SKILLCIRCLE · STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) Internal Operations & Student Governance

Post-Admission Student Management, Batch Delays, Dissolution & Refund Escalations

Effective Date 23 October 2026

Applicable To All SkillCircle Campuses

Departments Counselling, CMT, Academics, Student Support, Campus Operations & Management

1. Objective

This SOP establishes clear accountability for managing student concerns after admission, particularly in cases involving:

Batch commencement delays
Batch dissolution due to low student strength
Trainer unavailability or replacement
Batch timing changes
Student dissatisfaction
Refund requests
Students visiting campuses with unresolved concerns

Our guiding principle: Once a student pays SkillCircle, the responsibility for delivering a satisfactory student experience belongs to SkillCircle collectively, not to an individual counsellor.

2. Department-Wise Responsibilities

A A. Counselling Team — Admission Ownership

The Counselling Team is responsible for:

Explaining course structure, batch timings, fees and applicable policies before admission.
Ensuring that commitments made during counselling are accurate and documented in the CRM.
Completing admission formalities and payment coordination.
Introducing the student to the CMT Team after admission.
Supporting post-admission cases when clarification of original commitments is required.

Important: The Counselling Team is not the primary owner of batch delays, dissolution, trainer issues or operational concerns arising after admission.

However, if an incorrect or unauthorized commitment was made during counselling, the concerned counsellor and Counselling Manager must participate in the resolution.

B B. CMT Team — Post-Admission Student Ownership

The CMT Team becomes the primary student relationship owner immediately after admission confirmation, regardless of whether classes have started.

Responsibilities include:

Student onboarding and welcome communication.
Communicating confirmed batch schedules and any changes.
Proactively informing students about batch delays or dissolution.
Coordinating alternative batches and learning arrangements.
Handling student complaints and coordinating resolution.
Receiving and assisting students who visit the campus.
Providing regular updates until the issue is resolved.

CMT cannot refuse responsibility on the grounds that the student's batch has not yet commenced.

C C. Academics Team — Academic Delivery Ownership

The Academics Team is responsible for:

Batch formation and commencement planning.
Trainer allocation and availability.
Approving batch cancellations, mergers and rescheduling.
Providing feasible academic alternatives.
Ensuring that promised academic services can be delivered.

Academics must inform CMT and the Campus Manager before communicating any batch dissolution to students.

D D. Student Support Team — Escalation & Resolution Tracking

Student Support is responsible for:

Registering formal complaints and refund requests.
Assigning a ticket number and tracking resolution timelines.
Coordinating unresolved cases across departments.
Escalating cases to management when necessary.
Communicating approved refund decisions and timelines.
Maintaining closure records.

3. SOP for Batch Delay or Dissolution

Step 1: Internal Notification

When a batch is likely to be delayed or dissolved:

Academics must inform the Campus Manager and CMT immediately.
The reason, affected students and available alternatives must be documented.
No batch should be cancelled without approval from the designated Academic Head or authorized management.

Step 2: Student Communication

Within 24 working hours of the decision:

CMT must contact every affected student.
Explain the reason transparently and empathetically.
Provide realistic alternatives with confirmed timelines.
Record the communication and student's response.

Students must not discover batch cancellation only after arriving at campus.

Step 3: Alternative Solutions

CMT and Academics should explore:

Transfer to another suitable batch at the same campus.
Online or hybrid classes, with student consent.
Transfer to another SkillCircle campus.
Alternative trainer-led sessions.
A confirmed revised batch commencement date.

Any material change to the originally agreed learning arrangement requires the student's consent.

Step 4: Student Declines Alternatives

If the student declines all alternatives:

CMT remains the case owner.
Support opens or updates the escalation ticket.
Academics confirms whether and when the original arrangement can be delivered.
If no acceptable solution is available, the case is escalated for refund or other appropriate resolution.

A student choosing to wait does not close the case.

CMT must continue providing updates at agreed intervals, at least once every seven calendar days, until resolution.

4. SOP for Walk-In Student Complaints

If a student visits any SkillCircle campus with an unresolved issue:

Reception or the available campus representative must acknowledge the student immediately.
CMT must arrange an initial conversation within 15 minutes, wherever operationally possible.
The student must be offered a suitable place to sit and an explanation of the next steps.
If CMT cannot resolve the issue, the Campus Manager must intervene.
If the Campus Manager is unavailable, Support or the designated escalation owner must be contacted.
Before the student leaves, the team must provide a written acknowledgement, case owner and next-update deadline.

Strictly prohibited:

Refusing to meet a student because their batch has not started.
Asking the student to repeatedly contact their admission counsellor without arranging a handover.
Redirecting the student between departments without ownership.
Leaving a student waiting indefinitely without communication.

5. Refund Escalation SOP

Refund requests must be reviewed based on the admission terms, documented commitments, services delivered, applicable law and the specific circumstances.

Process:

CMT acknowledges the student's concern and forwards the request to Support.
Support registers the request within one working day.
Academics confirms services delivered and alternatives available.
Counselling provides original admission commitments, if relevant.
The authorized Refund/Management Team evaluates the request.
A written decision, explanation and applicable processing timeline are communicated.

Target: Initial refund decision within five working days after all necessary information is available, subject to applicable legal deadlines.

No employee may independently promise or reject a refund without the required authority.

Where SkillCircle cannot deliver the agreed batch or a mutually accepted alternative, the refund request must receive priority review. Internal batch-strength requirements alone should not be treated as sufficient grounds to deny a student's legitimate claim.

6. Escalation Matrix

Situation	Primary Owner	Escalation
Admission-related commitments	Counselling	Sales Head
Batch delay or dissolution	CMT	Campus Manager + Academics
Trainer complaints	CMT + Academics	Academic Head
Walk-in student complaint	CMT	Campus Manager
Refund request	Support	Authorized Refund/Management Team
Complaint unresolved beyond 48 hours	Support	Operations Head
Legal notice or serious escalation	Operations Head	CEO / Legal Team

7. Response Timelines

Activity	Target SLA
Acknowledge student walk-in	Immediately
Initial CMT assistance	Within 15 minutes
Acknowledge written complaint	Within 4 working hours
Inform student of batch cancellation	Within 24 working hours
Present verified alternatives	Within 2 working days
Escalate unresolved complaint	Within 48 hours
Initial refund decision	Within 5 working days
Update student while unresolved	At least every 7 calendar days

These are internal service targets, not substitutes for any shorter contractual or legal requirements.

8. Accountability & Monitoring

Every unresolved case must have:

One clearly assigned case owner.
A CRM or support ticket reference.
A documented reason for the issue.
A record of alternatives offered.
A next-action deadline.
A final resolution and student communication record.

The Operations Head should review open escalations weekly, including ageing, missed SLAs, unresolved refunds and campus-wise complaint trends.

Repeated refusal to assist students, failure to document complaints or deliberate shifting of responsibility will be reviewed as an accountability issue.

9. Immediate Action: Nipun — Gurugram Campus

For Nipun's case, the following action is required:

1 Gurugram CMT: Immediately meet Nipun, acknowledge the inconvenience and take ownership of coordinating the case.
2 Campus Manager: Personally intervene if the student is still at the campus or remains dissatisfied.
3 Academics: Confirm whether the original batch can restart and provide a realistic, approved timeline.
4 Pooja / Counselling: Share the original batch commitments and a record of alternatives already communicated.
5 Student Support: Register the complaint, assess the refund request and coordinate an authorized decision.
6 CMT: Give Nipun a written update and a named point of contact before closing the interaction.

Root-Cause Review Mandatory: The team should also establish why the student was left without assistance at the campus and address any failure of responsibility.

10. Final Management Directive

No department at SkillCircle has the authority to refuse assistance to an enrolled student solely because the issue falls outside its departmental responsibilities.

The first team receiving a concern must assist the student and arrange a documented handover to the correct owner.

The Counselling Team should support the resolution where necessary, but must not become the default owner of operational failures after admission.

“Our responsibility does not end when a student pays. That is where our responsibility to deliver begins.”

Approved by:

Shivam Ahuja

Founder & CEO, SkillCircle

Effective From

23 October 2026 · All Campuses