Coronavirus – Frequently Asked Questions

You can find the latest health and travel advice on the UK government website. We advise that you check this regularly before making any travel plans as this is an evolving situation and advice is constantly changing.

The official updates from the UK government provide the latest health advice and information on how to help prevent the spread of infection in the UK.

View the UK government’s information for the public on the coronavirus.

On 18 March 2020 the UK government announced that schools and colleges would close from Monday 23 March as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

As a result, our UK International Study Centres and Bellerbys Colleges closed on 20 March 2020 with all teaching and learning continuing online until further notice.

In light of the current situation within the UK, you should not make any arrangements to travel to the UK at this time.

We have taken a decision to close all our International Study Centres and Colleges with all teaching and learning continuing online until further notice.

We are asking all students to continue to monitor their emails on a regular basis. We will regularly provide tailored instructions to support students in continuing their studies online.

1. Confirm your place on your course in the usual way.
2. We will contact you before you are due to begin your studies to provide information about the online alternative available to you.
3. Let us know that you would like to proceed with your studies online by the specified deadline.
4. We will register you for your course and you will receive further instructions on how to access our online learning environment to begin your studies.

Check the technical requirements for online study to make sure that you’re prepared to begin studying online before your programme starts.

UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) have issued guidance permitting international students to begin their studies online from their home country without requiring a visa.
This means that we can now accept the following range of English proficiency tests, for you to begin your studies online:

• IELTS Academic or General (UKVI or non UKVI)
• TOEFL iBT
• Pearson PTE
• Language Cert
• Cambridge PET
• Cambridge Business Preliminary (BEC)
• Duolingo
• Password
• Trinity ISE I

We can also accept the following High School English grades if the grade has been achieved in the past 24 months:

• IGCSE/O Level English
• AS/A Level English
• IB English
• American High School Diploma English
• WAEC, WASSCE, NECO English
• KCSE English
• SPM English
• HKDSE English

Please note: Your English test results must meet the minimum English equivalency score for entry to your chosen study programme. When teaching transitions from online to on-campus delivery, you will need to obtain a UKVI Secure English Language Test (SELT) for visa purposes before you can travel to the UK to continue your studies.

Due to the current travel restrictions, UK Visas and Immigration have issued new guidance permitting international students to begin their studies online from their home country without requiring a visa. This means that you do not require a CAS to start your course online.

If you successfully complete your course of online study, a new CAS will be issued to enable you to make your Tier 4 visa application when travel restrictions have been lifted.

If you have not already been issued a CAS; we will not issue a CAS for you to apply for your Tier 4 visa while travel restrictions are in place. You do not require a CAS to start your course online.

If you have already been issued a CAS; we will withdraw the CAS that we recently issued to you which means you will no longer be able to use it to apply for your Tier 4 visa. You do not require a CAS to start your course online.

If you have already been issued a visa and are no longer travelling to the UK; you must inform us so that we can update your visa status with UK Visas and Immigration.

If your visa application is still pending an outcome; you should contact the visa application centre to withdraw your visa application.

If you decide to withdraw from your studies after 21 days*, you will not be eligible for a full refund of fees paid in advance. For further details, please refer to the Terms and Conditions page on our website.We are committed to working with every student on the options to continue studying with us. You will be encouraged to continue with your course, where possible, by online delivery.

If you choose to join our online classes you will have a 21-day introductory period* to allow you to decide if this is the right mode of study for you.

If, after the 21 day introductory period you choose not to continue your studies online you have two options available. You can choose to your defer your place to a future intake, or you can choose to cancel your place.

• If you choose to defer your place, we will work with you to find an alternative study plan so you can begin your studies at the next available intake that offers on-campus teaching in your chosen study destination. If we are unable to find an alternative study plan for you, we will refund the balance of your tuition fees.
• If you choose to cancel your place, our usual cancellation and refund policy will apply. This will have been provided to you when you confirmed your place.

If you have already booked accommodation in preparation for your studies;

• If you booked your accommodation independently, you are liable to your accommodation provider for fulfilling your accommodation contract. Please contact your accommodation provider directly for further information.
• If you booked your accommodation via Study Group, the refund policy will apply and the balance of your accommodation fees will be refunded.

*Our 21-day money back satisfaction offer is available provided you have an online attendance level of 80% or more

We are committed to working with every student on the options to continue studying with us and you will be encouraged to continue with your course, where possible, by online delivery.

Online learning will be made available to:

• Confirmed students who have already arrived in the UK and are unable to attend face-to-face classes
• Confirmed students who remain in their home country due to government health guidance and/or travel restrictions.

We are working closely with online learning experts to ensure we are leading innovation for the benefit of our students. We intend to provide the same high quality teaching and personal support in our online courses as we would on our campuses.

Teaching, learning and student support will involve some 'live' sessions with your teacher. We will ensure that these sessions are delivered at a time of day which is suitable for the various time-zones of the students in your class.

Most teaching will be delivered through pre-recorded lessons and independent learning tasks that you can complete at a time of day that suits you.

Teachers will also be engaging with you individually in order to provide academic and pastoral support.

Technology requirements for Study Group online courses

To access virtual classroom, course materials, LMS/VLE and undertake assessments, it is important to be prepared with the appropriate technology.

Computer

While it is possible to access and interact with most course content using various tablets and smartphones, such as iPads, iPhones and Android devices, these devices will not work for assessments and therefore it is important that you have a PC or Mac based computer available for use.

PC

• Any Microsoft Windows based PC (laptop or desktop, preferably running Windows 10)
• Web Browser: Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium version)
• Webcam
• Microphone
• Installation of Zoom for Virtual Classroom

Mac

• Any Apple MacOS based laptop or desktop
• Web Browser: Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium version)
• Webcam
• Microphone
• Installation of Zoom for Virtual Classroom

Internet Connection

Internet connectivity is required for access to all coursework. Internet connectivity could be in the form of a fixed line connection, 3G/4G/5G, wi-fi or other technologies.

Minimum: 600kbps download and 600kbps upload speed

Recommended: at least 1.5Mbps download and 1.5Mbps upload speed

Zoom Restricted Countries

Zoom is used for access to virtual classroom and is therefore an important part of all courses. Zoom is unavailable or restricted in several countries, with the full list available here. While Zoom may still work from the countries listed, individuals should test Zoom using their own equipment to ensure connectivity.

Make sure that you’re prepared to begin studying online. Download full technical requirements for online study here.

Your attendance will be monitored through your engagement with online learning activities. You will be expected to engage with all course activities provided to you.

• Assessments will be held online via coursework submissions. We use Turnitin software which scans for plagiarism and other forms of academic impropriety.
• There may be some skills that we can't assess online such as practical lab skills and we are looking at alternatives for students impacted by this. As government travel guidance is changing regularly, we will provide more guidance on assessments and exams relating to specific programmes of study in due course. These will be in line with approaches taken by our university partners and, as appropriate, with guidance that is due to be issued by the UK government’s Department for Education.

Currently, there has been no change made to this aspect of our programmes. Students will continue to work towards the same targets, and we will be supporting you to achieve these through online sessions.

On successful completion of your programme you will of course be supported in your transition to degree programme studies at your chosen university.