1. Online English Courses and Assessments
Specialist Language Courses Ltd (SLC) owns or is licensed to use all intellectual property rights relating to the courses.
SLC retains the courses copyright and all rights therein, including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the courses in whole or in part in electronic and print editions throughout the world, in all languages and in all media of expression now known or later developed, and to license or permit others to do so. Where SLC co-owns the course copyright, this information is available on request.
Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the courses in whole or in part, in any medium, requires the written permission of the copyright holders, or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. Clients may not alter or remove any copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
If clients believe that any materials included in the courses may infringe the copyrights of another party, please contact SLC by sending a written notice describing the alleged infringement to the following address: Specialist Language Courses Ltd, Sussex Innovation Centre, Science Park Square, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9SB, UK.
A notice must include the following:
- a physical or electronic signature of the owner, or a person authorised to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly being infringed;
- identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if the claim involves multiple works, a representative list of such works;
- identification of the allegedly infringing material on the Product;
- information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, or, if available, an email address;
- a statement that the complaining party believes that use of the materials in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner; and
- a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorised to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
SLC reserves the right to update the content of the courses from time to time, in order to ensure that the content is up-to-date, for example with any changes in operational procedures or technologies.
Clients may view this course electronically. Clients may, for their personal use only, save to their individual storage medium and print such extracts from the courses as are necessary for personal learning purposes. Clients may not sell or distribute any content from the courses without the written permission of SLC.
Courses are accessible online via PC, tablet or smartphone for a set period after the client’s initial login. After purchase, clients can access the course using the code provided by SLC. Clients may purchase extended access to the courses on request.
SLC use a third party, Avallain AG, to host the courses. Clients use the Avallain website and the content at their own risk. SLC is not responsible for the running of the website, and do not guarantee that the website will provide continuous, prompt, secure or error-free service, and assume no responsibility, and shall not be liable for, any damages to or viruses that may affect users’ computer equipment or other property arising from use of the courses, including but not limited to the reproduction of the content.
SLC reserves the right to use an alternative Party to host the courses.
Any electronic links from the courses are provided for information and convenience only, and SLC has no control over and cannot therefore accept responsibility or liability for the content of any linked third-party Web site. SLC does not endorse any linked Web site.
2. Tutor-led Online Courses and Speaking Assessments
SLC’s responsibility is to provide the teaching or speaking assessment purchased by the client. There may be up to 1 calendar month between booking a course and the course commencing. This is to allow SLC reasonable time to source the best possible teacher or assessor for the course.
All trainers and assessors will be qualified and experienced English Language Teachers, with a minimum CELTA, Trinity TESOL or equivalent teaching qualification.
To postpone a lesson or assessment, 2 working days’ notice is required, otherwise the lesson or assessment will be cancelled and there will be no refund or further lesson or assessment added to the schedule. Any changes to the agreed schedule must be communicated to SLC in writing in order for confirmation to be given to the tutor. A lesson or assessment may be re-scheduled no more than 3 times in 1 course unless agreed otherwise in writing.
The tutor is required to wait 15 minutes after the agreed lesson start time. If the client arrives within this time, the remaining class time will be taught – the missed time will be forfeited.
If the tutor is late for the class for reasons beyond their control e.g technical issues, they will make up the missed time at the end of the lesson or at a time agreed by the client. All necessary effort will be made to contact the client to inform them of any delay to the class start time.
Open group English language courses are all tutor-led programmes. The schedule and hours of all courses are shown on the SLC website. Course materials used are at the discretion of SLC. Lessons are given on an online platform of SLC’s choice.
The entry level for customers joining the courses is described on the SLC website and there is a link to an online English language test to support customers in their decision to book the course. Customers may also speak to SLC to discuss their level before making a booking. SLC is not liable for a customer purchasing a course and finding that the level of the course does not meet their expectations.
Customers are expected to attend all lessons in order to make the progress expected of them. SLC does not accept any liability for any lessons missed and no refunds will be given where lessons are missed for any reason except in the case of Force Majeure.
In order for courses to run, there must be a minimum booking of 6 customers. Any exception to this is at the sole discretion of SLC. If the course does not run due to insufficient bookings, customers will receive a full refund.
The minimum age for attending a course is 18.
Where a tutor is sick or away on pre-arranged times such as a holiday, SLC will arrange cover, unless the client agrees otherwise in writing. SLC requires 2 working days to arrange a cover teacher and may therefore rearrange the schedule in agreement with the client, where SLC receives less notice.
All changes to the schedule will be communicated immediately to the clients.
- Lesson video platform: Clients should use a PC or tablet to participate in tutor-led online courses and speaking assessments.
- Lesson software: SLC uses Zoom, an award-winning web conferencing platform. Zoom works on low internet connections, both with video and audio-only. Zoom is now used and trusted by more than 180,000 companies and educational institutions around the world. Zoom is free to download and use.
- Minimum requirements:
- Browser – Chrome, Firefox, Safari 5+, Internet Explorer 7+, Opera 12+
- Operating system – Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10, OSX 10.6.8+
- Supported tablet and mobile devices: iOS, Android and Blackberry devices, Surface PRO 2 running Win 8.1
- Speakers and microphone – built-in or USB plug-in or wireless bluetooth
- A webcam or HD webcam – built in or USB plug-in
- Computer processor – any 1 Ghz single core processor or better
- Bandwidth requirements: the bandwidth used by Zoom is optimised for the best experience based on the participants’ network. It automatically adjusts for 3G, WiFi or Wired environments. Recommended bandwidth:
- For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (up/down) for HQ video and 1.2Mbps (up/down) for HD video
- For group video calling: 600kbps/1.2Mbps (up/down) for HQ video. For gallery view: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down)
- For screen sharing only (no vide thumbnail): 50-75kbps
- For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150 kbps
- For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
- Firewall configuration: If internet access has been restricted by administrators, please ensure this domain is added to the firewall exceptions list:
- *.zoom.us
There will be no classes delivered on UK Public holidays. Fees are pro-rata and are not charged for these dates. A list of UK public holidays is available on the UK government website: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays.
Clients are expected to behave in a courteous manner and to respect fellow students and teachers. The use of drugs, alcohol abuse and inconsiderate behaviour is considered unacceptable. SLC reserves the right to withhold courses from any student behaving in an offensive or abusive manner towards others. SLC reserves the right to terminate courses in such cases.
3. OET Prepare Courses
The ‘Company’ shall mean Specialist Language Courses Ltd (SLC) and Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA). Where only one entity is referred to this will made clear in the relevant text by referring to either SLC or CBLA.
‘The customer shall mean the person in whose name the booking is made and shall include the person or persons on whose behalf the same is made.
‘Force Majeure’ shall mean any event outside the Company’s control which prevents the prompt performance of its obligations, including war and civil strife, etc.
Courses are all teacher-led programmes. The schedule and hours of all courses are shown on www.specialistlanguagecourses.com and www.OET.com. Teachers and course materials are provided by SLC. Lessons are given on an online platform of SLC’s choice.
Customers purchasing a course first take an OET Pulse test provided by CBLA. The Overall Score they achieve in the test determines the course level they study on. Customers scoring 55 or below will be placed on the lowest level course; customers scoring 60 to 75 will be placed on the intermediate level course; customers scoring 80 or above will be placed on the highest level course.
The level for the courses is described on www.specialistlanguagecourses.com and www.OET.com.
Customers may also refer to the FAQs before making a booking. The Company is not liable for a customer purchasing a course and finding that the level of the course they are assigned to following their OET Pulse result does not meet their expectations.
Customers are expected to attend all lessons and complete all the self-study assigned to them in order to make the progress expected of them. The Company does not accept any liability for any lessons missed or self-study not completed. No refunds will be given where lessons are missed or self-study not done for any reason except in the case of Force Majeure.
In order for courses to run, there must be a minimum booking of 12 customers for any class. Any exception to this is at the sole discretion of the Company. If the course does not run due to insufficient bookings, customers will receive a full refund.
The minimum age for attending a course is 18.
Where a lesson is ordinarily scheduled to take place during a public holiday, the lesson will be rescheduled. This will be communicated by SLC to customers prior to course commencement.
The charges which make up the total course price will be as stated on www.specialistlanguagecourses.com and www.OET.com. The prices are valid for courses until further notice but are subject to change at any time.
The Company will do its utmost to provide the arrangements that have been confirmed, but it must reserve the right to modify or cancel any course if unforeseen circumstances arise. If the Company cancels or significantly alters an essential element of the customer’s course for reasons of Force Majeure prior to course commencement, the Company shall inform the customer as soon as possible and shall offer them the choice of an alternative course if available. If the Company is unable to offer a suitable alternative, the Company will refund the course in full. If Force Majeure occurs while the course is in progress, the Company will try to make reasonable alternative arrangements or refund a proportionate amount of the fee.
The Company accepts responsibility for ensuring that all parts of the course are supplied as described and that all services shall reach reasonable standard. However, the Company shall not be liable for the failure or improper performance of these services where such failure or improper performance is attributable to a) the fault of the customer, b) the unforeseeable or unavoidable actions of an unconnected third party, c) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the company’s control, including Force Majeure.
If the customer wishes to cancel their booking this must be done in writing by the person who signed the booking form or who made the online order. The date of cancellation will be taken as the date that the company receives the letter or email. Cancellations by phone will not be accepted. The following terms apply:
- All refund applications must be made at least 14 days before the course start date initially booked.
- Refund applications made up to 14 days before the course start date will be eligible for a full refund minus a £40 administration fee. Alternatively bookings can be postponed to a later start date with no administration fee deductions applied.
- There is a 14-day ‘cooling off’ period as set out by the Consumer Contracts Regulations in the UK, with terms outlined in section headed Consumer Contracts Regulations (2014) below.
- Refund applications made 14 days or less before the course start date cannot be accepted: no refunds are available and you will no longer be able to transfer your booking to a later start date.
- No refunds are available for non-attendance.
- Credit card fees are non-refundable.
- Due to the nature of the courses, we cannot, in any event, pro-rata classes or transfer unused class time to another course.
The Company provides a 14-day cooling off period once a booking has been made, subject to the following terms and conditions.
- If a customer cancels within the cooling off period, they must tell the Company in writing. Cancellations made by phone will not be accepted. Customers must keep evidence of their cancellation within the ‘cooling off period’. A customer’s fees will be repaid in full minus a £10 administration fee.
- If a customer books fourteen (14) days or less before the start of the course they lose their right to a cooling off period. The service (OET Pulse test and/or tutored course) will start within the 14-day cooling off period and the service forms part of a set of group lessons which are not sold individually.
- If a customer’s cooling off period falls over the 14 days before the start of the course then their cooling off period is limited to the number of days that do not fall over the 14 days prior to the start of the course.
In the event the Company is unable to run a course, the customer is entitled to a full refund, including any credit card fees.
Refunds will be processed within 10 – 14 working days of notification of refund, depending on your bank.
If a teacher is absent, SLC will do its best to provide a cover teacher. If this is not possible, the lesson will be rescheduled to a suitable alternative date. If this is not possible, the cost of the lesson will be refunded on a proportionate basis.
Lesson Video Platform: Customers should use a PC to participate in online tutor-led lessons.
Lesson Software: Lessons take place on Zoom, an award-winning web conferencing platform. Zoom works on low internet connections, both with video and audio-only.
Minimum requirements:
- Browser – Chrome, Firefox, Safari 5+, Internet Explorer 7+, Opera 12+
- Operating system – Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10, OSX 10.6.8+
- Supported tablet and mobile devices: iOS, Android and Blackberry devices, Surface PRO 2 running Win 8.1
- Speakers and microphone – built-in or USB plug-in or wireless bluetooth
- A webcam or HD webcam – built in or USB plug-in
- Computer processor – any 1 Ghz single core processor or better
Bandwidth requirements: the bandwidth used by Zoom is optimised for the best experience based on the participants’ network. It automatically adjusts for 3G, WiFi or Wired environments
Recommended bandwidth
- For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (up/down) for HQ video and 1.2Mbps (up/down) for HD video
- For group video calling: 600kbps/1.2Mbps (up/down) for HQ video. For gallery view: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down)
- For screen sharing only (no vide thumbnail): 50-75kbps
- For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150 kbps
- For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
Firewall configuration: If internet access has been restricted by administrators, please ensure this domain is added to the firewall exceptions list:
- *.zoom.us
The Company cannot be held responsible for classes being missed due to technical failures on the customer’s side. Where courses are missed due to technical issues at the tutor’s end, classes will be rescheduled at the customers’ convenience.
General information is included on www.specialistlanguagecourses.com and www.OET.com for help and guidance to the customer. Please read it carefully. The contract incorporating these conditions shall be governed by English law and any matters arising out of it shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
If customers feel they have genuine reason for complaint, they must mention this to SLC as soon as possible. We will then respond to all reasonable complaints and we will do all we can to resolve any problems. We will not, unfortunately, be able to respond to complaints made to the company after the customer has finished their course, unless we were notified of this complaint whilst the customer was still attending the course and reasonable opportunity was given to SLC to respond to this complaint at this time.
Anyone attending a course is expected to behave in a courteous manner and to respect fellow students and teachers. The illegal use of drugs, alcohol abuse and inconsiderate behaviour is considered unacceptable. The company reserves the right to withhold courses from any student violating course provider regulations or generally behaving in an offensive manner towards others. A student code of conduct is provided for reference.
4. In General
The contents of the courses, including the technical, operational and related information, are provided for language learning purposes only. The information and material contained on the courses does not constitute professional advice or opinion and should not be relied upon in this way.
While SLC has used its best endeavours to ensure that the material and information contained on the courses was accurate at the time it was developed, no explicit or implied guarantee is given that the information and material located in the courses, or on any other site or location referred to in the courses, is free from error or omission.
SLC does not accept any liability to any person for the use of the information which is provided in the courses or incorporated into it by reference, or for any action taken or omission made on the basis of the information located in the courses. Clients should exercise their own skill and care with respect to the use of the information and material contained in the courses.
SLC cannot be held responsible for part or all of a course being missed due to technical failures on the client side. Where courses are missed due to technical issues at SLC’s or the tutor’s end, the missing part will be rescheduled at the client’s convenience.
SLC will do its utmost to provide the arrangements that have been confirmed, but it must reserve the right to modify or cancel part or all of any course if unforeseen circumstances arise.
If SLC cancels or significantly alters part or all of the client’s course for reasons of force majeure, SLC shall inform the client as soon as possible and shall offer them the choice of an alternative course of at least comparable standard if available, a full refund, or a partial proportionate refund where part of the course has been delivered.
If the client wishes to change their booking in any way after the course has been confirmed has been issued, they must inform SLC immediately, in writing, and SLC reserves the right to charge £50 per person per change to cover the additional administration involved. SLC also reserves the right not to fulfil the booking in this case.
SLC accepts responsibility for ensuring that all parts of the courses are supplied as described and that all services shall reach reasonable standard. However they shall not be liable for the perceived failure of these services where such failure is attributable to a) the fault of the client, b) the unforeseeable or unavoidable actions of an unconnected third party, c) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond SLC’s suppliers’ control, including force majeure.
SLC specifically excludes any liability whatsoever, to the fullest extent permitted by law, in respect of any loss or damage resulting or arising from reliance on the contents of this course or any material or content accessed through it. Clients agree to indemnify, defend and hold SLC, its directors, officers, employees or agents, harmless from all claims, causes, costs, expenses, fees (including reasonable legal fees), judgments, liabilities, losses and damages arising from or relating to use of the courses.
These Terms and Conditions and any counterparts, amendments or revisions thereto shall be governed and construed in accordance with English Law without regard to principles of conflicts of laws.
SLC collects the minimum amount of information about clients that is commensurate with providing a satisfactory service. This Policy indicates the type of processes that may result in data being collected about the client. Use of courses gives SLC the right to collect that information.
Data collected in the UK is held in accordance with the 2018 Data Protection Act, the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All reasonable precautions are taken to prevent unauthorised access to this information. This safeguard may require clients to provide additional forms of identity should they wish to obtain information about their account details.
See https://www.specialistlanguagecourses.com/privacy-policy/.
If clients feel they have genuine reason for complaint, they should inform SLC as soon as possible. SLC will respond to all reasonable complaints and will do all they can to resolve any problems. SLC will not, unfortunately, be able to respond to complaints made after a course has been finished, unless notified of this complaint whilst a client was still studying on the course and reasonable opportunity was given to respond to this complaint at that time.
Clients can cancel their course and request a refund up to 14 days after paying for access to a course, provided they have not yet accessed the materials or started lessons or taken an assessment. All refunds will be subject to a £50 administration fee and any associated bank charges. If a client would like a refund, please make the request in writing, via email, to enquiries@specialistlanguagecourses.com. Refunds will be processed within 30 days of request.
In order to provide the highest customer satisfaction possible, we will refund the purchase price paid for any Subscription Product, as follows:
If you have purchased a Subscription Product and:
- Access to the Subscription Product is cancelled by you within five (5) days of the initial purchase date, we will make a reasonable effort to refund to the credit card you used to subscribe to such Subscription Product an amount equal to the total amount you paid for access to the Subscription Products in the current term of your subscription less the amount of a 2-week access for such Subscription Product. If your access to such Subscription Product is cancelled by you after five (5) days of the initial purchase date, you will not be eligible for a refund.
- Your access to the Subscription Product is cancelled by us at any time, we will make a reasonable effort to refund to the credit card you used to subscribe to such Subscription Product a prorated amount equal to the total amount you paid for access to the Subscription Product in the current term of your subscription times the fraction of the term of your subscription that remains on the date of termination, except if we allege that you have violated the Terms of Use, in which case you will not be eligible for a refund.
- If we are unable to post a refund to your credit card, including because your credit card account is closed or otherwise unavailable when we attempt to post the refund, or if we allege that you have violated the Terms of Use, you agree that you will forfeit the amount due to you (if any) under this paragraph. Please note that we may not be able to post refunds for subscriptions that are paid for through the use of “single use” credit card numbers or similar “disposable” payment methods. We recommend that you do not use these payment methods to pay for your subscription to the Services; if you choose to use them despite our recommendation, you do so at the risk that we may not be able to provide you with a refund under this paragraph.
- Our reasonable effort to provide you with a refund, as described above, will be your exclusive remedy if you or we terminate your access to the Services, including in the event that you claim we breached our obligations to you.
- By accepting this Agreement, you agree that we may notify you about changes to prices and/or the Subscription Products by sending an e-mail message to your e-mail address on file with us and by publishing such notices from time to time on the informational page(s) of the Site. It is your responsibility to notify us of any change in your e-mail address by logging in to the Site and using the online account management tool. If your e-mail service includes functionality or software that catalogues your e-mails in an automated manner, it is your responsibility to ensure that those e-mails we send to you reach your inbox, either by routinely monitoring your bulk, junk and/or spam e-mail folders or by adding us to your address book or safe senders list.
SLC is not liable for failure to perform the party’s obligations if such failure is as a result of Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (regardless of whether war is declared), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, terrorist activities, nationalisation, government sanction, blockage, embargo, labor dispute, strike, lockout or interruption or failure of electricity or telephone service. No party is entitled to terminate this Agreement in such circumstances.
If SLC asserts Force Majeure as a reason for failure to perform its obligations, then SLC will prove that it took reasonable steps to minimize delay or damages caused by foreseeable events, that SLC substantially fulfilled all non-excused obligations, and that clients were timely notified of the likelihood or actual occurrence of an event described in this Clause 12(Force Majeure).
If clients have any questions regarding these Terms and Conditions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Specialist Language Courses Ltd
Sussex Innovation Centre
University of Sussex
Science Park Square
Falmer, Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 9SB
UK
enquiries@specialistlanguagecourses.com
Tel: +44 1273 900213