|
|
|
 |
|
Refund Policy for Yamasa Institute:
The following discloses our refund policy and practices for the Yamasa Institute. ACJS followed by OCJS:
Aichi Center for Japanese Studies:
Refunds are given whenever payment for tuition, accommodation, study tours or other services has been in excess of the price listed (usually happens only with payments in foreign currencies), if you defer to a different course or switch accommodation choice to a less expensive option etc. We also give refunds if you cancel - and the information below outlines the policies we follow for cancellations.
Please note that if the refund needs to be done by foreign bank transfer then we will require you to bear the cost of the bank charges. To obtain a refund foreign bank transfer, please supply the bank account details (including SWIFT code etc - an example is located here). Refunds usually take 7-10 days in the case of amounts of JPY100,000 or less. In the case of refunds of amounts of JPY100,001 or more permission from the board is usually required and the transfer would take 3 to 6 weeks from the time your account details are received. For student visa holders who stayed in Yamasa's accommodation, the refund can take up to 8 weeks because of the delay involved in receiving the final gas, water and electricity bills.
Section 1. If you cancel before you arrive in Okazaki:
If you are unable to take up your place in a program and you wish to cancel, then Yamasa will remit a full refund.
The only exceptions are:
a) If you applied for a student visa then we apologize for not being able to refund the student visa application fee of 21000 yen. This is due to the high cost of the processing required. The 21000 yen fee does not in itself cover the full cost of the application for the certificate of eligibility.
b) If you are transferring to Yamasa from another APJLE accredited school, or from Yamasa to the same, then a six month no refund policy applies for the tuition only - however in this case the "no refund" policy does not apply for your accommodation.
c) For accommodation, there is no cancellation charge if you have paid for accommodation in Yamasa owned student housing, but there is a 15,000 yen cancellation charge for a homestay if you cancel 7 days or less before the scheduled commencement of your course or program. This is because the homestay families go to considerable effort preparing for your arrival.
With the exception of a) and b), the refund is in full, however we require you to bear the cost of the bank charges when we remit your refund.
Section 2. If you cancel after you arrive in Okazaki or after the program commencement date:
Then it becomes a little more complicated due to the problem of fixed costs. Yamasa is non-profit and programs are supplied "at cost price" - we don't have the margins/markups used by profit oriented schools. To do this however we need to be able to calculate our fixed costs. Please understand that teachers hired cannot be suddenly unhired, accommodation allocated to you cannot suddenly be reallocated etc. Most universities and schools in Japan (and many elsewhere) wouldn't issue a refund at all or would have strict cancellation charges, but we do understand that the circumstances behind a cancellation are not always within your control. As a non-profit institute in the public service, we try to be as flexible and fair as possible. For cancellations after you arrive the following rules apply. We publish them here so that they are transparent.
a) Cancelling a study program after commencement: If you are cancelling during a program (definition = any day after commencement/placement testing), then you cannot be refunded for the weeks/days remaining in a quarter/module that you have already started. If you have a student visa - then you can not be refunded for your first 2 quarters as we need to be able to calculate our fixed costs. If you do not have a student visa, or are cancelling after completion of 2 quarters, please note that you will be refunded in full for all of your payments toward the quarters/modules that you have not yet started.
Examples:
b) Cancelling pre-paid accommodation: Accommodation is paid for on a monthly basis for students with a student visa, and on a weekly and/or daily formula for all other students.
If you have a student visa and need to cancel, then the subsequent months will be refunded in full. If you cancel on or before the 15th day of the month then you will also be reimbursed for 1/2 a month provided you give Yamasa's housing office a minimum of 72 hours notice.
Example:
AIJP - If you have paid for 6 months in advance and need to cancel during the 1st week of
your 4th month, then we can refund you 1/2 of the 4th month plus the 5th and 6th months.
We cannot refund you for 5 days or 1 week etc.
If you do not have a student visa and need to cancel, then you will be refunded in full for the accommodation fees that correspond to the program/course modules you are being refunded your tuition for. However you will not be refunded for the accommodation fees that correspond to the module you have already commenced.
Examples:
SILAC - If you have paid for 8 weeks accommodation in advance and need to leave after 5 weeks,
then we can refund you for weeks 7 and 8 but not for weeks 5 and 6 or for week 6 only. This
is because the room cannot be reallocated to another student that easily.
Please note that if the refund needs to be done by foreign bank transfer then we will require you to bear the cost of the bank charges.
Section 3. Cancelling *the entire* Japan Discovery study tour component *after* you commence the study component: The Japan Discovery tour is the most difficult program for Yamasa to refund because once the hotel or bus bookings have been made Yamasa usually has to pay cancellation charges. For the study component we are still able to issue our normal refunds, but please read the study tour component carefully.
Examples:
Japan Discovery Example 1 - Japan Discovery 10 weeks plus 5 day tour - If you have paid for 10 weeks of study and a 5 day
tour and need to cancel the last 4 weeks of your study program and the tour, then provided you contact Student Services 56
days or more before the tour component you would be refunded in full. You would also receive a full refund for the 4 weeks
of study.
Japan Discovery Example 2 - Japan Discovery 10 weeks plus 5 day tour - If you have paid for 10 weeks of study and a 5 day
tour and need to cancel the last 2 weeks of your study program and the tour, but can not give more than 3 weeks notice (ie
after you have been at Yamasa for 7 weeks) to Student Services before the tour component you would be refunded in full for
the final 2 weeks of study (weeks 9 and 10), but there would be a 31500 yen cancellation fee for the tour component.
Please note that if the refund needs to be done by foreign bank transfer then we will require you to bear the cost of the bank charges.
Section 4. Cancelling *a section* of the Japan Discovery study tour component *after* you commence the study component (ie reducing the length of the tour from 12 to 10 days, or from 8 to 5 days etc): The Japan Discovery tour is the most difficult program for Yamasa to refund because once the hotel or other bookings have been made Yamasa usually has to pay cancellation charges. This is a particularly difficult problem in summer. Please read the following carefully.
Examples:
Japan Discovery Example 1 - Japan Discovery 10 weeks plus 8 day tour - If you have paid for 10 weeks of study and a 8 day
tour and need to shorten your tour to 5 days, then provided you contact Student Services 56
days or more before the tour component you would be refunded in full for the equivalent of 5 days of the tour.
Japan Discovery Example 2 - Japan Discovery 10 weeks plus 8 day tour - If you have paid for 10 weeks of study and a 8 day
tour and need to shorten your tour to 5 days, but can not give more than 3 weeks notice to Student Services before the tour
component you would be refunded for the equivalent of 3 days of the tour less a cancellation fee of 27,000 yen (3 days x 9000 yen cancellation fee).
Section 5. Refunds of accommodation security deposits and unused accommodation fees.
If you study at Yamasa with a student visa or other longer term visa enabling you to enrol in courses of 6 months duration or longer, then for certain accommodation options you place an deposit and refunds of unused accommodation fees are calculated in calendar months or half months. The deposit is used to cover the costs of cleaning after you leave, along with any remaining utility bills such as for electricity and gas (issued monthly) and water (bi-monthly) which will arrive after you leave the accommodation, and for any damage to the apartment that needs to be repaired (holes in walls, cracked glass etc) up to a value not exceeding JPY15,000. The cleaning bill, utilities bills, and bank charges are deducted when the refund transfer is made. If you are still in Japan at the time of refund, you can opt to receive the refund in cash. If you are not going to be in Japan at the time of refund, please supply appropriate bank account details prior to departure or as soon as possible thereafter.
For short term students a deposit is not required as the utilities and cleaning bills are included in the original rent for the accommodation due to the difficulty that short term students have in opening bank accounts in Japan. Refunds of unused accommodation fees are calculated in 7 day weeks. The refund is in full except for any damage to the apartment that needs to be repaired (holes in walls, cracked glass etc) up to a value not exceeding JPY15,000. If you are still in Japan at the time of refund, you can opt to receive the refund in cash. If you are not going to be in Japan at the time of refund, please supply appropriate bank account details prior to departure.
Please note that if the refund needs to be done by foreign bank transfer then we will require you to bear the cost of the bank charges. To obtain a refund foreign bank transfer, please supply the bank account details (including SWIFT code etc - an example is located here). Refunds usually take 7-10 days in the case of amounts of JPY100,000 or less. In the case of refunds of amounts of JPY100,001 or more, permission from the board is usually required and the transfer would take 3 to 6 weeks from the time your account details are received. For student visa holders who stayed in Yamasa's accommodation, the refund can take up to 8 weeks because of the delay involved in receiving the final gas, water and electricity bills.
Online Center for Japanese Studies:
At this stage all OCJS accounts are for 12 months from date of payment. The OCJS is deliberately provided at as low a cost as possible to enable students around the world to access the curriculum and services. We regret that at this stage no refunds or fractional refunds are available for OCJS service offerings.
Last revised 9th September 2002
|
www.yamasa.org content is created and maintained by
Declan Murphy and the students and
staff of the
Yamasa Institute Multimedia Studio. This site is ©Yamasa - All rights reserved.
C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S
