How to book your place

Enrolment procedures

• telephone, postal or personal
• useful numbers
• student declaration & data protection
• University of Glasgow ID card
• Withdrawals, transfers and refunds
• Cancellation and postponement of classes

You can enrol by telephone, by post, or in person. Enrolments are processed in the order in which they are received and you will be sent a Course Registration Letter as soon as possible. Students are strongly encouraged to enrol as early as possible. If you enrol late, you may find that the class is full or that the class has been cancelled due to lack of numbers.

All students must enrol prior to attending the first class. This applies to courses in Glasgow, and in centres outside Glasgow.

Please check your Course Registration Letter for the starting date, time and venue of your class(es). If you have any enquiries or notice any mistakes in your course registration letter or you have not received a course registration letter prior to the start of your course, please telephone 0141 330 1813/1859.

Telephone enrolment

Please call 0141 330 1860/1853 between 10.00am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday and have ready your credit or debit card details and/or your Skills Development Scotland ILA number if applicable, and the course codes of the courses you wish to take. Please note that the telephone lines may be busy; however, we will endeavour to answer your call as quickly as possible. Students taking advantage of the fee waiver scheme, or who are using a learning works voucher, will be unable to enrol by telephone.

Postal enrolment

Please complete an enrolment form and post it to us with the appropriate fee (credit/debit card payment, cheque and/or ILA number if applicable - no cash by post, please) to:

Personal enrolment

Please complete an enrolment form and bring it to us with the appropriate fee (credit/debit card payment, cheque, cash and/or ILA number if applicable). The Information Centre is open for personal enrolments Monday to Friday 10am-4.30pm. There is extended opening from the week beginning 19 September 2011 onwards, when you will be able to enrol 10am-7.30pm Monday to Thursday, until 4.30pm on Friday and between 9.30am-12.30pm on Saturday. (Extended opening ends Saturday 26 May 2012.) Although these hours are applicable during semesters/terms, it would be advisable to check that the Centre is open before making a special journey.

Early enrolment helps

If a course struggles to recruit students, it may have to be cancelled a week or two in advance of the first class. This allows those who have enrolled to find an alternative activity and also frees up badly-needed teaching space. If students can enrol at least two weeks before the starting date it helps us keep courses running and plan the best use of classrooms.

Useful telephone numbers

Student declaration

In signing the form, we are asking you to observe the regulations and requirements of the University as set out in the Calendar.

Personal Data

The University holds, collects and processes information about its students (current and former), applicants and potential applicants. The information (which includes personal data) may include images and personal, academic, financial and disability information. This information is used for various academic, administrative, management, pastoral, and health and safety reasons.

Students, applicants or potential applicants (together "Data Subjects") will be asked to provide and confirm their personal data and academic details with the University. It is not possible to become or to remain a student without the agreement to provide this information. By providing/confirming this information the Data Subjects consent to the University holding, collecting and processing such information.

The information provided by Data Subjects is processed in accordance with the University's Notification with the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. This Notification is a public document and can be viewed at the Information Commissioner's website (www.ico.gov.uk).

The information provided by the Data Subjects may be accessed by the University's employees, agents, contractors, and its service providers, who will only process this information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and University regulations and contracts.

Some of the information processed by the University is "sensitive personal data" (as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998); this includes information on racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or other beliefs, physical or mental health or conditions (including disability), sexual orientation or criminal records. Where such sensitive personal data is processed by the University, the explicit consent of the Data Subject is normally required.

Data Subjects with any queries about the use of their personal data by the University may contact the Data Protection Administrator at the following address:

Student updateable records facility (WebSurf)

Students with ID cards will be able to check and amend certain information that the University holds on them. Details of how to do this can be found on any University computer displaying the WebSurf icon or see www.websurf.gla.ac.uk. Students taking CertHE or language courses will need to use this facility at the end of the year to find out their course outcome.

Criminal convictions

The University asks you to state on your application form whether you have any unspent criminal convictions. This is to help us look after our students.

You can tick the 'no' box if you have a criminal conviction which is:

• a motoring offence for which you received a fine or 3 penalty points; or
• a spent sentence (as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974).

You must tick the 'yes' box if you have any other unspent criminal conviction. If you do so, the University will ask you to provide further details, and we will be unable to hold a provisional place for you on your chosen course. The University will allow us to offer you a place on the course as soon as correspondence with you has been completed. Please tick the appropriate box if you have previously indicated a conviction to us in the last year. The Centre for Open Studies will not record or keep details of your criminal convictions. If you are not sure whether to tell us about a previous conviction, you should seek more advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or probation service, or from NACRO (the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders). You can also contact a solicitor, but you may have to pay for legal advice.

If you are convicted of a criminal offence after you have applied, you must tell us in writing as soon as possible. The University will then ask you for more details.

University of Glasgow ID card

Students taking Certificate of Higher Education courses and ACE credit courses on the Open Programme are offered a University of Glasgow ID card. You are required to request your ID card from the Information Centre. You can do this by visiting in person at the St. Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street or by telephoning 0141 330 1835. When the card is ready you can collect it from the Information Centre or it can be posted out upon request. The card will allow entry to the University Library, the Language Centre Library and Sports Facilities (fee applies), and allow access to University computing facilities.

Withdrawals and refunds

If a course is fully subscribed or is cancelled due to insufficient demand, you will receive a full refund.

If you decide to withdraw from a course, then you must tell us in writing:

Students may transfer their enrolment to another course by applying in writing (letter, email, fax) to the Enrolment Secretary, quoting their Open Studies student number, present course title and code, and the course title and code to which they wish to transfer. Students may only transfer onto a course which is currently running, and not onto a course offered in a future term, and transfers must be made within three weeks of the start of the course. The transfer will be made if a free place is available. If the fees of the two courses are different then the appropriate refund or extra charge will be made. Please note that withdrawals and transfers must be notified to Centre for Open Studies in writing, not by telephone and not via the tutor. This will help us to deal with the matter quickly and smoothly.

Cancellation of courses

Classes with low enrolments will be subject to cancellation either before or at the first meeting. Where possible, a week's notice will be given. When a course is cancelled, a full refund of fees paid will be made. Please note that if fees have been paid for by cash or cheque then a refund will be made by cheque. Fees paid by credit or debit card will be refunded to the card number provided at the time of enrolment. Please enrol early on your chosen class in order to reduce the chance of disappointment.

Postponement of classes

In the event of inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, when classes might have to be postponed at short notice, we will make every effort to relay the information via Real Radio, Radio Clyde and BBC Radio Scotland. If you are uncertain whether a class will be held please contact the Information Centre on 0141 330 1835.