My son is at aviation school and they want to expel him because of poor exam results. Can they do this?
I enrolled in a course that the provider said would meet my needs. After one semester it was clear that the course was NOT meeting my needs. Now they say that they do not offer what I want. Can I get my course fees refunded?
My son is at an aviation school and they want to exclude him because of poor exam results. Can they do this?
This is quite a common rule for university and other tertiary courses. Students need to pass a number of required courses to get their degree, and if they can’t achieve a pass in these courses, they can be excluded for a set period of time. Being excluded means that a student will not be able to continue studying at the tertiary institute until the exclusion is over.
The rules can be strict, especially with a course dealing with something like aviation. The exact terms for exclusion depend on the course and the institution, so it’s best to talk to the course coordinator about what options there are, to see if there is anything that can be done to assist your son with his course work and enable him to stay on the course.
To see the rules about the minimum academic standards that must be achieved, look at the website of the institution. For example, here are the rules from Massey University- Massey has a school of aviation.
I enrolled in a course that the provider said would meet my needs. After one semester it was clear that the course was NOT meeting my needs. Now they say that they do not offer what I want. Can I get my course fees refunded?
You need to talk to the particular course advisor about this issue- some places may refund you. Their decision will be based on your circumstances- who you talked to about choosing the right course, what exactly your needs are, when you pulled out of the course, and the university or course policy.
If you have approached the university or course already and you can’t reach an agreement with them, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is a person appointed by parliament to make independent investigations into complaints made by the public about government-owned organisations like tertiary education institutes. For more information about how to complain to the Ombudsman see this pamphlet.
If your course provider is not government-owned, and it is a tertiary level course, you can file a complaint with the Quality Commission. The Quality Commission is an organisation set up by the Association of Private Education Providers to maintain public trust in private tertiary education institutes. For more information on how to complain see the Quality Commission's website.
You can also call your local CAB office on 0800 367 222 for more specific advice.