Hi,

I'm starting a Masters in Human Resource Management in September at Manchester Met Uni, on a part time basis. I will also be working full time too to fund myself through the course. I'm worried, however, that something may crop up which will put a stop on me being able to complete the course, i.e. money troubles, losing my job, as far flung as becoming pregnant, and being left with paying for the rest of the course and not getting the qualification.

My question therein is if you cannot complete the course are still liable for all of the fees, in my case just under £5,000? This is something which is majorly affecting my decision whether to actually sign on the dotted line or not.

Any advice and/or personal experiences would be grately appreciated.

Many thanks,

Jennifer

You'd probably be best off contacting the uni - these things may vary between institutions.

Hi Jen,
When I did my Masters last year, we were told that if for any reason we didn't complete the course, the fees that you would pay are sort of pro-rated for the part of the course that you have already attended. So if you pay the first semesters fees, but drop out after a day then you would get it all back. If you dropped out say at the beginning of the 2nd semester, after paying the second installment of fees, you would only get that portion back, not the first portion of fees you paid originally (hope that makes sense?!).
Good luck in whatever you decide, it is a big decision, especially because of the amount of money involved!
S x

Thanks for the replies. The reason I'm worried is that I suffer from manic depression and I'm worried that if I hit a low and have the added stress of knowing that if I don't get better I will be lumped with such a large amount of money to pay to the Uni, it will make me even worse. I struggled with it all through my Undergrad degree (BA Hispanic Studies & Russian at Notts) but managed to come out with a 2:2, so I know I am capable and admittedly I'm in a much stronger position right now.

I guess I will contact the Uni and make sure.

Thanks.

I would hope that they would be sympathetic in such cases. If you had to interrupt your studies for medical reasons I would hope that they would permit you to finish off the course the next year if that was a suitable arrangement, without incurring any extra cost.

In the case of exceptional circumstances, there may be funding to support students who would otherwise have to drop out because of finances. See whether the student union there can offer you any additional advice/guidance.

Good luck with your studies :-)