Protection of Student Fees  |  Withdrawal & Refund Policies


Protection of Student Fees

All course fees for NZ EFTS and International students enrolled on South Seas full time courses are paid directly into or are transferred (in the case of student loans received by the institution on behalf of the students) into a separate fully audited Student Fee Protection Trust Account.  The only person who can access the funds held on this trust account is the Independent Trustee who acts on behalf of the enrolled students.

• The Independent Trustee is not involved in the management of the School and provides an attestation affirming the correct operation of the trust account as required under the Education Act 1989, and the guidelines for operation of trust accounts as set out in the New Zealand Qualifications Authority 1995 publication Registration of Training Establishments.
• The Trustee is provided with a remittance schedule for each student enrolment that details payment of fees to the School.  The schedule will calculate weeks of tuition payable to the School for each month of tuition completed.
• The School prepares and provides the Trustee with a cash flow that is based on the student remittance schedules and includes a total fortnightly payment schedule.  The Trustee checks and sign off this cash flow before commencing any payments.  Any alterations or variations to the approved cash flow must be submitted in writing and formally approved by the Trustee.
• The approved payments are made retrospectively fortnightly, when the scheduled course delivery that they relate to has been completed.
• The School, on a fortnightly basis, provides the Trustee with a written report verifying the continued enrolment of all the students included in the remittance schedule.
• A copy of the approved cash flow and monthly bank statements to verify the approved draw-down is made available for students or their representatives to inspect if they wish to do so.

South Seas Film and Television School Trustee:
Virginia Gomes
VGA Chartered Accountants Limited
Unit G12 The Zone
23 Edwin Street
Mt Eden
Auckland
Ph: 64 9 638-8736
Email: vgomes@ihug.co.nz

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Withdrawal & Refund Policies

All requests for withdrawal from a course must be made in writing (email is suitable).

In order to comply with the 1989 Education Act, all prepaid tuition fees are held in a trust account.  (See Protection of Student Fees section for more details.)  Any refund will be facilitated to the student via the Independent Trustee. 

Diploma Courses
Section 235 & 235A of the Education Act allows that any student that withdraws within the refund period of a course (which is longer than three months in duration) will be eligible for a total refund of any fees paid, less an administration charge of $500 or 10% of the total course fees, whichever is the lesser. 
Students withdrawing after the refund period of the course will not be eligible for any refund.  Students withdrawing before a course has started will be eligible for a total refund of any fees paid less an administration charge of $50. The refund period for students studying a Diploma qualification at South Seas is the first 10 working days of the qualification.

Short Courses
Courses up to and including four weeks’ duration
Where the student withdraws from the course, and notifies the School in writing, one working day or more prior to the course commencing, they will be eligible for a total refund of any fees paid, less an administration charge of $50.  Students withdrawing after this period will not be eligible for any refund.

Courses five weeks or more but less than three months’ duration
Where the student withdraws from the course, and notifies the School in writing three working days or more prior to the course commencing, they will be eligible for a total refund of any fees paid, less an administration charge of $50. Students withdrawing after this period will not be eligible for any refund.

Payment of Accounts
Accounts for fees and expenses owing to the School are required to be paid by the due date.  The School reserves the right to withdraw services until outstanding accounts have been met.  End of year academic records are held until students’ accounts have been settled in full.

Payment by Installments
In exceptional circumstances, provided that South Seas agrees, students can pay tuition fees by installments.

Late Payments
South Seas reserves the right to charge interest on any amount outstanding, at the due date, at 5% per annum calculated daily from the due date to the date of payment.
 

• Fees must be paid by the due deadlines. Penalty fees will be charged for late payments.
• In order to comply with the 1989 Education Act all prepaid tuition fees are held on a trust account. Section 236A (1)(d) of the Education Act allows that any student that withdraws within the first 8 days of a course (that is longer than 3 months in duration) receives a total refund of their fees less an administration charge of $500.00 or 10%, whichever is the lesser. Students withdrawing before a course has started will receive a total refund of their fees less an administration charge of $50.00. Students withdrawing after this period will not be eligible for any refund.
• All courses are open to persons aged 17 years or older in the case of domestic students and aged 18 years or over for international students. All students must provide a copy of the certificate achieved by successfully completing a full course of secondary education in their home country (for domestic students this is NCEA or higher). International students whose first language is not English need to have completed an IELTS test (general level) and achieved Band 7 or higher to specialise in Directing and Band 6 or higher for all other courses. The school reserves the right to select for admission only those applicants who are considered suitable for a particular course. Successful applicants for our 1 year full time courses will be required to provide the school with statistical information in order to comply with the Ministry of Education 1989 Education Act requirements.
• Students must respect and handle with care all the facilities and equipment utilised on any courses. All damages or loss caused by any student(s) negligence or misuse will be charged to the student(s) concerned. Students must maintain a reasonably neat and tidy appearance. They are also expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner at all times especially when working on location and dealing with the public.
• Students must adhere to the smoking ban in all school premises. Students must not consume or supply any alcohol or drugs (not medically supplied) while engaged in any school activities either at school or out in the field. Any serious misconduct on the part of a student will result in expulsion at the discretion of the administration with no tuition fees refunded.
• Students are expected to attend all lessons and be punctual. A minimum attendance record of 90% is compulsory. Students must acquaint themselves with the written, detailed course curriculum, skill specialisation requirements and course assessment criteria.
• All programme material and content (including but not limited to graphic, photographic, video, audio, multimedia, New Media or other material created during the course) produced by the students throughout the duration of a course and utilising school equipment, facilities and resources will become and remain the property of the school, with copyright held by the school and all rights reserved. Students must only use programme music from the production music library which is covered by the school’s copyright license.
• Students must not promise on behalf of the school or commit the school to any financial expenditure or supply of equipment, facilities, materials, supplies, or any other resources whatsoever without express written approval. During the course of any production work that is recorded on location away from the school, Students must always carry their I/D’s and clearly identify themselves to everyone they come into contact with.
• Students must adhere at all times to all of the school’s safety procedures.
• Film & Television Students are advised that if they don’t already possess a current driving licence then they should take steps to do so prior to the end of a course. Unblemished driving licences are an essential pre-requisite in the Industry.
• No applications (including but not limited to shareware and freeware) may be loaded onto any school computer without the express permission of the school’s IT Manager. Under no circumstances may any illegal (including but not limited to passwords, hacks, cracks, warez, or virus’) or pornographic (as defined by New Zealand law) material be downloaded using the Schools internet connection or computers.
• Any graphic, photographic, video, audio, multimedia, New Media or other material created during the course and featuring any of the students as well as any material and details regarding the subsequent employment and career developments of students will be available on an ongoing basis for the school to use for any advertising and promotional purposes.

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