Refunds

On occasion students leave our network part way through the year for one reason or another (for example, international students here for a semester, students who are excluded after failing exams, are rusticated, fail to pay their fees, have a computer stolen, etc). When they leave they often ask for a pro rata refund of the Student Networking fees they've paid.

The terms and conditions of the Student Networking service address this situation directly. The Information Technology division is not obliged to give refunds after the fourteen day cooling-off period, and it is not possible to sign up for a portion of the year.  The only exception to this in the case were the University has failed to provide the service advertised.

The reason we've written our conditions in this way is that during the course of the year we make financial and infrastructure commitments based on the number of students who've signed up for the Student Network. Our budgeting processes assume that students will remain here until the end of the academic year, since this is the normal case Many of the commitments we have to make to provide this service are long term (year long, or long notice periods), and once we've made them we cannot get a refund ourselves. Thus we're simply passing on our costs in the way we incur them.

As a result we do not offer full-time students refunds whatever the circumstances.

Exchange students

When exchange students register, it is usually known in advance that they're only here for one semester. Because of this, we will consider refunds for these students (and only these students) in certain circumstances. Refunds are not guaranteed, are at our discretion, and usually depend on the exact circumstances of an individual. As a result exchange students will still be charged the full price when they sign up. Exchange students who wish to be considered for refunds must meet the following criteria:

• you must be correctly registered at the Student Bureau as an exchange student;

• you must have been registered for only one semester, the current semester;

• you must have neither previously de-registered from the Student Networking service nor exceeded the move limit;

• you need to come, in person, to our offices in Struben building together with your student card shortly before the end of the semester (we'll disconnect you from the network immediately, so you probably only want to do this when you are packing up and no longer need access);

• the network point in your residence room must still be in good repair; and

• we must not have incurred any direct expenses (installing new infrastructure, etc) on your behalf.

Note that, in order to protect you, we do not take requests for refunds telephonically or via e-mail. We also do not take future-dated requests as we need to be able to determine that you meet the criteria before we're able to authorise a refund and issue a receipt. Please come in person on the day you wish to be disconnected.

If we do agree to a refund, it will usually be calculated pro-rata until the end of the term in which you leave, as measured from the date you come and see us. In other words, if you request a refund during the second term (even if it's on the first day of the second term), we are likely to charge you for two terms worth of usage. You can expect to pay for at least one, and usually two terms worth of usage.

If we do agree to grant you a refund, please ensure you get a receipt (usually printed, but sometimes e-mailed depending on the exact circumstances) for your transaction. This is your only proof that we've agreed to the refund, and you'll need it if there are any administrative errors.

Refunds of this type usually take two to three weeks to process, so be careful of relying on them to settle an outstanding debt on your account (you may be able to use the receipt to convince other areas of the University that money is due to you). The onus on you to check your statement and ensure the transaction is completed.

Part-time postgraduate students

Certain postgraduate students registering for degrees that only require part-time attendence (usually no more than a few weeks a year) may be eligible for a discount on the normal fees provided they only make use of the wireless network. Eligibility for such a discount is at the Information Technology Division's discression and is negotiated in advance by the department concerned. In most cases such discounts apply automatically during the sign-up process.  When this happens, the standard provision of "no refunds after the cooling off period" applies.

However, for technical reasons, it is sometimes necessary to charge students who're eligible for such discounts the full rate (normally because we cannot automatically determine eligibility during sign-up). In these cases, we will provide affected students with a pro-rata refund once we receive confirmation from the department concerned.  Departments whose students are affected by this are normally aware of the situation, and should advise their students accordingly.

Students who believe this might apply to them should speak to their departmental course coordinator, rather than to the Information Technology Division.