To be admitted to the school, an applicant should:
1. be at least 17 years of age on the first day of study;
2. be a non-native speaker of English or a bilingual individual for whom English is the non-dominant language;
3. be literate in his or her first language;
4. be committed to making significant improvement in his or her English language knowledge and skills.
Exceptions to the above may be made at the discretion of the school director as follows:
1. An individual younger than 17 may be admitted provided s/he takes a course of Tutorial (one-on-one) lessons only and accepts expectations for behavior appropriate to an adult education environment;
2. A native speaker of English may be admitted provided s/he takes a course of Tutorial (one-on-one) lessons only. Depending on the availability of a qualified instructor, OISE Boston can instruct individuals preparing for standardized examinations such as GED and SAT, and for teacher certification;
3. An individual who has not achieved literacy in his or her first language can be admitted provided s/he takes a course of Tutorial (one-on-one) lessons only, and depending on the availability of a qualified instructor.
To secure a place on an OISE course, please return the Registration Form together with payment, as explained below.
On receipt of the Application and Deposit a letter of confirmation is sent with a Statement of Fees which should be settled at least 4 weeks before the course starting date. In the case of registration less than 6 weeks before the course starting date, the full amount of the cost of the course must be sent with the Registration Form. PLEASE NOTE: students will not be allowed to start their course unless FULL PAYMENT has been received by OISE. In the case of bank transfer, students should bring a document from the bank proving that transfer has been requested.
Students will receive details of their host family address at least 5 days before the course starting date, unless they enroll late. This enables those students travelling independently to let the host family know of their approximate time of arrival.
There is no latest registration date for individual courses, but it is advisable to book at least 1 month before the course starting date.
Students must make sure that they organize their own travel insurance to cover medical costs while on their course and repatriation costs in the case of an accident. Evidence of insurance must be provided to OISE.
Conditions before the course begins
• If a student cancels the course before the start date, OISE will refund all course fees less the deposit.
Conditions once the course has started
• The student must give 10 days’ written or verbal notice to the school. A cancellation fee equivalent to 1 week’s course fees will be charged.
• All refunds will be paid to the student within 30 days of the first scheduled day of class or the date of cancellation, whichever is earlier.
• If a student wishes to be absent from the course for 1 or 2 weeks for the purposes of taking a holiday s/he must give the school at least 2 weeks’ notice in writing. Students will be refunded for such absences at the end of the course.
• An administrative fee of $40 is charged for all course changes.
Upgrading and downgrading courses
• Students can only exchange their course for an existing OISE course.
• No refunds will be made to students who choose to exchange their original choice of course for one of lesser value.
• Students who choose to exchange their original choice of course for one of greater value must pay the difference between the two at the time of requesting the upgrade.
OISE only acts as an intermediary between its students and travel organizations on the one hand and host families on the other. Under no circumstances can it be held responsible for any delay or accident during a journey nor can it be held responsible for any accident that may happen during the student’s stay with the host family. OISE will, however, endeavor to defend the student’s interests in the event of breach of contract on the part of the travel organization or the host family.
OISE reserves the right not to allow a disruptive student on the course. In such cases, a full refund will be given.
Wherever it is agreed between OISE and a student that it would be beneficial for the student to be moved to another OISE course, only a course of equivalent value will be offered by OISE.
The brochure and price list, issued by OISE Boston Inc., give the only information that can be referred to in the event of a disagreement between the student and OISE.