1. Registration

See Admission Requirements.

2. Student Cards

Southern Business School issues student cards to registered learners annually. An application form must be completed for this purpose and a passport-size (colour or black and white) photograph of the learner must be included with the application form.

3. Exemptions

See Exemptions.

4. Assessment Tasks

Assessment tasks, such as assignments, are set for every subject. Assessment tasks are compulsory and in most subjects learners must submit an assessment task in order to gain entry to the examination. Assessment tasks will assist students in mastering the study material.

Southern Business School will not accept any assessment tasks by fax or e-mail, unless such requirements are stipulated in the assessment tasks.

Advanced Diploma students should note that all assessment tasks must be typed.

5. Plagiarism

If a student uses any other person’s work (including their ideas, theories, diagrams, tables etc.), without proper acknowledgement to the person who originally produced the work, it constitutes plagiarism.

Any of the actions mentioned below will construe a form of plagiarism:

• The submission of work that was copied or a part thereof that was copied from another student;
• Offering money to another person to complete work on their behalf and submitting that as their own work;
• The copying and pasting of sections of work from a source into their own work without giving proper acknowledgment to the source.

5.1 Copyright Legislation

Please refer to the general tutorial letter for guidelines on the acknowledging of sources.

5.2 Assessment and Plagiarism

• If an assessor discovers that a learner has copied directly from another learner’s work (from the same programme or a previous programme) the case will be brought to the attention of the Examination Committee, who will request the learner to explain in writing why original work was not produced.
• The Chairperson of the Examination Committee under the advisement of the members of the Examination Committee will take a decision on the learner’s future at the School based on her/his explanation(s) and evidence.
• If an assessor discovers that a learner has paid another person to complete his/her assignment and submitted it as his/her own, the case will be brought to the attention of the Examination Committee and the same proceedings provided above will apply.
• If an assessor discovers that a learner has failed to acknowledge another author’s work in their assignment the assessor may disregard the question and allocate a mark of zero.

6. Certification

6.1 Documentary Evidence Required

No qualifications will be issued unless the above mentioned documents are on record at Southern Business School:

• A certified copy of your Identity Document;
• A certified copy of your Grade 12 (matric) or highest qualification obtained.

6.2 Issuing of Qualifications

• Certificate in Management – 120 NQF Credits, level 5: Learners that are not registered for this qualification exclusively have to apply in writing and forward a certified copy of proof of identity to be issued with this certificate. Please contact SBS to confirm procedure.
• Diploma in Management – 360 NQF Credits, level 6: The Diploma will be issued at the Southern Business School Diploma Ceremony.
• Bachelors Degree in Business Administration – 360 NQF Credits, level 6: The Bachelors Degree in Business Administration will be issued at the Southern Business School Graduation Ceremony.
• Bachelors Policing Practices Degree – 394 NQF Credits, level 6: The Bachelors Policing Practices Degree will be issued at the Southern Business School Graduation Ceremony.
• Advanced Diploma in Management – 120 NQF Credits (480 cumulative), NQF level 7: The Advanced Diploma in Management will be issued at the Southern Business School Diploma Ceremony.

7. The Graduation Ceremony

One Graduation Ceremony is held each year. No qualification will be issued to a learner with incomplete documentation (such as an ID document) or to a learner that did not settle his or her account with Southern Business School in full.

8. Re-registrations

Current learners are automatically re-registered for the following semester if no subject choice form or written cancellation is received.

9. Examinations

Examinations take place every six months. Subjects’ final mark will be calculated on 50/50 ratio, unless otherwise indicated in the subject’s study material. The 50/50 ratio refers to a 50% value for the examination mark and 50% value to the mark obtained during the semester, for example by submitting an assignment. The pass mark for all subjects is 50%. Learners submitting assignments must obtain at least 40 % in the examination if the year mark is 60 % or higher.

9.1 Supplementary Examinations

Should a learner fail a subject for the first time after registering for it, she or he will automatically be allowed to sit for a supplementary examination.

• Supplementary examinations take place at some point during the examination session following the original examination (usually six months after failing the first examination opportunity).
• Only one supplementary examination opportunity will be granted. If the candidate is unsuccessful at this opportunity, she or he must re-register for the subject and she or he will not be allowed to apply for postponement (paragraph 9.2) or a special examination (paragraph 9.3) for this subject.

9.2 Postponing an Examination Sitting

Learners with valid reasons may apply for the postponement of an examination sitting.

• Learners must apply in writing.
• Examples of valid reasons include such as poor health (supply a medical certificate), work commitments (supply proof from employer).
• A request for postponement will only be considered once per subject.
• Learners failing a postponed examination must re-register for the subject and she or he will not be allowed to apply for a supplementary examination (paragraph 9.1) or a special examination (paragraph 9.3) for this subject.

9.3 Special Examination

Diploma/Advanced Diploma/Degree learners may apply for a special examination if only one subject is outstanding in order to obtain their qualification.

9.4 Application for Reassessment

• Learners must apply in writing.
• The final dates for application for reassessment are the last working day of February for the first semester and the last working day of August for the second semester.

9.5 Repeated failures

A learner who fails a subject more than 6 times (three first time examinations and three supplementary examination- or special examination opportunities) will be deregistered from the course s/he is registered for.

9.6 Examination Centres

Southern Business School uses a number of examination centres nationwide and international. Learners should choose one of the centres to write their examinations.

At venues where less than ten students are allocated for a specific examination, the venue will be removed from the list of available venues. Students will be provided with a viable alternative venue.

Should a student wish to make use of a venue even though there are not enough students in that region to make such a venue viable, she or he may be required to pay the venue and invigilation fees.

10. Subject and Course Cancellations/Changes

All requests for cancellations or changes must be in writing.

Subject cancellations and/or subject changes must be requested in writing within 7 (seven) days after the closing date of registration. Late subject cancellations will be considered by the SBS Academic Board but cancellation fees will apply (see paragraph 7.4).

11. Payment Methods

SBS accepts payment in the form of cash, cheques, direct bank deposits, and/or debit orders. A debit order form must be completed should that be the preferred option.

12. Fees

12.1 Registration

The registration fee is a once-off payment for all first time registrations, i.e. applicants that do not have a student number at Southern Business School. This deposit is not refundable. The registration fee is R550.00, except for the Bachelor of Business Administration and the Bachelor: Policing Practices degrees (R850.00).

12.2 Re-registration

A re-registration fee of R350 is payable at the commencement of each semester.

12.3 Examinations

• Supplementary Examination (also see paragraph 9.1): R200 administrative fee
• Examination (also see paragraph 9.2): R200 administrative fee and the applicable re-registration fee (see paragraph 7.2)
• Examination (also see paragraph 9.3): R300 administrative fee
• Application for re-assessment (also see paragraph 9.3): This is only applicable if the reassessment does not lead to a change in the outcome of the original assessment: R200.

12.4 Issuing of Qualifications

• Certificate in Management (also see paragraph 6.1): An administration fee of R 100.
• All other qualifications: No costs

Cancellation Fees

• Cancellation or change of subjects: No fees will be charged if a cancellation request is received within seven days of registration. If a request for cancellation is received by Southern Business School eight days to twenty-one days after registration, one third of the subject fees due to SBS will be payable by the applicant. Where requests for cancellation are received after thirty days from the date of registration the applicant will be held liable for the payment of all subject fees.
• Cancellation of studies: If a cancellation request is received within seven days of registration, only the registration fee will be forfeited by the applicant. If a request for cancellation is received by Southern Business School eight days to twenty-one days after registration, one third of the total fees due to SBS will be payable by the applicant. Where requests for cancellation are received after thirty days from the date of registration the applicant will be held liable for the payment of all fees.

Miscellaneous Fees

• RPL: R350.00 payment per RPL exempted subject.
• Replacement of Study Guide: R100 per Study Guide Excluding Postage.
• Rejected debit order: R90.00 will be levied on your account by Southern Business School in order to cover administrative and bank charges.
• Student Cards: R100 processing fee.