Terms & Conditions

We at Oxford House College (through our work placements officer) will do our best to arrange a work placement for you, within the Terms & Conditions laid out in this document. Please read these carefully and make sure that you understand them completely before signing. In order to be accepted on this programme you must agree to the following:

1. Fees

(a) Work placements will not be arranged for any applicant who has an outstanding balance with Oxford House College.

(b) In the case of students who apply for a work placement as part of the ‘Vocational Programme plus Work Placement’ or the ‘Degree Programme plus Work Placement’, Oxford House College requires confirmation of payment towards the final stage of the relevant vocational/degree course on the part of the student in order to be able to finalise the work placement. For example, students of the BA (Hons) in Business Studies course are required to make a payment towards the BA (Hons) Top Up course before their work placement can be finalised.

(c) In the case of students who apply for a work placement as part of the ‘Vocational Programme plus Work Placement’ or the ‘Degree Programme plus Work Placement’, such students can only take the work placement as part of a sandwich course (i.e. between the International Advanced Diploma and the final year Top Up). In other words, such students are not allowed to take the work placement as a stand-alone option.

(d) In the case of students who have gained direct admission to the final year of any degree programme offered by Oxford House College (on the basis of their previous qualifications/experience), such students are not allowed to take a work placement.

2. Interviews

(a) All students will be interviewed by Oxford House College (through our work placements officer) in the first instance. Usually this interview will be carried out over the telephone. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the contact details received by Oxford House College for that student are correct and up to date. In the event that the student is not contacted by Oxford House College (through our work placements officer) at the relevant time, the student is required to contact Oxford House College at least 4 weeks prior to the commencement date of the work placement, so that we can rectify the problem. In the event that the student fails to do so, the commencement date of the work placement may be delayed (as we usually require a period of at least 4 weeks in order to arrange a suitable work placement).

(b) Applicants are required to attend an interview with a prospective host organisation before being accepted for a work placement. In the event that an applicant’s interview is unsuccessful Oxford House College undertakes to arrange a maximum of two additional interviews. In the event that both of these subsequent interviews are unsuccessful without a valid reason he/she shall be withdrawn from the work placement programme and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable. However, where necessary Oxford House College shall offer said applicant an alternative educational programme (such as an English language course of 12 weeks duration) in order to cover the period in which said applicant was due to undertake the work placement programme.

(c) Oxford House College reserves the right to exclude an applicant from the work placement programme in the event that his/her interview arranged by Oxford House College is unsuccessful by reason of one or more of the following:

• The applicant declines an offer of a work placement on the ground that the salary offered by the prospective host organisation (if any) is insufficient.
• The applicant is not offered a work placement as a result of misconduct during the interview arranged by Oxford House College.
• The applicant is late for or fails to attend the interview arranged by Oxford House College without notifying the host organisation or Oxford House College‘s work placement officer in advance.

(d) Oxford House College asks applicants to select 2 preferred sectors in which they would like to work and to avoid being overly specific in such selection. In the event that an applicant declines an offer of a work placement within one of these chosen sectors on the ground that the sector is unacceptable to him/her, Oxford House College reserves the right to exclude said applicant from the work placements programme.

(e) Oxford House College undertakes to arrange no more than one suitable work placement per student, per course.

3. Cancellations/Refunds

(a) Once finalised, applicants may not refuse to undertake a work placement. In the event that an applicant refuses to undertake a finalised work placement, all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable.

(b) In the event that an applicant withdraws from a work placement at any stage after its commencement but prior to its completion, Oxford House College shall not arrange another work placement and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable. The only exception to this will be where there may have been exceptional circumstances leading to the applicant’s withdrawal. In such cases it will be at the College’s absolute discretion to deem whether or not the circumstances were exceptional.

(c) In the event that an applicant is excluded from a work placement as a result of their misconduct during said work placement, Oxford House College shall not arrange another work placement and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable.

(d) Oxford House College reserves the right to cancel finalised work placements in the event that an applicant’s level of English does not reach the required level within the agreed time.

(e) All successful applicants are accepted onto the work placement programme on the assumption that their student status legally entitles them to undertake said work placement programme in the UK for its entire duration. In the event that, after the commencement of a work placement, this proves not to be the case, Oxford House College shall not arrange another work placement and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable. For example, non-EU students who arrive in the UK on tourist or visiting visas are not allowed to undertake the work placement programme. It remains the responsibility of the student to confirm their eligibility to undertake the work placement programme with the relevant British Consulate or the Home Office prior to enrolling on the course.

(f) All non-EU students must select the University of Cambridge Work Experience Certificate option.

(g) All successful applicants are accepted onto the work placement programme on the assumption that their level of English is sufficient for a working environment. Generally, applicants should have an English language level of at least at Upper-Intermediate level and/or Cambridge FCE level. Oxford House College shall not accept any applicant who does not have such a level of English and, in the event that, after the commencement of a work placement, this proves not to be the case, Oxford House College shall not arrange another work placement and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable.

(h) Oxford House College reserves the right to make the final decision in every case.

4. Duties/Responsibilities of Applicants/Oxford House College

(a) Oxford House College (through our work placement officer) undertakes to monitor and assess the progress and experience of successful applicants during and after the completion of the work placement programme.

(b) It remains the responsibility of successful applicants to submit any relevant supervision reports (if applicable) during the work placement period in order to ensure that Oxford House College records are kept up to date.

(c) Oxford House College (through our work placement officer) shall stay in touch with all students on a regular basis during the entire period of their work placement.

(d) In the event that a successful applicant encounters any problems during the period of their work placement, said applicant must at first instance discuss such problems with their host organisation. In the event that such problems remain unresolved, said applicant may then contact the Work Placements Company contact provided by Oxford House College.

(e) In the case of students who are enrolled on the ‘Vocational Programme plus Work Placement’ or the ‘Degree Programme plus Work Placement’, Oxford House College shall also appoint such students a personal tutor for the entire period of their work placement. It remains the responsibility of such students to maintain regular contact with their appointed personal tutor.

(f) The appointed personal tutor may occasionally visit students on location at their work placement in order to monitor their progress. It is the responsibility of such students to co-operate during such visits.

(g) In the case of certain work placement programmes (e.g. the ‘Vocational Programme plus Work Placement’ or the ‘BSc (Hons) in Computer Systems Engineering’ etc.), students may be required to complete certain projects during the period of their work placement. It is the responsibility of such students to complete and send such projects on time to the appropriate institution(s).

(h) It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that the contact details received by Oxford House College for applicants are correct and up to date. Accordingly, it shall also be the responsibility of applicants to inform Oxford House College of any change in their contact details.

(i) Applicants shall be required to check their email correspondence on a regular basis (as all college-student communications shall be carried out via email).

5. Further Terms & Conditions

(a) Successful applicants shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the host organisation during the work placement period and must abide by all such rules and regulations.

(b) Work placements shall be regulated by UK employment law and all successful applicants shall be subject to the general terms and conditions imposed by their host organisation.

(c) Additional terms & conditions relating to programmes of study and accommodation offered by Oxford House College shall also be applicable where appropriate. For example, all students shall be subject to the general terms and conditions of admission to Oxford House College as in addition to the terms and conditions contained herein (which specifically cover the work placement programme). Students shall also be subject to the general terms and conditions imposed by the relevant awarding and validating bodies (such as universities and professional organisations).

(d) It remains the responsibility of students to maintain any memberships they may have undertaken as part of their programme of study (e.g. CTHCM membership etc.) and to pay any fees due to the professional organisation of which they are members during the work placement programme. Oxford House College shall not accept responsibility for lapses in the membership of any student as a result of non-payment of membership fees.

6. Miscellaneous

(a) In the case of students who apply for a work placement as part of a programme of study, it shall not be possible to begin said work placement earlier than scheduled by said programme of study. For example, it shall not be possible for students of the BA (Hons) in Business Studies course to begin their work placement prior to their successful completion of the International Advanced Diploma in Business.

(b) It shall be the responsibility of successful applicants to obtain any work references from their host organisations before completing their work placement. Once their work placement has been completed neither Oxford House College nor our work placement officer shall be able to help said applicants to obtain any necessary work references for them.

(c) Applicants who have attended an interview must not pass the details of either the relevant host organisation or interviewer to any third parties under any circumstances whatsoever.

(d) Successful applicants who have completed a work placement must not contact their host organisation at any time after the date of completion of their work placement.

(e) Host organisations are not obliged to offer successful applicants who have completed a work placement a permanent contract or an extension to the work placement after the date of completion of the work placement. However, certain host organisations may decide to make such an offer. In this event we advise all students to contact Oxford House College before accepting such an offer.

(f) In the case of work placements of 12 weeks duration or more, host organisations shall offer successful applicants a position for an initial probationary period. In the event that an applicant is excluded from his/her work placement during this probationary period, Oxford House College shall not be able to arrange another placement for said applicant and all fees paid by said applicant shall be non-refundable.

(g) In many cases work placements are unpaid. Accordingly, all applicants should be prepared to bear any related expenses themselves or through their sponsor during their work placement. However, in some cases the host organisation may offer to reimburse a successful applicant’s expenses and/or even pay said applicant a salary. In any case, the host organisation shall not be obliged to offer said applicant such benefits under any circumstances whatsoever.

(h) During the entire period of the work placement successful applicants must be prepared to learn how to carry out tasks through observation, as in many cases host organisations are understaffed and staff members usually do not have sufficient time available to demonstrate tasks to applicants personally. The above is common practice in most work placements and successful applicants must not expect their host organisations to provide them with one-to-one training or a structured training programme. However, many host organisations will be able to provide successful applicants with such training. In any case, host organisations shall not be obliged to provide successful applicants with such training under any circumstances whatsoever.

(i) By completing the Work Placement Application Form all applicants agree to abide by the terms and conditions contained herein as well as any other applicable terms and conditions of Oxford House College.