Harvest West Bible College Inc. (the First Provider) is required to under the provisions of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) and the associated FEE-HELP Guidelines to provide a tuition assurance arrangement for Australian citizens or holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa who are enrolled in higher education courses it offers.
This requirement is to protect students in the event that Harvest West Bible College Inc. ceases to provide a course of study in which a student is enrolled. The meaning of ‘ceasing to provide a course of study’ is set out in the HEP Guidelines (http://www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au/guidelines/hep_guide.htm).
In the event that Harvest West Bible College Inc. ceases to provide a course of study in which a student is enrolled the student is entitled to a choice of:
a) an offer of a place in a similar course of study with a Second Provider without any requirement to pay the Second Provider any student contribution or tuition fee for any replacement units (this is known as the “Course Assurance Option”);
OR
b) a refund of his or her up-front payments for any unit of study that the student commences but does not complete because Harvest West Bible College Inc. ceases to provide the course of study of which the unit forms part (this is known as the “Student Contribution/Tuition Fee Repayment Option”)
Harvest West Bible College Inc. has met the tuition assurance requirements of the HESA through its current membership of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) Australian Student Tuition Assurance Scheme (ASTAS). Contact details for ACPET are:
National Office
Suite 12, Level 14, 329 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW Australia
Box Q1076,QVB PO Sydney NSW 1230
Ph: (02) 9264 4490 Fax: (01) 9264 4550
E-mail acpet@acept.edu.au ; Website www.acpet.edu.au
If Harvest West Bible College Inc. ceases to provide a course of study, ACPET will send a student enrolled in the course of study a Written Tuition Assurance Offer (the Offer) advising the student of the options available under the tuition assurance requirements. The Offer will include directions that the student must follow in order to notify ACPET of the choice they have made for each affected unit. ACPET will provide this Offer within twenty Business Days after it knows, or should now by reasonable enquiries that the Harvest West Bible College Inc. has ceased to provide the course or study.
The course/s of study for which Harvest West Bible College Inc. has ACPET ASTAS membership is/are:
Harvest West Bible College (First Provider) courses for FEE-HELP are;
- Bachelor of Arts (Biblical Studies)
- Bachelor of Arts (Ministry)
- Graduate Diploma of Theology
A student may choose either:
The Course Assurance Option:
If a student accepts a place in a course offered by ACPET as named above, ACPET will offer the student the option of ACPET making all necessary arrangements to ensure a student is able to enrol in a similar course of study with a Second Provider. This offered course will lead to the same or a comparable qualification without any requirement on the part of the student to pay that Second Provider any student contribution or tuition fee for any replacement units. A student will receive full credit from the Second Provider for any units of study successfully completed at Harvest West Bible College Inc.
The Second Provider nominated by ACPET may have different contribution amounts or tuition fees to the amounts or fees the student would have paid for units of study which were part of the course of study the Harvest West Bible College Inc. ceased to provide.
A student is not obliged to enrol in a course of study with a Second Provider offered by ACPET under the Course Assurance Option. However, if he/she enrols with any other provider there is no obligation on that provider to offer full credit transfer for the units of study completed with the Harvest West Bible College Inc. or to offer a replacement/s unit free of charge.
OR
The Student Contribution/Tuition Fee Repayment Option
If a student chooses the Student Contribution/Tuition Fee Repayment Option ACPET undertakes to pay the student the total of any up-front payments already paid by the student for any units of study the student has commenced but not completed. Students selecting this option will also get SLE or FEE-HELP balance/s re-credited for uncompleted units.
Publication
The above Statement of Tuition Assurance for domestic students is published in;
- Harvest West Bible College website : www.harvestwest.edu.au
- Prospectus
- Student handbook