Frequently Asked Questions...
On this page we respond to questions that we are often asked. This FAQs page is simply a helpful guide with brief responses to common questions. The College Rules & Regulations deal with the issues in full and is the final word on these matters. Do email the College if your own question is not answered.
FAQs about TEE College
That is not required.
- The College receives students from over 28 Christian traditions, as well as independent students, in addition to formally working with particular churches in Southern Africa.
- TEEC students do need to be involved with a local church, as some of their study and assessment tasks will take place in their local church context. Do be in conversation with your minister about your studies.
TEE College was established as an ecumenical institution, it is a non-profit company, and is governed by a Board of Directors.
The staff team is led by the College Principal, who is also the executive director.
FAQs about applying to study
No.
- We are a distance-mode institution which means we work with you wherever you are, there is no need for you to travel to the College offices. You don’t need to send anyone on your behalf.
- You can submit your application online, you can email or fax it to us, you can post or courier it to us.
- We no longer process “in person” applications.
Yes you can register for stand-alone courses.
Not all courses are available for stand-alone study, this is because some courses build on others (pre-requisites), and you will then struggle on the later course without having completed the necessary foundation.
The learning platform Home Page lists available online courses for stand-alone study, as do the Programme Handbooks for courses in other study formats.
The acronym NDP (meaning non-degree purposes) comes from a time when stand-alone courses would not be considered as part of the academic work on a degree programme.
You can submit your application at any time during the registration period – even if you can’t make a payment right away.
- Do make sure that you make the appropriate payment before the registration closing date.
- If you have chosen the installment payment (Option C), then send in your debit order early together with your application – but remember to make the deposit payments before the registration closing date.
- If you submit your application early then we will finalise that once your payment is received. You will benefit by getting your materials early and having a head start on your studies and assignments.
No, you aren’t required to.
There are many advantages to submitting your application online, but if there is an issue or you experience a difficulty then submit your application on an electronic or a printed form and email that to us.
If you’ve received an Application Pack it contained instructions for submitting your application online. Attached to that email are alternative forms you can use – instructions for those are also included. Contact the College staff if you experience any difficulty with your application.
Where qualifications have been registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) then it becomes possible to transfer appropriate credits between programmes.
Contact the secretary of the RPL Committee for any guidance or information about transferring credit (referred to as CAT – Credit Accumulation and Transfer) or RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning).
FAQs about online studies
Not all.
Programmes are being revised for online delivery formats, and as the work for each programme is completed only then is the whole programme made available for online study. See the “Delivery options” tab on each programme page for details about that programme’s availability online.
There is no difference in content or assessment. The presentation format might differ, and formative assessment will likely differ, but the goal and purpose of each curse remains the same. Students will complete the same assessments, whether online or working from print.
Courses have outcomes, and they are assessed according to the outcomes. Therefore the format and delivery method doesn’t impact the achievement of courses.
Any device that can run a web browser can be used to access the online course content.
It is possible to access content via a smartphone, although it is recommended that the Learning Platform app be usedin that case.
No.
The content for online courses is delivered electronically. It is possible to buy a set of printed course materials if you are registered for the course. The cost of materials and their delivery is additional to the course fee.
No.
You need an internet connection to access the learning platform and course content. It is possible to download the content and work offline on unit content. You will need online access to access subsequent units and for end-of-unit formative assessment activities.
No.
The Department of Higher Education & Training only provides data to public institutions like universities. Students are responsible for their own connectivity.
You can start from the beginning again if you wish to.
If you are re-attempting a course that you did not complete then your online account will be set so that you can continue from where you left off previously.
FAQs about finance and fees
- Register early, and pay course fees in full before the registration closing date.
- Fee discount structures will vary from year to year – but look for the Option A and Option B payment options, as those are the discounted fees.
- Registering and paying early also means you access your study materials sooner, which gives you a head start on the course and your assignments.
TEE College does not offer bursaries.
Some churches do offer bursaries for their students studying at TEE College. Do contact your church’ training department and ask if they offer bursaries for students studying with TEEC.
- If you had submitted an application but can’t pay the required fees, then we can modify your application to match what you are able to pay. That way we can register you for some courses (even if not for all the courses you had hoped to do).
- If you are registered and paying by installment, and experience difficulty in paying your installments then do be in contact with the finance office. Students who simply stop paying are handing over to a third-party collection agency. If you contact us then we can work out a plan.
A duly completed debit order form is required for all registrations that wish to make use of instalment payments (Option C). See the terms and conditions on the form.
- Submit your debit order form with your application, or at least by the registration closing date.
- If you have paid deposits, but have not submitted a debit order form, then your application will be modified to match the available payments.
If you have been excluded from Option C due to prior non-payment, then you must either pay your course fees in full (at the discounted rate), or seek alternative funding.
See the Payment Options page for links to institutions that will assist with student funding on an installment basis.
FAQs about assignments and re-submissions
- You must submit your assignment by the Due Date at the very latest – ideally in the week prior. Even if we get it after the due date, if you sent it by the due date it will be treated as being “in time”. The Rules & Regulations explains how this works.
- The College doesn’t give extensions, but we do automatically give an “Emergency extension”. If you submit in the week after the due date then your assignment will still be marked, but a penalty will be applied to the final mark.
- If you submit more than a week past the due date then your assignment will not be marked.
Yes, do submit it.
Assignments are assessing course outcomes and so it is quite possible that you will fail the assignment if you didn’t complete all the assignment tasks. However, your marker can still give you feedback on the tasks you were able to complete. If you did the work then don’t miss out on the opportunity to get feedback. This will help you when attempting the assignment on a future occasion.
It is important to balance study time alongside your other commitments. If you are not coping with your course load then look at cancelling courses.
Early cancellation will see you receive a partial refund of your course fee and you get to keep the course material you have received. You will be able to repeat the course at a later time for a lesser fee. The Rules & Regulations explain this in more detail.
Emailed assignments must be sent to assignments@teec.co.za only. Delivered assignments must arrive at the College street address or PO Box address.
Copying other staff in assignment submissions makes it more likely that your email will be discarded – don’t do that!
Once your assignment has been received, as required, you will be sent an email receipt confirming that we have received and logged your assignment.
Yes, it is – for two reasons:
- Due to the failure of the Post Office and the cost of couriers, we do not send your script back to you. The marker does not write in the script received, but provides feedback on your assignment through the Feedback Sheet – this is sent to you directly by the College. You then compare the marker’s feedback with your own copy of your script.
- We send scripts to markers by courier, and occasionally these vans are hijacked or a consignment goes astray (this happens more often than you might realise!). In those instances we will request from you a copy of your script.
If you emailed your script to us then we will save a copy and work from that as needed.
If you have failed your assignment, then, in some instances, your marker will provide feedback on the failed work and ask you to resubmit it. If you pay attention to the feedback, and resubmit the updated work, then you will turn your failed assignment into one that is now a pass.
Re-submissions apply mostly to the first assignment on a course, and are there to assist students as they work with new course work.
The Rules & Regulations explain how resubmissions work, and in what circumstances they apply. In brief:
- Usually only assignment one tasks can be resubmitted.
- If a task (or several tasks) was omitted, or not seriously attempted, it cannot be resubmitted.
- If a resubmission will not lead to a pass, then it is not offered.
The purpose of a resubmission is to assist a student in improving on work that they have attempted – it is not a “late attempt” at incomplete or inadequate work. The Rules & Regulations explain this in more detail.
FAQs about results and failed work
End-of-year results are issued by 10 December each year (usually a few days earlier). Once the final assignments are marked then that work passes through Internal Moderation. The subsequent visit by the External Examiners reviews the work of the academic year’s quality assurance processes. It is only after their final report that the year’s results are finally released.
- We email Results Letters as soon as they are ready.
- Students with outstanding balances do not receive their results until their accounts are settled.
- Current students can log in and access their past Results Letters.
No.
Assignments are marked in batches, and then are verified together as part of the quality assurance process. All scripts must be present and processed, and the marker reviewed, before the results for a course can be finalised. Do not submit scripts too far in advance as they can become lost outside of the usual processes for handling scripts.
A Results Letter shows the work of a particular academic year. To see a record of all studies you will need an Academic Record – see the next section of questions for information about Academic Records.
If you believe that an error on the part of the marker or College caused the failure, then you have the option to Appeal the failed result. The Rules & Regulations explain how the Appeal process works.
Your Results Letter will indicate if you qualify for a Component registration – this will allow you to attempt only the failed work and retain the results already achieve. This avoids repeating the whole course. There are very specific rules that apply to this option, so do read the Rules & Regulations
Are any assignment marks missing for a course? Did you submit that assignment? Did you respond when the College emailed you about the missing assignment? If so, do follow up with the College.
Please note: If you see a mark of zero (0) for an assignment, then we did get your assignment and it was given a zero – don’t resend your assignment! Your assignment feedback sheet will explain the issues that led to that result.
Occasionally you might see a course with the outcome status of Under Review. This status only appears while final course outcomes are being calculated and processed. This simply means that the course result is not final, and is waiting on the resolution of some issue or process before it can be finalised.
If you lodge an Appeal then the course will likely reflect the status Under Review until that process is concluded.
Occasionally you might see an assignment marked with the phrase “can carry”. This indicates a failed assessment that can be attempted as a Component registration in the next academic period.
Your Results Letter will indicate clearly which are the affected assignments and will mark them as eligible for a Component registration.
Components: Each course is made up of several assessments (each submitted assignment is a component and they collectively measure the course outcomes). If you pass the majority (but not all), then under certain circumstances it is possible to register for the failed component only in the next academic period — this option cannot be postponed! Your Results Letter will indicate which components you qualify for, and the Rules & Regulations explain this in detail.
Repeats: If you have failed a course, and do not have the option to attempt components, then you will need to repeat the course. Do so reasonably soon as you will then pay a lesser course fee and use the same study materials (but you will receive new assignment questions– and you will do ALL the assignments).
If you delay and the course content or assessment structure changes before you attempt to repeat the course then you will have to register for it as a full course at the full fee in order to receive the updated study materials. The online application process will guide you in this depending on what study materials were previously issued to you.
FAQs about academic records and graduating
In each year of study you will receive a Results Letter indicating your achievements for that year.
- You are also able to log in to your student account where you will see your passed courses listed, and you are also able to access Results Letters from prior years.
- You can also request an Academic Record which lists all your achievements in one official document which is also recognised by other institutions.
There are three types of Academic Record that you can request from the College:
- A full academic record – this includes every attempted courses (showing those achieved and those failed)
- A record showing only achievements (showing only courses passed as well as any credit granted)
- A record showing only what was achieved at TEE College (credits from other sources are not shown)
With each Academic Record it is possible to request a Supplement – this is additional information that explains the courses on the academic record. If you are using your Academic Record to apply to another institution then do request a supplement as this will assist with credit transfer, etc.
- Request one from the College. Staff will assist you with the process. There is a cost, which you will pay direct to the College using your student number as the payment reference.
- Academic Records are official documents and they do take a few days to prepare, so do request yours in good time.
- Graduates receive a Graduate Academic Record together with their Qualification Certificate at no extra cost.
Credit transfer depends on the rules of the institution granting credit.
TEEC qualifications are registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and work completed on TEEC courses can be recognised by other intuitions, both locally and internationally.
Request an Academic Record with Supplement when you are making an application for credit transfer to another institutions – this will help them match your TEEC work with their course offerings, and you will better succeed in having credit transferred.
In February (after resolving Results queries and Appeals) we review the courses completed in the prior academic year and see who has met the programme graduation requirements. Study paths are individually verified to ensure that the programme graduation criteria have been met.
Those who qualify to graduate are informed in writing and are invited to participate in the College’s annual graduation. Certificates are issued at graduation. Those who were unable to attend the graduation ceremony will be sent their certificates after the graduation.
Graduands do not need academic regalia to participate in a TEEC graduation ceremony.
Graduands will usually hire academic regalia for the ceremony and for the photographs. Those who wish to buy their own academic regalia are welcome to do so. The College will inform graduands regarding the academic regalia options when inviting them to attend the College graduation ceremony.