KEY FACTS
All courses start any Monday except Exam Prep, Foundation, Pre-Masters, 50+, Teacher Training and Group Programmes.
All courses are Monday to Friday (except bank holidays when courses start on Tuesday).
Levels are from A1-C2, Beginner to Proficiency.
Classes start at 9.00 in low season and 8.30, in high season.
During the high season, classes operate on a double schedule and you will be allocated your schedule on the first day depending on your course booking – i.e. certain courses are automatically timetabled in the afternoon sessions.
All lessons are 45 minutes long.
Max group class size is 12 in low season and 14 in high season except for Exam Prep, Foundation, Teacher Training, 50+, Specialist and Group Programmes which are 14 all year round.
Mini-Group, General English for Professionals is max 6 and requires B1 level of English
Minimum numbers, minimum level and minimum age are required for some courses.
Minimum age is 17 during low season and 16 in high season
Books and materials are charged separately (€55.00). There is an additional charge for a new book of €30.00+ when you change level. We have a second- hand book scheme in operation for books in good condition for students who move level.
Insurance is obligatory for non-EEA and must be issued by a body regulated by the Irish authorities
A Placement Test is obligatory for all students. Please complete our grammar and vocabulary test online a minimum of two weeks before your course start date.
On your first day, you will have orientation, an oral interview and then be placed in your class. Your ID card will be processed and this gives you access to GCI / GBS facilities, discounts in Ozone café, on excursions and in shops and restaurants.
GCI is a Cambridge and IELTS exam testing centre / venue. Many exams take place on Saturday and exam dates are correct at the time of printing, but may change.
Exam fees and exam books are charged separately and late exam fees apply. Exams are often on Saturdays.
Students may not change from group to private tuition or opt for less intensive courses, or shorten their course regardless of the reason.
Classes missed due to Public Holidays will not be made up except for individual / One-to-One components.
GCI / GBS have an English only policy and failure to speak English may result in a student being asked to leave the school on a temporary or permanent basis.
Class attendance is obligatory.
GCI / GBS have a no-smoking policy.
Respect for property, people, other nationalities and customs must be shown at all times.
All prices are per week except for Foundation and Exam
Preparation programmes.
We have an Emergency Number 24/7 - +353 87 2478128
Students under 18 years of age:
a) Are required to provide a Signed Parental Guarantee and to carry this with them at all times whilst travelling to Ireland.
b) A Meet & Greet Service is obligatory for all under 18 year olds on arrival.
c) Under 18 year old students must abide by the rules and regulations and behave as adults.
HOW TO BOOK
Complete all sections of the registration form or book online and send it with a non-refundable deposit of €150.00 by FLY-WIRE, Bank Transfer or Credit Card six to eight weeks prior to course commencement.
Upon receipt of your registration form we will confirm your place and send you a full invoice. Full settlement of the account should be made 28 days in advance of your arrival (21 days in winter). Should you register late, full fees must be sent on receipt of invoice.
Proof of payment of fees must be sent to us and please email a scanned copy of your bank transfer, and quote your STUDENT REFERENCE NUMBER on all correspondence.
Full fees must be received before accommodation details are sent. These are usually sent two weeks prior to your arrival.
Transfer details should be sent as soon as they are available and at least seven days prior to the course.
ENGLISH Only Policy: GCI and GBS operate an English ONLY policy both in class and in the school building and grounds.
Attendance is obligatory and is monitored (minimum 85% required), as is participation in class.
These policies ensure that all students gain the maximum benefit from their course and from their ability to communicate and interact with other students and personnel within the school. Failure to adhere to these policies will result in students being asked to leave the class or the school. Persistently speaking a language other than English or persistent absence or late arrivals will result in a student being asked to leave their course permanently. There will be no exceptions.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
You have a number of payment options. We have chosen FLYWIRE as our preferred option because:
- it is secure and efficient and is done online.
- you can pay by bank transfer or by credit card.
- you can pay in your own local currency and see the euro amounts due to us.
- bank charges do not apply.
- you, the student, and we, the school, can very easily track your payments from beginning to end.
- there are additional options for specific countries which you can see on www.flywire.com
PAYMENT STEPS USING FLYWIRE
To pay your fees:
i) You can log on directly to our page on FLYWIRE galwayculturalinsti-tute.flywire.com to begin the payment process or onto www.flywire.com directly.
ii) Choose your country & amount to pay in EURO.
iii) Choose your payment method & make your payment
iv) Enter your details & the student details (if the payee is different to the student).
This includes the GCI/GBS STUDENT ID NUMBER.
v) Track or confirm your payment by email, SMS or by logging into gal-wayculturalinstitute.flywire.com
BANK TRANSFER:
Account Name: Galway Business School
Bank: AIB Bank, 18 Eyre Square, Galway, Ireland
Swift: AIBKIE2DXXX
Sort Code: 93-72-23
Bank Account: 08820189
IBAN:- IE 81 AIBK937223 08820189
All bank charges are the responsibility of the student.
Failure to quote YOUR STUDENT NUMBER as the payment reference number will mean that we cannot track your payment.
PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD
Payment by credit card is subject to an additional 2.5% charge of the total fee due.
Failure to quote YOUR STUDENT NUMBER as the payment reference number will mean that we cannot track your payment.
PLEASE NOTE
We will send your accommodation details and arrival information approximately two weeks before departure. These are subject to receipt of full payment of your fees into GCI / GBS bank account.
CANCELLATIONS & CHANGES OF BOOKINGS
For cancellations up to 2 weeks before course commencement, full fees will be refunded except the non-refundable deposit of €150.
For cancellations of 14 days or less, the deposit will be retained and the following percentages of the course fees will be refunded:
• 7–14 days: 50% of course fees will be refunded.
• Less than 7 days: 30% of course fees will be refunded.
Once the course has commenced fees will not be refunded irrespective of the circumstances. This includes late arrival/early departure or days missed during the course.
Additional Administration Fee
There is an additional administration fee of €30.00 charged for each booking change after the initial booking.
This applies but is not limited to changes of dates, changes of accommodation & of courses.
Additional services that are added after the initial booking (for example, special diet, halal, vegetarian, coeliac, special preferences, additional or reduced number of nights, health insurance etc.) will incur this fee.
It will not apply to upgrades in bookings – i.e. adding a significantly longer course; adding the FIRST transfer after the initial booking.
Please note that the full registration fee of €55.00 applies when you transfer onto an exam preparation course from any other course.
All changes between one course and another, including changing from General English to Exam preparation programmes, are subject to availability and are at the complete and sole discretion of Management.
Fees / tuition weeks are non-transferrable and non-refundable irrespective of the circumstances.
INSURANCE & HEALTH
All students should be in a fit state of health to reasonably carry out the course and accommodation type they have booked.
All participants should provide their own health and travel insurance. Participants from EEA countries should obtain a EHIC Card from their local Social Welfare Office before departure – see http://ec.europa.eu This only entitles you to free emergency hospital care and attendance at certain doctors. It does not cover elective medical or dental treatment.
We strongly advise you to insure against loss of fees, personal effects, flights etc. that you may incur due to cancellation or early arrival or late departure.
Any person undergoing medical treatment should bring a medical certificate and should bring sufficient medicine to cover their stay in Ireland.
Important health or psychological problems must be brought to the attention of GCI/GBS before enrolling so that the school can approve the booking and facilitate the specific condition, where possible.
Failure to do so may result in the booking being cancelled even after the course has commenced and the student being sent home.
These include illnesses or conditions that may manifest themselves during the stay that may be deemed to be in any way contagious, whether real or imagined, and include, but are not limited to skin, bronchial, stomach or other conditions that might infect others or are such that you cannot be in a school situation.
You will need a doctor’s letter to confirm that you are now fit to return to the school. In serious situations, you may be asked to return home.
All costs associated with such conditions, including medicines, fumigations, laundry etc. either of you, the school or the accommodation, are the sole responsibility of the student.
We have a duty of care to you and to all other students and staff members in our care and have to take the necessary steps to ensure the best outcome for everyone.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is reserved on a weekly basis – i.e. 7 nights either for host family or residential accommodation. The minimum stay is one week.
Distance from accommodation to school is between 5 minutes’ walk to 30 minutes by bus depending on traffic.
Accommodation is only organised for students attending a course at GCI or GBS.
Half board is provided in host families from Monday to Friday and full board at the weekends. The majority of families are non-smoking.
Special requests with regard to pets, children, allergies, location of accommodation, diet (vegetarian, vegan, halal, coeliac, etc.), incur an additional supplement of €35.00 per week. These requests must be made at the time of the initial booking. Please note that these requests cannot be guaranteed.
If the preferred option is unavailable, the next best option will be allocated.
Extra nights are possible in a host family at €40 per night subject to availability. Staying over Christmas in a host family incurs a supplement of €165.00 per week and is subject to availability.
Residences are reserved from Saturday to Saturday. Accommodation assigned at booking may be subject to change.
Residential apartments are self-catering and are for students of 18+. All residential accommodation is non-smoking.
Extra nights are not available in residence and alternatives (B&B or Host Family) are subject to availability.
Students are required to fill in and sign a Residential Deposit Form agreeing to abide by the rules and regulations of GCI / GBS residential accommodation.
€150.00 security deposit for residential accommodation is payable in advance or on your first day at school. This can be paid by direct debit or by laser card on arrival.
Credit cards can also be used (and a 2.5% fee applies). Cash is not accepted for residential deposits.
Accommodation fees are non-refundable. For more than one change to accommodation an additional €30.00 fee will apply.
Extensions to accommodation must be done through the school and not through the host family or through the landlord.
TRANSFERS
It is easy to travel to Galway from all airports in Ireland - Dublin, Shannon, Knock & Cork airports. You can either take a bus or the train. We can book your preferred transfer option for you once you send us your flight arrival times.
We can organise a Meet & Greet Service for you on your arrival. A GCI / GBS representative meets you at Arrivals, brings you to the bus and you are met in Galway by another school representative and brought to your accommodation. A Meet & Greet Service is obligatory for under-18 year olds. (This is required according to Irish law)
We can also organise a Private Taxi Transfer from Dublin, Cork or Shannon airports directly to your accommodation in Galway.
You can travel by bus directly from Dublin Airport to Galway city centre. Buses are quick, cheap and are the best option, in our view. We can book it for you.
Two bus companies that you can use are www.gobus.ie; www.citylink.ie.
If you choose to travel by train from Dublin to Galway, you will need to transfer to the Hueston Train Station first.
Buses from Shannon, Cork and Knock airports are with www.citylink.ie or with www.buseireann.ie
If we organise your transfer for you, we need your mobile number in case of any delay or change.
HOLIDAYS
The school is closed on all public holidays and for annual holidays at Christmas. On Public Holidays no extra classes will be held in the case of standard course participants. For individual courses, extra classes are at the discretion of Management.
2018 Public Holidays: 1st January, 19th March, 2nd April, 7th May, 4th June, 6th August, 29th October
2018 Christmas Holidays: 24th December 2018-6th January 2019
VISA
We can assist you in your application for a VISA should you require one.
Please allow a minimum of 6+ weeks to process your VISA application. We recommend that long stay students apply for a D-VISA.
All fees must be paid in advance and are refundable (except for the de-posit of €150.00) in the case of a visa being refused unless false documenta-tion has been submitted. This includes a minimum of four weeks accom-modation and medical insurance.
Delays in issuing visas will mean that a course is postponed to the next course starting date and additional charges may apply.
Fees will not be refunded if a visa is denied due to submission of false or inaccurate information.
Visa applications are available from http://www.inis.gov.ie/ There is a fee of €300 each time a visa is issued or extended by GNIB (Irish Immigration).
Visa requiring and all non EEA students must have adequate health insurance to cover their stay in Ireland and is available for purchase from the school.
Students, particularly long stay non-EEA students, are required to sit an international examination course while they are in GCI as part of their visa conditions.
Students under 18 have specific additional conditions
Students under 18 years of age are required to provide a signed parental guarantee. Meet and Greet service or GCI Taxi transfer on arrival is obligatory.
Students under 18 years of age can only stay in Host families. Please contact the school for detailed information.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
GCI / GBS cannot accept responsibility for flight delays or changes in timetables by other third parties outside of our control.
We reserve the right to change without notice the contents, dates, times or any other detail of a course brought on by strikes, political events, natural disasters or any other event considered by Management to be pertinent.
GCI & GBS reserve the right to change any of the details given in any course brochure or website or the composition of the lecturing team.
In the event of a dispute, GCI / GBS will endeavour to resolve the issues in a fair and ethical manner. Once this process has been exhausted, GCI / GBS will follow the Dispute Resolution Procedure of IALC. In the event of legal action, the court case must be taken where the bulk of the service provided by GCI / GBS has taken place, i.e. Ireland.
The student is responsible for any damage or injury he/she may cause to buildings, furniture, fittings, individuals, families, other students, agents etc., while registered with GCI/ GBS.
Should a student behave in an unseemly and/or inappropriate manner that may bring the school or its agents into disrepute or to cause damage to its reputation or standing in any way, either real or imagined, he/she will be asked to leave the school immediately.
The Management / Directors will be the only arbitrators in any such event. A serious misdemeanour or any infringement of the laws of the land will result in instant dismissal from the school.
The contract between GCI / GBS or related companies and any of its students or agents shall be terminated in the following instances or any such instances as defined by the Management / Directors at any given time:
a) Cause damage of any kind to the Institute / School, its good name either real or imagined, members of staff, host families, residences, other students or any other agent of GCI / GBS or their good name, either real or imagined.
b) If the student behaves in such manner that leads to a disturbance or nuisance.
c) If the student is suspected of or charged with any misdemeanour or crime against the laws of the land. Any costs incurred in any such events will be the responsibility of the student or his/her parents or guardians.
No liability of any kind shall be attached to GCI / GBS for any losses of any kind incurred by the student as a result of GCI / GBS terminating the Con-tract. It will be a matter entirely for the student to make arrangements for his / her return to their country of origin and to make good any loss suffered by GCI / GBS or its agents.
