'Can I stay four more weeks?'
It is a good problem to have. A student is enjoying the course and asks at reception whether she can stay longer. Reception says probably, sends an email to admissions and tells the student to speak to her agent. The agent emails a request two days later. Admissions updates the booking, but the accommodation officer does not hear about it until the host asks when the student is leaving.
Then the invoice for the extra weeks goes to the student instead of the agent. The class planner shows her leaving on Friday. And the enrolment letter she was issued before arriving no longer matches her dates, which someone should at least know about.
One change, many owners
An extension feels like one change to the student. Inside the school it touches records owned by different people.
- Admissions owns the booking and its end date.
- The director of studies owns the class plan.
- Accommodation owns the host placement, and the host has to agree.
- Accounts owns the invoice and who it goes to, agent or student.
- The agent is owed commission on the new weeks, under their terms.
- Any document issued with the old dates may need looking at under your policy.
When the change is passed on by email, each person hears at a different time, or not at all.
The cost of a half-done extension
A host who was not asked may already have another student booked, so the extending student has to move house mid-stay. An invoice sent to the wrong party is paid late or twice. A class planner that thinks the student has left gives her place to an arrival. Agents are sensitive to extensions booked around them, and commission disputes follow.
Extensions are the cheapest revenue a school gets. It is a shame to lose goodwill on them.
The extension request we build
- Anyone can start an extension: the student through a short form, the agent through their usual email, or reception on the student's behalf.
- The request is linked to the booking, and whether it came through the agent decides who is invoiced and who earns commission, under your rules.
- Class availability at the student's level for the new weeks is checked automatically.
- The host is asked, by message, whether they can keep the student for the new dates. If not, the request goes to the accommodation officer to rehouse.
- The extra weeks are priced from your price rules, including any long stay rate that the new total unlocks, if your pricing works that way.
- Once the student or agent accepts, the booking, class plan, placement, invoice and commission record are all updated together.
- If documents were issued with the old dates, the admissions officer is alerted to review them.
| Record | Updated by the extension |
|---|---|
| Booking end date | Yes, on acceptance |
| Class plan | Student stays in class for the new weeks |
| Homestay placement | Extended after the host agrees |
| Invoice | Issued to the agent or student, per your rules |
| Agent commission | Added under the agent's terms |
| Issued letters | Flagged for review, not changed automatically |
Extensions that just happen
The student asks on Tuesday, the host confirms by lunchtime, and the updated invoice goes to the right party. The class plan is correct for next week, and nobody has to remember to tell accommodation. Management can see how many students extend and at what point in their stay, which is useful for planning promotions for longer stays.
Signs extensions are slipping
- Hosts are the last to hear about an extension.
- Extended students have had to change host mid-stay.
- Extension invoices go to the wrong party.
- Agents dispute commission on extensions.
- The class plan shows extended students as leaving.