Terms and conditions for online courses delivered via our flexible online master's course microsite
These terms and conditions apply to Queen Margaret University courses listed on our
If you intend to apply for a programme of study offered by Queen Margaret University (QMU), you must read the following Terms and Conditions and ensure that you understand them.
These Terms and Conditions form the basis of the Contract you will enter into with QMU should you be offered and accept admission to one of its courses.
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1. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information set out in the paragraphs that follow is accurate at the time of publication (January 2023). The University will use all reasonable endeavours to provide programmes of study listed on its website and to deliver such programmes of study in accordance with the descriptions of courses set out therein. However, as the University is committed to ensuring that courses remain up to date and relevant, it reserves the right to discontinue, merge or combine courses, and to make variations to the content or method of delivery of courses, where such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Intending applicants are advised to visit https://online.qmu.ac.uk/ before applying.
The content or curriculum of a course may change for a number of reasons, including that:
- the change is required to ensure that the course continues to deliver its key learning outcomes, and the content of the course is responsive to changes and developments in the areas covered by the course;
- for courses leading to professional qualifications, accreditation or registration, the changes are required in order to continue to satisfy pre-requisites of a particular professional or regulatory body responsible for awarding such qualification, accreditation or registration;
- the change is not a material change to the content or curriculum;
- the change operates for the benefit of the students on the course;
- the change is required due to circumstances outside the control of the University, and
- it is necessary to ensure that the course continues to align with the University’s purpose and strategy.
Remedies for students impacted by any such changes may include, but are not limited to, provision of alternative course modules or courses, or the option to transfer to another course at the University. It may be desirable or necessary to withdraw certain courses from the University’s portfolio of provision as a result of a number of factors, including changes in patterns of demand from prospective students, changes in staffing, a strategic realignment of the University’s portfolio or a major organisational change.
The University will use its best endeavours to consult meaningfully with students who would be affected by any such change, in order to assess any impact on students, to mitigate any disruption arising from the change and to identify appropriate alternative arrangements. Arrangements to support the academic interests of existing students impacted by any course withdrawal will be put in place. In all cases, the University will make every effort to advise students at the earliest possible opportunity of any changes to the course content or curriculum that may impact upon them.
2. The University shall not be liable for failure to perform any its obligations if such failure is caused by any act or event beyond the University’s reasonable control including acts of God, war, terrorism, pandemic, industrial disputes (including disputes involving the University’s employees), fire, flood, storm, pandemic and national emergencies (“Force Majeure Event”). If the University is the subject of a Force Majeure Event, it will take all reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to students.
3. An offer of a place to study on a Queen Margaret University course is made on the understanding that, in accepting the offer, the student undertakes to observe and comply with these Terms and Conditions and to abide by, and to submit to, the procedures of the University’s Regulations, Policies and Codes of Conduct, as amended from time to time. The University’s Regulations, Policies and Codes of Conduct are set out in full on the Quality section of our website.
Changes to the University’s Regulations may be made from time to time for one or more of the following reasons:
- to reflect changes to the statutory requirements with which the University is required to comply;
- to reflect best practice regulation across the higher education sector and more broadly;
- to ensure that the University’s Regulations remain fit for purpose as a result of changes or developments within the University.
Where the University’s regulations are changed and the operation of a new regulation would place a student in a less favourable position than that in which they would otherwise have been under the old regulations, that student may rely on the old regulation as if it continued to apply. Whether a student would be in a less favourable position is a matter to be determined by the University on a case by case basis depending on the facts and circumstances of a particular student. This would not apply to a situation where the new regulations seek to address a previously unregulated matter.
All policies and procedures are subject to regular review and formal approval by the appropriate committee.
The University Court has agreed that the University, recognising the need to protect the health of students, staff and visitors to the University, should aspire over time to become a non-smoking campus. The University is reviewing its policies with a view to achieving this aspiration. Students’ attention shall be drawn to any amendments to policy in this area.
4. Applicants who accept an offer by distance communication (for example, via UCAS or online, without face-to-face contact) have a legal right to cancel the Contract at any time within 14 days of the date of acceptance of the offer. Where an applicant wishes to cancel the Contract within 14 days of acceptance, and in so doing withdraw from the programme, they must do so by informing enrolments@online.qmu.ac.uk . Where an applicant cancels within the 14-day period after acceptance, any advance payment made by that applicant shall be refunded in full.
5. Notwithstanding the aforementioned rights to cancel within the initial 14-day period from acceptance (paragraph 4), students may withdraw from study at the University, and cancel the Contract at any time after registration, by following the University’s withdrawal procedure. Where the Contract is cancelled in this way, students may remain liable for all or part of the tuition fees payable by them or on their behalf, in accordance with University procedures as detailed in section 6 below. The University may cancel the Contract at any time in accordance with the University’s Regulations, Policies and Codes of Conduct.
6. If a matriculated student withdraws from a module within the first 14 days, and wishes to withdraw from the programme, they may request a refund. After that date, no refunds will be allowed. Students should follow the normal withdrawal procedures in this case. If a student withdraws from a module within the first 14 days but does not wish to leave the programme, this will be classed as a study break and students may request a refund. After that date no refunds will be allowed for the module.
7. Tuition fees are payable for all courses and are subject to review annually. Tuition fees for new and existing students are liable to increase each year as a result of review. For continuing students, any increase in the level of fee each year will be subject to a maximum percentage increase equivalent to either the annual increase in the UK Retail Prices Index, or an increase of 5%, whichever of the two is higher. Factors that will determine the need for, and extent of, such increase include any increase set or prescribed by regulatory bodies such as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Scottish Government, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) and the UK Government, and/or increases in the costs of delivering and administering the course. Tuition fees for the forthcoming academic session are published on the QMU website well in advance of the start of that academic year. Details of tuition fees and other charges can be found at .
8. Tuition fees can be paid for the full degree in advance or on a module by module basis. Tuition fees must be paid in advance of the start of each module. No student will be permitted to matriculate or access learning materials until their tuition fees for that module have been paid in full, or satisfactory evidence is produced that such fees will be paid by a sponsoring authority.
9. All students who are continuing with their studies should review their fee rates prior to starting their next academic session. No student will be permitted to attend a graduation ceremony or to proceed to the next year or stage of their course until tuition fees for all preceding years have been paid in full. Failure to settle tuition fees by the due date may lead to a student being excluded from participation in classes. Ensuring tuition fees are paid is the responsibility of the student and, in the event of a student’s sponsoring authority refusing or failing to make payment in full or in part, the student will be held personally liable for payment.
10. For some courses, an additional fee may be payable in respect of registration with a professional body. Additional charges will be made, where applicable, in respect of reassessment. Full details of registration fees and other charges are set out at and students are also personally liable for such fees.
11. The University may withdraw or amend its offer or terminate a student’s registration at the University if it finds that a false or materially misleading statement has been made in, or significant information has been omitted from, a student’s application form.
12. Admission to some degree courses offered by the University, and to some of the professions for which it provides education, may be precluded by certain medical conditions. Students are obliged to include information regarding any medical condition, past or present, which may affect their participation on a course when completing their UCAS or Queen Margaret University application form. If an individual has any doubt as to the effect that a medical or health-related condition may have on their application, they must contact enrolments@online.qmu.ac.uk who will be able to advise accordingly.
13. The University does not warrant or guarantee that a student admitted to a particular course will necessarily be allowed to complete the course if the student subsequently suffers from or contracts any material medical or health condition.
14. Applicants for certain courses of study must declare all criminal convictions at the point of application, and in these cases, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not apply. As a condition of entry, candidates for these courses will be required to provide a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau, Disclosure Scotland or an appropriate equivalent. Applicants to all other courses are asked to disclose unspent criminal convictions at the point when they accept their offer. If an applicant has any doubt as to the effect a criminal conviction may have on their application, they must contact enrolments@online.qmu.ac.uk who will be able to advise accordingly.
15. To safeguard the welfare of staff, students, visitors and the general public, the University scrutinises all criminal convictions declared by applicants. Continuing students must declare at the point of matriculation any criminal conviction acquired in the previous 12 months. The existence of a criminal conviction itself does not preclude entry to the University, but admission to, or progression within, particular courses may
be precluded by certain types of convictions. Any student who is found to have falsified this self-declaration at the point of application or at matriculation will be subject to disciplinary action.
16. While courses are designed to prepare students for employment, the University does not warrant or guarantee that students will obtain employment as a result of successfully completing any course.
17. The University does not accept responsibility, and expressly excludes all liability, to the full extent permitted by law, for any loss, damage or injury incurred by a student or to their property, whether in connection with their studies or not, except in circumstances where the student has suffered personal injury or death caused by the negligence of the University or its employees. In particular, the University shall not be liable for any loss of, or damage to, any computer or electronic data or information owned or used by a student.
18. Personal information on students will be held and processed according to the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act (2018). This information will be used by the University to fulfil its part of the Contract between it and the student. As part of the Contract, the University is also required to release certain information on the student population to government agencies. Full details of the way in which the University uses students’ information are provided in the Student Privacy Statement which is issued as part of the matriculation.
