Getting a Tuition Fee Refund from a University

[AxelManbow]

My complaint may be typical, or less typical, not very sure. Having searched a few key words I couldn't find a similar issue, so here goes:

Enrolled in a typicalish uni course that started in September, paid tuition for the whole academic year. Since then I've been consistently under-impressed by the course.

I won't go into boring detail about my complaints, they are typical of those that friends in other universities have complained of: no course structure other than following several books whose content do not reinforce one other, one good teacher but more poor ones.

We're supposed to learn how to speak, listen, read and write yet to this day I've had no written exercises (other than pointlessly easy fill in the gap), little correction in oral classes and no discussion in listening classes.

What really got my nerve from day one was paying 300 kuai in book fees for books I could have purchased in Xinhua bookstore for 120 kuai, the course seemed to set out in the way it was heading (a cash cow) from day one.

Few classmates will complain, late teens and early twenties from cultures where not questioning is normal. Those of that will are a handful. My experience is similar to friends in all universities in this city.

I know what to do: find a good teacher, interview them on how to teach well and then keep pushing and demanding strict treatment from them. I have found a good teacher that is prepared not to pull their punches, be client focused, and demand good stuff. I have friends decicated to learning as fast as possible. My visa is a non issue.

Therefore, does anyone have any experience or ideas for getting their money back from a typically mediocre university program (for the coming semester which hasn't started yet)?

[mr.stinky]

probably can't get your money back, i'm sure they have a no-refunds disclaimer

somewheres.

probably the best you can do is use next semester's tuition for tutoring.

[adrianlondon]

I went to BNU. Their conditions say if you pay for an entire year (two semesters) and then change your mind for whatever reason after you've started the first one, they'll refund the second seemster's fees no questions asked.

I don't remember if there was a time limit on that though as it's now quite far into the first semester; so much so that the application deadline for new students to start studying next semester will have passed.

[roddy]

This is something I've been considering also. However my visa is with the school, so I'd either have to transfer somewhere else - and likely hit the same problems - or do a visa run to Hong Kong, which would eat up a big chunk of any money I retrieved. Add in the inevitable extra hassle and I'm finding that inertia wins.

I wouldn't rule out your chances of getting some money back though, and if you don't need to worry about visa concerns then it would be worth doing. I'd go in one day and ask what 'normally' happens to tuition fees if a student leaves for whatever reason and see what, if any, circumstances they have refunded money under. Hopefully they'll take the hint and be reasonable, especially if you say you'll just disappear from the school and not tell anyone you got a refund - a major concern for them will be the possibility of starting a trend. If they're not budging you could start citing your problems with the classes and . . . well, basically just restating your case until they get bored of you and give you some money to go away.

See here for one poster's attempts to get money back out of BLCU - I think she succeeded.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[orangutan]

It may well be different at your uni but at BNU the rules are very clear. I am going through the same process at the moment. If you tell BNU by 15th December that you will not study there for the following semester then they refund all your fees. If you tell them after that, I think it's 50% or 70%. The catch is that because I originally enrolled for a year I got a one-year student visa. They say are not allowed to refund your fees until you change your visa. They can get this done for you if you give them your passport and pay about 480RMB - the new expiry date on my visa should be around February 7. So now I need to get a F visa to stay in China after this. You may face this problem too.

[roddy]

Curious as to whether or not you got anywhere with this, any chance of an update?