Applications, Admissions and Fees

These are our formal policies and procedures, which you might need if you encounter a problem or seek a refund during the course. It’s a good idea to read through these policies so that you know the processes we use around applications, admissions, enrolments, fee payments and withdrawals.

Definitions of Applicants and Students

Applicants

Those who submit a formal application to enrol. This includes those who attend Applicant Interviews, regardless of whether an interview results in an enrolment, and regardless of whether they are admitted to the course/s or programme/s to which they apply.

Enrolling students

Those who meet the eligibility criteria prescribed by Dev Academy's funding contracts (usually TEC), and whose records show some or all of the following are not yet completed and/or stored in Dev Academy's Airtable and financial administration systems:

sighted or verified of their official name, birth date and citizenship;
a signed copy of the learner’s Offer of Place (with attached Student Policies);
confirmation that required course fees have been paid, including any prescribed additional costs or fees;
a completed Student Acknowledgement Form if the learner’s fees are being protected under the Student Fee Protection rules.

Currently enrolled students

Those whose records show the above listed enrolment documents as being completed and/or stored in Airtable and financial administration systems.

Previously enrolled students (including Graduates)

Those who have been currently enrolled learners in the past but whose student records show them as being:

Withdrawn - i.e. did not complete the course/s or programme/s they enrolled on; OR
Withdrawn Early - i.e. did not start the course/s or programme/s they enrolled on or withdrew within the refund period or were refunded their full fees and are not reported in the Single Data Return; OR
Re-enrolling Student - i.e. did not complete the course/s or programme/s they enrolled on AND have been offered a deferred enrolment starting at a later date. Or initially applied for one Cohort and due to change in their circumstances (even before starting their studies) request us to change their enrolment; OR
a Graduate i.e. successfully completed a course/s or programme/s.

Admissions procedure

The admissions process at Dev Academy follows the following steps. More detail about the activity within these steps is detailed in the guidance below.

Applicants are provided with all relevant information via website about fees, costs and entitlements as specified in section 234B of the Education Act 1989.
People apply at devacademy.co.nz.
Review of applications and invitation to interview.
Interview in which the Applicant is accepted (or Not Accepted, in which case a different process is followed).
A Conditional Offer of Place is sent:
1. Course dates, fees and payment amounts and due dates;
2. Student Policies including withdrawal and refund periods and harassment policy;
3. Request for any additional information.
The applicant accepts the offer, completing the enrolment contract.
The applicant’s identity is verified.
The applicant’s eligibility to study is confirmed.
An invoice for tuition fees is generated and provided to the learner (or appropriate party e.g. company paying fees) for payment.
A Student Acknowledgement form is generated by Dev Academy and signed by the learner (student fee protection).
The enrolment is recorded in the Dev Academy Student Management System (Wisenet).
The tuition fees are paid into Dev Academy's student fee protection trust account - student effectively enrolled.
A receipt for payment of fees is issued.
Any changes to enrollment including withdrawal and refunds are recorded.
Programme starts.

Needs assessment and decision support for applicants

We acknowledge that there are limits to the type of training and assessment Dev Academy can provide. Where we do not have a course or programme that suits an applicant or student’s needs or current capability, we will do our best to refer them to a more suitable provider. Dev Academy will offer decision-making support to an applicant about what courses or programmes might best suit their needs, interests and current capability.

If an interviewer concludes from an Applicant Interview, and/or from other information or communications with an applicant, that they are unlikely to be suitable for, satisfied by, or currently ready to complete the requirements of a course or programme, feedback will be given to the applicant before they sign any Offer of Place: Dev Academy will provide feedback and answer applicant questions in a genuine effort to help them choose a course or programme that suits their current needs and interests, and that they can be reasonably expected to complete successfully.

Admissions restrictions

To be admitted the student must provide acceptable evidence of meeting the criteria for entry. That is, completing any pre-interview selection requirements, an admissions interview, and being accepted onto the Dev Academy programme.

The Interviewer (part of the Admissions team) is authorised to decide if a Student meets the criteria for entry and therefore authorise that an offer of place should be made to a Student.

Dev Academy's commitment to attracting and enrolling Women and Gender Minorities, Māori and Pacific students in the programme will be taken into account when making admissions decisions.

Dev Academy may restrict the admission of students based on the following decision criteria:

Applicants being under the age of 17 (in which case Special Dispensation may be required from the Ministry of Education, and Dev Academy must be convinced of the applicant’s capability to participate in and complete the course)
Not meeting eligibility criteria prescribed by Dev Academy's funding contracts (usually TEC);
Not having completed any prescribed course or programme prerequisites;
No places being currently available on the desired course or programme;
Poor ability with written and spoken English assessed by IELTS or TOEFL or similar independent assessment.

Applicant Interview procedures

Wherever possible and provided by the applicant, Dev Academy will review an applicant’s past transcripts or achievement records, including their NZQA Record of Achievement, to inform assessments of the applicant’s capability and support needs for the course/programme that they are applying for. This will be done in addition to conducting an Applicant Interview.

Unless otherwise arranged, the Interviewer will:

discuss the applicant’s expectations or reasons for wanting to enrol on a course or programme including their aspirations and future objectives
determine eligibility to enrol on one or many of Dev Academy’s courses or programmes
discuss and informally assess the applicant’s current capabilities and any support needs; including assessing potential success barriers and likelihood of being able to complete a particular course or programme successfully
discuss the applicant’s expectations or reasons for wanting to enrol on a course or programme
advise the applicant on what Dev Academy scholarships, Student Loan and Allowance support and/or Fees Free support they are likely eligible for
ask an applicant whether they understand what Dev Academy is likely to offer them and/or accept as an application, and what is required of them
refer them to electronic copies of: student policies and procedures, Student Loan eligibility information, and any other standardised information for applicants.

Identity verification

To be admitted as a student, applicants will be required to produce evidence of their:

Full legal name; and
Date of birth; and
Status as a domestic student; and
any other evidence of identity relevant to Ministry of Education requirements; enrollment restrictions; or eligibility for fees, grants, study awards, scholarships or other monetary grants or assistance.

Dev Academy reserves the right to retain a digital record of this evidence indefinitely for the purposes of validating a student’s identity. Certified evidence of a student’s identity will be recorded and need only be supplied once to Dev Academy.

Verified copies of one of the following types of identity evidence must be provided to Dev Academy by an applicant as part of enrolment and admission requirements:

The original birth certificate; or
The relevant pages of a passport or e-visa document; or
A Certificate of Citizenship; or

Where a student is unable to access any of the above, a whakapapa validated by a Kaumātua, or other culturally recognised person will be accepted.

Where a student has had a change of name since the issue of any document listed above, and they are using this document as evidence of their identity, the Student must also produce one of the documents specified below to provide evidence of this change of name:

Marriage Certificate; or
Dissolution of Marriage Certificate; or
Statutory Declarations as issued by the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; or
Birth Certificate; or
Name Change Certificate.

Where the National Student Index (NSI) does not match the student’s chosen name and the student wants the NSI to be updated, Dev Academy will request a Name Change Certificate to enable us to do so.

Confirmation of Enrolment

The following steps are common to virtually all enrolments and, unless otherwise stated, will be actioned by an Administrator.

On receiving a signed Conditional Offer of Place:

Student details are added to Airtable and Wisenet to match their details on the NSI. If the student does not have an NSN one will be assigned, using their verified ID document.
Documents required for enrolment are collated and stored on the Airtable Student Record. Where relevant, records of previous achievement are verified.
The student’s enrolment is confirmed.

False or misleading student information

Dev Academy serves discretionary rights regarding the failure of any applicant or student to supply adequately verified copies of evidence that confirm identity, citizenship and/or the meeting of any entry or eligibility criteria for courses, programmes, loans, allowances, scholarships or other assistance applied for by the applicant or student.

If any information provided by or for a student (in relation to any type of application, admission or enrolment process that is required by Dev Academy or its course/programme funders), is found to be false or misleading, Dev Academy reserves the right to:

reject or cancel an application, or cancel an Offer of Study or enrolment process that is partially completed
withdraw a currently enrolled student from a programme or course
suspend a current student’s enrolment and access to Dev Academy services and premises, until an investigation is completed regarding the suspected or proven false or misleading information concerned, and until a decision is made by the CEO to either withdraw the student or to agree upon actions to be taken to resolve any lack of, or errors in the supplied information or documents.

Fee payments, Withdrawals and Refunds

For withdrawal and refund policies for short courses see STU 22.0 – Application, Admissions, Withdrawals for Short Courses

Student payment process

Once a student receives an Offer of Place at Dev Academy, they will be required to pay their fees. They may pay these fees via Studylink or Fees Free or other government programmes for which they are eligible.

Student Fees are paid into the Dev Academy Public Trust account and students are provided a unique Payment Reference to direct their payment to our account. Our Public Trust account details are:

Account Name: Public Trust

Bank and Branch: Bank of New Zealand, North End Branch, Wellington, New Zealand

Bank Account Number: 02-0536-0305865-001

Analysis code: X X X X X X X (you will receive a unique seven-digit number here)

Where a company or organisation pays the fees for a Student, these fees are not required to be paid into the Public Trust. Dev Academy will issue an invoice for payment of these fees to our bank account.

Payment of fees

No person shall be deemed to have completed enrolment requirements unless payment of all approved fees has been made and receipted.

Where a student has not confirmed their enrolment by:

payment of fees, or
submission of required documents by the due date for payment, or
if their StudyLink loan is not approved,

The Enrolment Lead may at their discretion cancel the student’s enrolment in order to make places available to other students waiting to take up places. Dev Academy makes it clear in its Offer of Place that enrolments for unpaid courses may result in the application being withdrawn.

Variations to enrolment / Withdrawals - Course, class or programme

Students wishing to withdraw from the programme must provide notification by emailing a written request for withdrawal to Enrolments at enrolments@devacademy.co.nz. Where a student withdraws from Dev Academy any outstanding fees will be charged in accordance with the refund policy below.

Withdrawn students or Dev Academy staff with the consent of students may make a request to defer the enrolment to a later date at the email address above. Being previously accepted to an Dev Academy programme does not qualify a student for automatic acceptance in the case of re-enrolment at Dev Academy.

For all students requesting re-enrolment, our procedure is:

Re-interview by Interviewer or other nominated staff member, on the grounds of which an acceptance decision is made;
If accepted, issue a new Offer of Place and any required enrolment documentation;
Invoice for payment of any applicable fees;
Receive a signed Offer of Place and the required documents.
Confirm student enrolment.

Students may be asked to provide evidence of significant changes in their circumstances to show that they have greater ability to complete the programme via a re-enrolment.

Dev Academy may place additional requirements on a student in order to re-enrol. These could include, but are not limited to, greater requirements for attendance than standard enrolments, or reserving the right to review acceptance two or more weeks after the start of the programme.

Withdrawals and refunds

Dev Academy offers three Refund Periods for the NZ Certificate in Applied Software Development:

The first after the start of Foundations (Refund Period 1),
The second one after the start of Bootcamp (Refund Period 2),
The third one after the start of Careers (Refund Period 3).

For Foundations: If we have it in writing that the student is withdrawn from the course before the end of the fifth calendar day after the start of Foundations, Dev Academy shall refund the amount held on behalf of the student with the deduction of a $500 administration fee from the total. If the student withdraws from the sixth calendar day after the start of Foundation but before the start of Bootcamp, Dev Academy shall refund the cost of Bootcamp and Careers Skills.

For Bootcamp: If we have it in writing that the student is withdrawn from the course before the end of the eighth calendar day after the start of Bootcamp, we shall deduct the cost of Foundations and a $500 administration fee from the cost of Bootcamp, and refund the balance of the amount held on behalf of the student. If the student withdraws from the ninth calendar day after the start of Bootcamp but before the start of Careers Skills, Dev Academy shall refund the cost of Careers Skills.

For Careers Skills: If we have it in writing that the student is withdrawn from the course before the end of the second day of Careers Skills, Dev Academy shall deduct 50% of the cost of Careers Skills, and refund the balance of the amount held on behalf of the student. If the student withdraws after the second day of Careers Skills, no refund will be offered.

The Finance and Operations Lead is authorised within the limits of their financial delegated authority to approve refunds for Students on a compassionate basis in exceptional circumstances (such as serious illness, etc.) The amount of the refund will be at their discretion.

Please note: Refund policies may differ in cases where scholarships have been applied to course fees. Specific refund amounts will be calculated accordingly.

Withdrawal and its effect on Student Loans and Allowances

Withdrawal can impact your future eligibility for Student Loans and Allowances. Dev Academy will not be responsible for the impact of withdrawing on your eligibility for these services and it is your responsibility to find out this information by contacting Studylink. A good place to start is the Studylink website at studylink.govt.nz.

Refund if a student fails to attend or participate in the course

Where a student fails to attend or participate in the course; or a student attends or participates in a course during the refund period, but stops attending or participating in the course before the end of the refund period: The student will be treated as having withdrawn within the refund period and our refund policy applies.

Where a student attends or participates in that course after the end of the refund period, they will be treated as having withdrawn outside of the refund period.

Responsibility for enrolment and fee payment decisions

Final responsibility for application and enrolment decisions rests with applicants and students. Dev Academy is not responsible for enrolment decisions, including course or programme choices made by students, nor for any decisions to accept and pay any fees required to enrol.

Dev Academy is not responsible for applicants’ or students’ personal choices to access a Student Loan, Student Allowance, or to access any other loans or allowances made available to them by Studylink, other government agencies, or by personal lenders in order to be able to pay the required course fees and related costs.

Cancellation of courses or programmes by Dev Academy

If there are changes to the timetable (or cohort start date) of a course in which a student is enrolled, Dev Academy will endeavour to provide an alternative that meets the student’s requirements or will cancel the student’s enrolment and fully refund any fees paid by the student.

In the event of a course cessation or voluntary closure situation (unforeseeable circumstances beyond Dev Academy's control) causing suspension of classes for an indefinite period of time, Dev Academy will follow the Student Fee Protection policy.

Student Fee Protection

Policy

Student Fees are protected by the Public Trust. This arrangement has been accepted by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as meeting the requirements of the Education Act 1989 and the Student Fee Protection Rules 2013.

Students are informed of these policies and procedures in their Offer of Place and the Student Manual.

Procedures

Where you pay your money:

We protect student fees through the Public Trust, one of New Zealand's largest trustee organisations (and a New Zealand Crown Entity). This organisation is set up under the Student Fee Protection rules to keep your and other students’ fees safe. It protects you in case we can’t continue teaching the course (more below).

All tuition fees and all course-related costs are to be paid directly to Dev Academy's Public Trust account, except in any scenarios listed below. Any scholarship fee payments must be paid into Dev Academy's Public Trust account.

The bank account details are as follows:

Account Name: Public Trust Bank and Branch: Bank of New Zealand, North End Branch, Wellington, New Zealand

Bank Account Number: 0 2 0 5 3 6 0 3 0 5 8 6 5 0 1

Analysis Code: X X X X X X X (you will receive a unique seven-digit number here)

When your fees are paid directly to Dev Academy

Company Paying Fees. In a situation where a business is paying on behalf of a Student, these fees do not need to be protected. For example this may be your own company or your employer. A GST Invoice will be provided once you let us know that you would like to pay your fees through a company.

Fees Free and TTAF. Your fees are paid directly to Dev Academy when they are paid by the Tertiary Education Commission in the case of Fees Free first year free programme.

Withdrawals and Refunds

You can find our Withdrawals and Refunds policy in STU 1.0 Applications, Admissions, Enrolment, Fee Payment and Withdrawals above, and in your Offer of Place.

What happens if we can’t continue teaching the course

Voluntary closure or course cessation. In the unlikely event that Dev Academy should voluntarily close, or ceases to offer the course in which students are enrolled, Dev Academy will make a pro-rata refund to the affected students within five working days from the date of the closure or cessation, unless the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) permits us a longer period. Where NZQA requires us to stop delivering the course, you are entitled to a pro-rata refund if you are affected by the course closure.

Administration Procedures

Reporting Guidelines and the Supply of Information (Public Trust and NZQA)

Dev Academy will provide the Public Trust with the relevant information we hold (as set out by NZQA in the Appendix) , within five working days of the Public Trust’s request to Dev Academy.

Dev Academy will supply to NZQA and to the Public Trust, before the end of five months (by the end of August) following each financial year end (31 March) of the Provider, and at the Dev Academy's expense an audit opinion from an independent chartered accountant confirming that the provider is compliant.

Reimbursement in the case of accidentally drawing higher fees

Where Dev Academy becomes aware that it has drawn down fees of a higher amount than the amount of the tuition actually delivered, Dev Academy will reimburse to the Public Trust, by the close of the next business day, sufficient funds for the trust to cover the tuition fees represented by the undelivered tuition.

In the case of any issues

Should any issues arise regarding the protection of student fees, we will work with NZQA and the Public Trust to discuss individual situations with a view to reaching a workable outcome which takes the interests of students into account.

Public Notification of approved Student Fee Protection Mechanism

Unless otherwise agreed by NZQA, Dev Academy will only use the following words to describe the acceptability of its Mechanism: This arrangement has been accepted by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as meeting the requirements of the Education Act 1989 and the Student Fee Protection Rules 2013.

Refund if a Student fails to attend or participate in the course

In the following situations a Student must be treated as having withdrawn within the Refund Period from a Course in which the Student was enrolled with Dev Academy:

where the Student fails to attend or participate in the Course; or
where the Student attends or participates in the Course during the Refund Period, but stops attending or participating in the Course before the end of the Refund Period.

This rule does not apply where the Student attends or participates in that Course after the end of the Refund Period.

Policies

Attendance