What is the Fee Protection Scheme?

Introduction to the Fee Protection Scheme

The Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) serves to protect students’ fees in the event that a PEI is unable to continue operating due to insolvency, and/or regulatory closure. The FPS also protects students if the PEI fails to pay penalties or return fees to the students arising from judgement made against it by the Singapore courts.

EduTrust-certified PEIs are required to adopt the FPS to provide full protection for all fees paid by their students. Fees refer to all monies paid by the students to be enrolled in a PEI, excluding the course application fee, agent commission fee (if applicable), miscellaneous fees (non-compulsory and non-standard fee paid only when necessary or where applicable, for example, the re-exam fee or charges for credit card payment etc,) and GST.

PEIs can choose to adopt either the escrow scheme, insurance scheme, or a combination of both to provide fee protection for all their students.

Fee Protection under the Escrow Scheme

Under the escrow scheme, PEIs are not allowed to to collect any money from their students. Instead, the students are to deposit all their fees into the escrow bank account which their PEI has opened with any one of the CPE-appointed banks. Funds in the account are disbursed to the PEI on a regular basis only if specific conditions are met.

The CPE-appointed banks include the:

• Development Bank of Singapore (DBS)

• Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)

• Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)

Fee Protection under the Insurance Scheme

 Under the fee insurance scheme, PEIs will purchase insurance protection from any one of the CPE-appointed insurance companies for every one of their students to protect their fees.

Students studying in an EduTrust-certified PEI may be required to pay fees of up to a maximum of 12 months of their course to their PEI.

The CPE-appointed insurance companies are AXA Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd (AXA) and Lonpac Insurance Bhd.

Useful Materials on FPS

• Fee Protection Scheme (FPS) Instruction Manual
• CPE-appointed Fee Protection Scheme Service Providers
• Fee Protection Data File Template
• Fee Protection Scheme Data for Site Verification Template
• Data Entry Examples