Don't expect discounts on course fees even if classes now held online, says Ben Charlton of Study Group

International institutes may not offer any fee discounts to students for taking classes online instead of physical lectures, as the quality of education remains unchanged, said Ben Charlton, UK Director for India, Study Group.

Charlton was referring to the shift in the mode of education across international institutes from colleges campuses to online platforms due to COVID-19 crisis.

Study Group partners with universities across the globe to prepare international students for degree-level study. In the UK, the Study Group has partnerships with universities, where international students are taught at an ‘International Study Centre’ by the group staff on the university's premises before starting their regular undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses.

“The quality of education provided won’t change in online education. The academic outcome of the degree programme would remain the same. Hence, the costs would remain the same. Hence, there is no fee discounts that should be expected by students,” he added.

Indian students were expecting some reduction in fees from UK institutes, especially since it is widely anticipated that classes would resume/begin online. Student bodies have been of the view that some fee waiver of 10-15 percent should be offered by UK institutes because physical costs like electricity, paper and water are being saved.

On average, the fee for an undergraduate degree programme in the UK ranges between Rs 19 to Rs 28 lakh per annum.

Charlton said as far as the UK is concerned, there has been a rapid shift to online-based programmes. Students who have gone back to their home country too, have been continuing lessons online, he added.

“There is still uncertainty around whether face-to-face classes will resume from September 2020. But there will be a cultural shift in the way education is offered to students,” he said.

As far as students from India are concerned, Charlton said while it is inevitable that students would be hesitant to join classes online, trial lessons are being offered.

He said Study Group is offering a 21-day-trial after which a student can decide if he/she wants to continue with the online module.

“There may also be delays in getting the mark sheets and transcripts of students. Hence, we are also giving students the option to submit previous year transcripts. The idea is that educational institutes do not want to disrupt any student’s study plan,” he said.

Study Group offers a one-year ‘soft landing’ programme before an international student moves into a class with other students to pursue a degree. Charlton said the curriculum remains the same, and there is just an additional hand-holding done for foreign students in areas like English language and parts of the course curriculum so that these candidates are on par with the local students in countries like the UK.

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