STATEMENT OF VET TUITION ASSURANCE

1. Under the provisions of Schedule 1A of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) and Chapter 3 of the VET Guidelines Rycki Symons Pty Ltd (Academy of Design) (the First Provider) must comply with the VET Tuition Assurance requirements. This is to protect VET students in the event that Academy of Design ceases to provide a VET course of study in which a VET student is enrolled.  The meaning of ‘ceasing to provide a VET course of study’ is set out at paragraph 3.5.3 of the VET Guidelines.  A copy of these is available from: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/F2012L02569.
   1. In the event that Academy of Design ceases to provide a VET course of study in which a VET student is enrolled the VET student is entitled to a choice of:

a)     an offer of a place in a similar VET course of study with a Second Provider without any requirement to pay the Second Provider any VET tuition fee for any replacement VET units (this is known as the “VETCourse Assurance Option”);

OR

b)     a refund of their up-front VET tuition fee payments and/or a re-crediting of any FEE-HELP balance for any VET unit of study that the VET student was enrolled or commences but does not complete because Academy of Design ceases to provide the VET course of study of which the VET unit forms part (this is known as the “VET Tuition Fee Repayment Option”).

1. Academy of Design has met the VET tuition assurance requirements as specified in the VET Guidelines through its current membership of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) Australian Student Tuition Assurance Scheme (ACPET ASTAS-VET).  Contact details for ACPET are:           

Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET)

PO Box 551, East Melbourne, Vic 8002

Ph: 1800 657 644   Fax: (03) 9416 1895

Email: acpet@acpet.edu.au

1. If Academy of Design ceases to provide a VET course of study, ACPET will send a VET student enrolled in the VET course of study a Written VET Tuition Assurance Offer (the Offer) advising the VET student of the options available under the VET tuition assurance requirements.  The Offer will include directions that the VET student must follow in order to notify ACPET of the choice they have made for each affected VET unit.  ACPET will provide this Offer within twenty business days after it knows, or should know by reasonable enquiries that Academy of Design has ceased to provide the VET course of study.
   1. For the purposes of VET FEE-HELP, all courses offered by Academy of Design in accordance with the course requirements of clause 45 of Schedule 1A of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 are covered by the ACPET ASTAS-VET (“the Scheme”) as part of Academy of Design’s membership of the Scheme.

1. A VET student may choose either:

The VET Course Assurance Option:

1. Under the VET Course Assurance Option, a VET student will be offered a place in a similar VET course of study by ACPET.  If the VET student accepts this option, ACPET will make all necessary arrangements to ensure a VET student is able to enrol with a Second Provider in the similar VET course of study.  This offered VET course will lead to the same or a comparable qualification without any requirement on the part of the VET student to pay the Second Provider any VET tuition fee for any replacement VET units of study (that is, VET units of study that the VET student had commenced but not completed because the VET course of study ceased to be offered).   A VET student will receive full credit from the Second Provider for any VET units of study successfully completed at Academy of Design.
2. The Second Provider nominated by ACPET may have different VET tuition fees to the fees the VET student would have paid for VET units of study which were part of the VET course of study that Academy of Design ceased to provide but which the VET student had not yet started studying.
3. A VET student is not obliged to enrol in a VET course of study with a Second Provider offered by ACPET under the VET Course Assurance Option.  However, if he/she enrols with any other VET provider there is no obligation on that VET provider to offer full credit transfer for the VET units of study completed with Academy of Design or to offer any replacement VET units of study free of charge.

OR

The VET Tuition Fee Repayment Option

1. Under the VET Tuition Fee Repayment Option, ACPET undertakes to pay the VET student the total of any up-front VET payments already paid by the VET student for any VET units of study the VET student has commenced but not completed because the VET course of study ceased to be provided.  VET students selecting this option who have applied for VET FEE-HELP assistance will also have their FEE-HELP balance re-credited for the uncompleted VET units of study.

Publication

11.            This Statement of VET Tuition Assurance will be published on the Academy of Design website (www.academyofdesign.com.au).  Academy of Design will also advise VET students about where the Statement of VET Tuition Assurance may be obtained as part of their enrolment information.