Refunds
If you formally withdraw from your individualized study course or your grouped study course, you must follow the regulations in the following sections that apply to you.
Individualized study course refund
The timing of a course withdrawal will impact eligibility for a refund of tuition.
Prior to the course contract start date: A refund of tuition and the course administration and technology fee, less the course withdrawal processing fee, may be granted if you formally withdraw from an individualized study course prior to the course contract start date and you are not involved in a disciplinary proceeding involving either academic or non-academic misconduct.
Within the first 30 days of the course contract: A refund of tuition and the course administration and technology fee, less the students' union fees and the course withdrawal processing fee, may be granted if you formally withdraw from an individualized study course from the course contract start date up to 30 days after, providing the course final exam has not been written (or if all coursework has been submitted for marking, if there is no final exam) and you are not involved in a disciplinary proceeding involving either academic or non-academic misconduct.
Exception: Normally, no refunds will be given at any point after registration for nursing practicum courses or health administration practicum courses.
See feesA refund of the course materials fee will only be considered if you meet the course refund criteria and the University receives the course materials complete, unmarked, and undamaged within 30 days of your course withdrawal date. You will not receive a refund for course materials received by the University outside this time frame (late return).
Note: All returned course materials become the property of the University and will not be returned to you. Most AU courses include software, and/or software access codes. If the packaging around the software or the software access code has been opened you will not be eligible for a refund of the course materials fee. Once opened, the software cannot be re-issued and the material should not be returned.
eTextbooks
If the course materials for the course are only eTexts, the student does not need to do anything further than submitting their withdrawal request. The refund will be automatic if the withdrawal is received within the 30-day withdrawal period.
Procedure for individualized study course tuition refund
Complete and submit the Course Withdrawal Request Form – online. The date of withdrawal will be the date of the submission.
No tuition refunds are issued if you withdraw more than 30 days after your course contract start date.
Tuition refunds are processed within approximately 45 days of Athabasca University's receipt of the course withdrawal request. Your refund will be processed according to your method of payment, e.g., your credit card account will be credited, a cheque will be forwarded to your current mailing address, etc.
For information on how a withdrawal request impacts your academic record, please refer to Individualized Study/Online Courses in the Registration section.
Procedure for course materials refund
To obtain a refund of the course materials fee, complete and submit the Course Withdrawal Request Form (Individualized Study), along with the materials eligible to be issued to another student (e.g. returned complete and unmarked, including any unopened software packaging) to:
Athabasca University
Learning Resource Services
Tim Byrne Centre
4001 Highway 2 South
Athabasca, AB, Canada T9S 1A4
Fax no: 780-675.6174
Include your full name, address, and student identification number with any returned course materials. Your course materials refund will be processed according to your initial method of payment, e.g., your credit card account will be credited, a cheque will be forwarded to your current mailing address, etc. You are required to pay the postage on any returned materials.
Grouped study course refund
The timing of a course withdrawal will impact eligibility for a refund of tuition.
Prior to the course contract start date: A refund of tuition and the course administration and technology fee, less the course withdrawal processing fee, may be granted if you formally withdraw from a grouped study course prior to the course contract start date and you are not involved in a disciplinary proceeding involving either academic or non-academic misconduct.
Within the first 15 days of the course contract: A refund of tuition and the course administration and technology fee, less the students' union fees and the course withdrawal processing fee, may be granted if you formally withdraw from a grouped study course from the course contract start date up to 15 days after, provided the course final exam has not been written (or if all coursework has been submitted for marking, if there is no final exam) and you are not involved in a disciplinary proceeding involving either academic or non-academic misconduct.
See feesComplete and submit the Course Withdrawal Request Form (Grouped Study) to the designated area of the facility where the grouped study course is being offered, or scanned and emailed. The date of withdrawal will be the submission date.
Refunds are processed within approximately 45 days of AU's receipt of the grouped study course withdrawal request. Your refund will be processed according to your method of payment, e.g., your credit card account will be credited, a cheque will be forwarded to your current mailing address, etc.
For information on withdrawing from a grouped study course, and the impact on your academic record, please refer to Grouped Study Courses in the Registration section.
Credit balance
Credit balances on your account, except for students who receive financial assistance from the Alberta Student Finance Board (or another provincial program), will be refunded to you or credited to your sponsor, whichever is applicable.
Updated September 01, 2022 by Office of the Registrar (calendar@athabascau.ca)