J-Course: Terms and Conditions (2024)
1.1. Students must be aged 18 and over.
1.2. J-Course is a service offered to paid members of The Japan Foundation, Sydney. Applicants must be current members at the time of enrolment, with the exception of students in Aki (First) Term of Starter Course.
1.3. The Japan Foundation, Sydney reserves the right to cancel the enrolment of students who do not hold current membership, including in cases where membership has expired.
1.4. To ensure placement in a suitable course, new and returning students are required to complete a placement test consisting of a written test and a mini-interview prior to their enrolment, with the exception of first-term enrolments in the Starter Course which is suitable for absolute beginners, as well as any students determined by J-Course to not require a placement test.
1.5. Student participation is limited to one (1) course per term.
1.6. Some courses require a pass mark to advance to the next level course. All students currently studying at the Elementary 1 or Pre-Intermediate level wishing to enrol in the Elementary 2 or Intermediate 1 level respectively must obtain at least 60% in their achievement tasks in Week 10 of the Natsu (Fourth) Term.
1.7. With the exception of the advancement tasks outlined in 1.6, the grade obtained in the achievement task does not impact eligibility for continuing enrolment.
2.1. All Standard courses are defined as one-year courses made up of four (4) terms.
2.2. With the exception of the B2 Course, J-Course terms are ten weeks in duration. Classes are held once per week for a period of two (2) hours.
2.3. Applications and payments are processed each term.
2.4. J-Course classes are not held on designated New South Wales public holidays. In the event classes fall on such public holidays, these classes will be moved to the Friday of the same week.
3.1. Students must be in possession of the relevant course books for their enrolled level to participate in class.
3.2. Applicable textbook fees will be charged along with course fees at the time of enrolment.
3.3. Textbook fees will be charged only for terms where new textbooks are required for the enrolled course.
3.4. Textbooks may only be purchased by current students and only when required for their enrolled course.
3.5. The copyright of all course materials remains the exclusive property of The Japan Foundation, Sydney. Students may not reproduce or distribute any part of the course materials to any other persons or organisations without permission.
4.1. The Marugoto Course (Standard to Intermediate 2) tuition fee is $350 for Aki (First) term but is subject to review and change throughout the year.
4.2. Students enrolling in their first term, or after a break of 1 term or more will be charged a $20 non-refundable administration fee in addition to the $350 tuition fee when enrolling. Please note that the administration fee is distinct from The Japan Foundation, Sydney membership fee ($25).
4.3. Textbook fees and The Japan Foundation, Sydney membership fees are not included in the tuition fees or administration fee outlined in 3.1 and 3.2 and will be charged separately if required.
5.1. A student’s enrolment in a course is confirmed once full payment and online application have been received.
5.2. Incremental course payments will not be accepted.
5.3. Students enrolling after term has started will be charged tuition fees only for the remaining classes that term, calculated from the date they submit their application. Administration, membership, and textbook fees will still apply in accordance with the conditions outlined above.
5.4. The previous does not apply in cases of delayed priority enrolment, wherein J-Course reserves a mandatory three (3) business day administration period to process enrolments. Students will not be allowed to join classes until this administration period has passed, and no refund will be offered for classes missed as a result.
5.5. Course fees cannot be transferred to another term or another student. All prices are listed in Australian Dollars and include GST.
6.1. Courses or classes may be cancelled if enrolments do not reach the minimum number. In the event that a course is cancelled for this reason, students already enrolled in the course will be notified prior to the scheduled commencement date and any course fees that have been paid will be refunded.
6.2. Enrolments submitted after the class has reached maximum capacity may be cancelled. In this case, any course fees that have been paid will be refunded.
6.3.In cases where class is cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control, students will be offered a substitute class or a full refund for that week, to be determined by The Japan Foundation, Sydney.
6.4. Students may cancel their enrolment up to five (5) business days before the first class of the term for the enrolled course. Students are required to notify J-Course via email in order to cancel their enrolment. Course fees will be refunded minus a cancellation fee of $50.
6.5. Students who wish to cancel their enrolment after the above cancellation deadline due to circumstances beyond their control are eligible to receive a refund equal to 50% of any remaining course fees. Students are required to notify J-Course via email in order to cancel their enrolment. The amount refundable is calculated from the date that J-Course receives notification of the student’s cancellation request via email. Cancellations received by 5pm on regular business days will be lodged the same day. Any cancellations received after 5pm or on weekends or holidays will be lodged the next business day.
6.6. Individual class refunds are not available.
7.1. Students transferring (permanently changing) to a different course or class after the first two (2) weeks of term will incur a transfer fee of $50. Transfers made within the first two (2) weeks do not incur a fee. In the event that the student enrolled after the term has begun, this transfer grace period is reduced to one (1) week. Course and class transfers can only be accommodated when the requested alternate course or class has available places.
7.2. Requests to transfer to a different course or class must be submitted via e-mail or Transfer Request Form to J-Course.
8.1. Class participation is limited to once per week.
8.2. In cases where students are unable to join their enrolled class on a particular date, they may be entitled to attend a substitute class instead.
8.3. Substitute classes are only available for courses that run for two (2) or more classes in the same class week and can only be taken within the same week as the original class. Requests for a substitute class cannot be guaranteed due to limited places in each class.
8.4. Each student is permitted to request up to four (4) substitute classes per term.
8.5. Requests are accepted via the substitute class form. In the event that The Japan Foundation, Sydney website cannot be accessed, requests may be accepted via email, provided that mail requests include name, course level, regular class time, and date and time of their preferred substitute class. Requests to attend a substitute class must be sent at least two (2) hours before your regular class commences, or at least two (2) hours before your substitute class commences, whichever comes first. Requests will not be accepted if received after this time. Due to different business hours on Saturday, substitute class requests for Saturday classes must be submitted before 4pm on the previous Friday.
8.6. Substitute classes are not approved until a confirmation email is received from J-Course. If you do not receive this email confirmation, please contact J-Course.
8.7. Once a substitute class request has been approved, the student’s place in their original class may be offered to other students requesting a substitute class. Should a student cancel their substitute class request, a place in their original class will not be guaranteed and is subject to availability.
8.8. Students must inform J-Course via email if they are no longer able to attend a substitute class. Substitute classes will be counted even if students are absent in cases where a notice of cancellation is not received before your substitute class commences.
8.9. Substitute classes are offered across modes of instruction. (i.e., Students enrolled in online classes may request a face-to-face substitution, and vice versa.) Students are responsible for ensuring that they can practically attend all substitute classes, especially in the case of face-to-face courses which are held at our Chippendale address.
9.1. The Japan Foundation, Sydney reserves the right to change teachers and classrooms during term. Students will be informed of any such changes in advance via email.
9.2. The Japan Foundation, Sydney, has a zero-tolerance policy regarding disruptive or aggressive behaviour from students, staff, and visitors. The enrolment of any student may be cancelled for these reasons at the discretion of J-Course administration at any time. Cancelled enrolments will be refunded in accordance with the refund policies outlined in section 6.
9.3. J-Course Administration can be contacted via email at jcourse_sy@jpf.go.jp or by phone at 02 8239 0055.
For classes held online, the below will apply in addition to the standard Terms and Conditions.
a. The technical prerequisites for online classes are as follows:
- a computer or laptop (operating systems: Windows 10 or 8.1 / Mac OS X 10.10 or later),
- the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Safari,
- headphones with a microphone,
- a web camera, and
- a stable internet connection, with at least a 1.2Mbps download speed and 600kbps upload speed.
The student is responsible for ensuring that the above requirements are met. Students who cause significant disruptions to class delivery due to insufficient technical prerequisites may be asked to rectify these deficiencies or change attendance to in person instruction if space is available. In the event that reasonable measures are not taken by the student to meet technical requirements, a student’s enrolment may be cancelled. Cancelled enrolments will be refunded in accordance with the policies outlined in section 6.
b. Classes cannot be recorded in any way, including audio only, without the express written permission of The Japan Foundation, Sydney.
c. The student is required to participate with their web camera on during online instruction.
d. The Japan Foundation, Sydney reserves the right to change the mode of class delivery at its discretion.
Updated: 12 March, 2024