Section 10: Procedures for Students in Tuition Fee Debt

It is a condition of the Student Relationship agreement with UCL that all fees are paid on time, and students are expected to arrange prompt payment to meet the required deadlines. Once an outstanding balance falls overdue, the student is deemed to be a debtor and UCL will undertake the appropriate measures for collection, as set out in the procedures below.

Overdue balances that result in debtor status will include, without limitation: tuition fees, accommodation charges, charges for childcare services, library charges, examination and submission fees, student loans and other fines and penalties.

It should be noted that students are individually responsible for the settlement of all charges, including those invoiced to a sponsor, and that the procedures outlined in this guidance will apply equally to all such amounts.

Tuition Fee Debts

Students with a tuition fee debt to UCL will receive a series of e-mail reminders, via their UCL account, informing them of overdue balances and warning of possible future sanctions. Continued non-payment will lead to the withholding of access to selected services and facilities (library, computer access, building access) and may ultimately result in a suspension of registration. Debtor status relating to outstanding tuition fees will also affect a student’s ability to re-enrol, graduate or receive any official UCL documentation. Once the balance of overdue tuition fees has been settled in full, a request is made for the sanctions to be lifted.

Students (current and former) are expected to monitor their Portico accounts for details of any tuition fee debts that might arise and to contact the Student Fees office with any queries, concerns or issues at the earliest opportunity.

Non-Tuition Fee Debts

For the avoidance of doubt non-tuition fees include, without limitation: accommodation charges, charges for childcare services, library charges, examination and submission fees, student loans and other fines and penalties.

Academic sanctions (specifically those referred to in the section above) are not applied to non-tuition fee debts.

For such debts, students are expected to liaise with the relevant UCL Department to resolve outstanding issues and may be subject to other proportionate sanctions applied at a local level.

Further Procedures for the Collection of Debt

Ultimately, UCL reserves the right to engage a third party debt collection agency to facilitate recovery of any overdue balances and to pursue a legal claim where it is deemed appropriate.