Bursar

Tuition Refund Appeals

Students may apply for a refund of the cost of tuition and fees for a term in which circumstances beyond their control, such as the occurrence of an unanticipated significant personal event, prevented the student from completing the term or from dropping within the published tuition refund period.

Tuition refund applications will be reviewed by the Tuition Refund Appeals Committee (TRAC), chaired by the Bursar.  The committee consists of representatives from a variety of university offices, including:

  • Academic units
  • Student Financial Aid
  • Office of the Registrar
  • Student Affairs

Tuition Refund Eligible Circumstances

All tuition refund requests must be properly documented. Applications and appeals without proper documentation will not be reviewed by the committee. For each circumstance listed below the application narrative should address not only that a circumstance ocurred that was out of the student's control, but why that circumstance required the student to withdraw from the term or course and prevented them from doing so by the published add/drop dates.

The following circumstances are eligible for consideration by the Tuition Refund Appeals Committee

  • Acute medical condition is an illness or injury that significantly impacted the student’s physical and/or mental health that required the student to withdraw the term or course.
    • Documentation: Students must submit a Medical Documentation Form and signed letterhead from the attending physician from your withdrawal term containing: 1) nature of illness/injury; 2) dates; 3) severity of illness; 4) your inability to attend school due to the condition; and 5) the date the physician recommended the student stop attending classes.
  • Chronic or recurring medical condition that worsened during the term is an ongoing illness or medical condition that significantly impacted the student’s physical and/or mental health and required the student to withdraw the term or course. The application and documentation should show how the student's condition worsened after the drop deadline to be considered under this basis.
    • Documentation: Students must submit a Medical Documentation Form and signed letterhead from the attending physician from your withdrawal term containing: 1) nature of illness/injury; 2) dates; 3) severity of illness; 4) your inability to attend school due to the condition; and 5) the date the physician recommended the student stop attending classes.
  • Immediate family emergency - Death, significant illness, or injury of an immediate family member that required the student to withdraw from the University. 
    • Documentation for death of a family member: a death certificate or obituary notice
    • Documentation of ill/injured family member: documentation from the attending physician or hospital containing the nature of your relative’s illness/injury, dates, and severity
  • Enrollment or attendance at another college or university - Student registered for classes at UC but then chose to transfer to another college before the term of enrollment at UC began. Students who attend UC but decide mid-term to transfer elsewhere are not eligible for a refund on this basis. 
    • Documentation: official enrollment verification or official transcript from another university containing dates and term attended
  • University error - Student unable to complete term or drop by deadline because of error by UC staff member.
    •  Documentation: letter of support from faculty/staff member detailing error and impact on term completion or other documentation that student was misadvised
  • Other circumstance -  Any other circumstance not listed above requiring the student to withdraw. 
    • Documentation: related documentation that substantiates the circumstance requiring withdrawal

Limitations

  • Charges from terms that ended more than two years ago cannot be considered for any circumstance.
  • Refund applications will only be considered for courses from which the student has withdrawn. Students who wish to appeal for courses with grades other than W, WX, UW, or X must first withdraw from courses. Instructions for withdrawing from classes after the deadline are available on the Office of the Registrar website.
  • Housing, health insurance, and other non-tuition charges cannot be appealed through this process.

Circumstances ineligible for a refund

Circumstances not sufficient to support a refund include, but are not limited to:

  • Dropping courses to avoid low grades
  • Dissatisfaction with the instructor or course
  • Not being aware of add/drop deadlines
    • Complete refund information for students for every class can be found on the student’s Catalyst portal (My Academics tab, View My Schedule). General refund information is published on each term‘s academic calendar.
  • Nonattendance or lack of participation
  • Dissatisfaction with course mode of instruction