your own country. It’s important to make sure that the policy you buy will be accepted by the department of Immigration in Ireland. If you choose to, you can buy your Insurance directly from the school. It costs €125 for one year. This insurance policy is provided by O’Driscoll & O’Neill Insurance Company.

Visa Information

 If you are from the EEA, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland or Switzerland then you do not need a visa to come to Ireland. For the rest of the world, there are two lists for the

purposes of student visas – those who need to obtain a visa before travelling to Ireland and those who will validate their visa once in Ireland. To check your visa status go to

www.dfa.ie.

The process for non EU members is:

• If you are coming from a non-EU country you should apply to your nearest Irish

Embassy in order to obtain a student visa.

• We will send you a letter of confirmation for your chosen course which you may

submit to the Irish Embassy along with your other documentation.

• Letters of confirmation are issued on receipt of your initial payment.
• DELS will provide help and support to students on any issues pertaining to immigration. Our head coordinator will be on hand to assist students with any issues they may have.
• In the event of your visa into Ireland being refused all fees will be refunded less

a €150 handling charge. This is subject to the school being notified a minimum of

14 days before arrival.

Cancellation/ Refund Policies

• Cancellation up to 14 days before course commencement.  The full amount will be refunded less €150.
• Cancellation 7 – 14 days before course commencement: 50%, of course fee will be refunded.
• Cancellation less than 7 days before course commences  no refund will be issued.
• After commencement of course: No refund will be provided.
• There is no refund of fees for days missed during the course or for late arrival or early departure.
• Should a student have to cut short his stay for a valid medical reason only, the remaining fees will be refunded or credited (subject to a minimum deduction of 25%).
• Students opting for a less intensive program after the commencement of course will not receive a refund.
• Accommodation payments are non-refundable.

Student Protection in the event the premature cessation of a course

As a member of MEI we are in agreement with their Learner Protection Policy. As a result of this, should one of our programmes end prematurely our students are guaranteed that they will be able to complete the language course for which they are enrolled in another MEI registered school.

 Complaints Procedure

We take student welfare very seriously at DELS. Students fill out a weekly feedback form. The questionnaire covers all aspects of the students stay. This helps us deal with any issues that may have arisen promptly. We also have an exit feedback form which all students fill out. This is more detailed and helps us maintain high standards throughout. The feedback is then reviewed by management.  We have that the feedback from our clients has helped us to learn and grow as an institution.

The importance of customer care is covered in the induction programme.  We see the below customer service skills as the key to ensuring client welfare.

If a complaint is received.  It is dealt with in detail, quickly and promptly by the relevant department.

Making a complaint

Clients can make a complaint in person, via email or by post.  Once a complaint is received it is passed to the relevant department.  It is then entered into our Complaints Action Sheet.  This sheet is accessible by all departments

Accommodation – Accommodation manager

Academic Studies – DOS

Activities – H.C

All other queries – Director

A complaint is answered within 48 hours.  If the matter is not resolved within this time.  The client is notified as to who is dealing with it, what is being done to resolve the situation and when they should expect to have the matter resolved.

The information on the Complaint Action Sheet is then reviewed in management meetings to ensure that we learn from any mistakes and that they don’t happen again.

Grievance Procedure

Students who believe they have been treated unfairly at DELS are encouraged to discuss the issue with their teacher in an effort to resolve the issue. Such discussion should take place as soon as practical. Discussion between the student and the teacher does not necessarily constitute a step in the grievance process. The student and the teacher may reach a resolution that is acceptable to them both without launching a formal grievance process. If such mutually satisfactory resolution is not reached, students have the right to file a grievance and should follow the procedures described below.

1. The student must first contact the office in writing and explain the particular grievance within two weeks of the incident. The director should respond to the student within 7 working days of receiving the student’s complaint and schedule a meeting with the student if necessary. The student must clearly explain the nature of the dispute and attach copies of all relevant materials.
2. The Grievance Committee will consider the appeal. The student has the option of appearing before the Committee if they so request.
3. If the Committee judges the treatment to have been reasonable, a statement shall be drafted stating that an appeal had been made and outlining the reasons for the rejection of the appeal.
4. If the Committee recommends treatment not to have been satisfactory, a document will be drafted stating the reasons for the recommendation and specifying the recommended changes. If these efforts fail, the Committee will state its findings in a letter that is placed in the DELS grievance file, and in the student’s files. The student will also receive a copy of the letter.
5. The Committee will notify the student in writing of the final decision. At this point, there shall be no further hearing of the matter within DELS