Refunds are issued weekly when a credit balance exists on a university account. All potential refunds are applied to university obligations before a refund is issued to an individual. Refunds of less than $1.00 will not be issued unless the student requests it from the Student Account Services and University Billing Office, but will be carried forward to offset future university charges.
Refunds are issued either by direct deposit to a personal U.S. bank account of the student’s choice or to a Bank Mobile Card. Students must make a selection for their preferred method on CentralLink under Finances, Refund Payment Option.
Vehicle Registration Refunds
Students graduating or leaving the university might be entitled to a refund of the virtual permit price. The amount of refund varies based on semester and week into classes. Requests for refunds should be made to Parking Services.
Please visit the Parking Services website for more information on vehicle registration refunds.
Cancellation of Housing Agreement
The residence hall agreement is for the entire academic year, or remainder of the year, provided the student is enrolled at the university. The residency and financial conditions of the agreement shall not be terminated to move to a private home, fraternity or sorority house, or other housing or to commute during the period covered by the agreement. Students who break the residence hall agreement without approval from Residence Life officials will owe full room and board charges for the entire academic year.
Students who are approved for release from the residence hall agreement for any reason are subject to the following schedule of cancellation charges:
New Applicants Only:
- Cancellation of this agreement after May 1 but by August 1 will result in a $300 cancellation fee.
- Cancellation of this agreement after August 1, but prior to the first day the halls open in the fall shall result in a $500 cancellation fee.
Returning Students Only (Prior to the halls opening):
- Students signing an agreement have a 30-day cancellation period without penalty. Students who sign an agreement can cancel without penalty, but ONLY IF they provide a thirty-day written notice of said cancellation, from the day they apply, and the expiration of the thirty-day notice period occurs prior to May 1.
- Students cancelling after the 30-day cancellation period and by August 1 (December 1 for spring semester) will be charged a $300 cancellation fee.
- Students cancelling after August 1 (December 1 for spring semester) but before the first day the halls open will be charged a $500 cancellation fee.
All Students (during the Academic Year):
- All Cancellation Requests must be in writing.
- Cancellation of this agreement from the first day halls open in the fall but prior to November 1 shall result in up to a $900 cancellation fee.
- Cancellation of this agreement after November 1, but prior to the end of the fall semester shall result in up to a $600 cancellation fee.
- Cancellation of this agreement from the end of the fall semester but before April 1 shall result in a $300 cancellation fee.
- Cancellation of this agreement after April 1 shall result in a $100 cancellation fee.
Other charges and damages may apply under the provision of the agreement such as damage to room. If a student is not approved for release from their residence hall agreement and they choose to move anyway, they are still financially responsible for the entire contract.
Apartments. Residents are charged for actual days up to the termination of their Housing Agreement. Family housing residents may terminate by giving the University Apartments Office 45 days written advance notice. Single student resident contracts are for the entire academic year.
Refunds for Student-Initiated Complete Withdrawals from All Classes
Students withdrawing from the university must complete a withdrawal online through CentralLink to initiate the refund process. Further information regarding the complete withdrawal policy appears in the section on Academic Policies and Procedures. Students who have credit balances in excess of $1.00 on their student accounts after all university obligations have been met will receive a refund unless the student received financial aid.
Refunds upon Withdrawal for Students Receiving Financial Aid
Financial aid disbursed through the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is applied to student accounts to pay for university charges. Credits for the unused portion of tuition, special course fees, housing and other university charges resulting from a student’s withdrawal from the university are used to repay the financial aid sources in full prior to refunding the student. Withdrawing students who have received refunds for financial aid to cover non-institutional, educational costs may be required to repay financial aid sources. The university is required by law to perform a Return to Tile IV Funds (R2T4) calculation to determine the percentage and amount of aid that a student earned when they have not completed more than 60% of the length of their semester enrolled and do not meet one of the official withdrawal exceptions for students enrolled in module courses. Students will receive electronic notification of when a Return to Title IV Funds adjustment has been made.
Refunds for students who receive Title IV financial aid are allocated to the financial aid source in the following order:
- to outstanding balances on Federal Direct Loans (Unsubsidized and Subsidized)
- to outstanding balance on Federal Plus Loans
- to Federal Pell Grant awards
- to Federal SEOG awards
- to TEACH Grant awards
- to other Title IV student assistance
- to other federal, state, private or institutional student assistance
- to the student.
Drop and Add Refunds
The Student Account Services and University Billing Office will automatically process refunds/charges as a result of a change in class registration. Any credit resulting from a change in class registration will be applied to any outstanding university obligations before a refund is issued. No refunds are made after the registration period closes unless the student is completely withdrawing from the university or the class is dropped on CentralLink prior to its second scheduled meeting time.
Tuition Refunds - Main Campus Classes
A percentage of the tuition listed below plus the corresponding percentage of all fees will be refunded to a student who withdraws from the university.
Percentage of Tuition and Fee Refund for Fall/Spring
|
Length of Session |
Calendar Days Beginning with First Day of Class |
16 Weeks |
Days Refund |
1-10
100% |
11-26
50% |
27-54
25% |
10 Weeks |
Days Refund |
1-5
100% |
6-17
50% |
18-33
25% |
8 Weeks |
Days Refund |
1-4
100% |
5-12
50% |
13-26
25% |
5 Weeks |
Days Refund |
1-3
100% |
4-8
50% |
9-17
25% |
CMU Online Refunds
Drop or Withdraw from an Online Course:
- A Drop occurs prior to the course start or prior to the second meeting time for face-to-face classes or prior to the second week for CMU Online classes.
- A Withdrawal occurs after second meeting time for face-to-face classes or after the first week for online classes and before the midpoint.
- If you do not begin participation in your course(s) by the 2nd Friday of the term/module that your course falls into (this date will differ depending on your course start date), you will be administratively dropped from that course and your financial aid will be re-evaluated which may have an impact on your eligibility. See https://www.cmich.edu/offices-departments/office-scholarships-financial-aid/applying-for-financial-aid/enrollment-status
Important Information Regarding Course Drops and Withdrawals for All Online Courses:
- Drops and withdrawals are done by the student, within the permitted time frame for doing so, through the Course Search and Registration System within CentralLink.
- Withdrawals after the midpoint are not permitted.
- Students who cease or fail to attend (virtual or otherwise), without formally dropping or withdrawing from the course will receive a grade of “E.”
- Telephone requests to drop or withdraw will not be accepted.
- In the event that a student is not able to drop or withdraw from a course online through Course Search and Registration, the student must immediately notify cmuonline@cmich.edu in writing for assistance.
- Drops and withdrawals can and do affect your financial aid eligibility.
For more information and a schedule of refund percentages, consult the most current CMU Bulletin (http://cmich.smartcatalogiq.com/). For a Course Drops/Withdrawals Chart, see https://www.cmich.edu/admissions-aid/global-campus/course-drop-and-withdrawal-information.
CMU Online Refund Policy
Application fees, main campus enrollment fees, prior learning assessment credit fees, and graduation fees are not refundable.
Tuition refunds requested prior to the beginning of the course shall be made in full. Tuition refunds requested after the beginning of the first class meeting time or within the first week of an online class and before the second class meeting or before the second week of an online class shall be refunded 100%, less the $50 drop fee. Tuition refunds requested after the beginning of the second class meeting time or in the 2nd week of an online class and before the midpoint of the course shall be refunded in proportion to the calendar time remaining in the course, less a $50 withdrawal fee, according to the refund chart at the end of this section. Students may not withdraw after the midpoint of the course.
See the chart below.
CMU Online Refund Chart for Course Drops and Course Withdrawals
All students dropping or withdrawing from courses after the start date and time will be assessed a $50.00 fee in addition to the refund percentage in the chart below. See chart below for refund percentages.
CMU Online Course Format |
16-week class |
12-week class |
8-week class |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Face-to-Face Course Format |
16-week class |
12-week class |
8-week class |
5-week class |
1-week class |
4 wknds |
3 wknds |
Face-to-Face Course
Meeting Times |
16 meetings |
12 meetings |
8 meetings |
10 meetings |
5 meetings |
8 meetings |
6 meetings |
Course Drops: |
Prior to the second meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the second week for CMU Online |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
Course Withdrawals: |
Prior to the third meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the third week for CMU Online. |
75% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
50% |
75% |
75% |
Prior to the fourth meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the fourth week for CMU Online. |
75% |
75% |
50% |
75% |
0% |
50% |
0% |
Prior to the fifth meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the fifth week for CMU Online. |
75% |
75% |
0% |
50% |
NA |
0% |
NA |
Prior to the sixth meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the sixth week for CMU Online. |
50% |
50% |
NA |
0% |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Prior to the seventh meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the seventh week for CMU Online. |
50% |
0% |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Prior to the eighth meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the eighth week for CMU Online. |
50% |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Prior to the ninth meeting time for face-to-face or prior to the start of the ninth week for CMU Online. |
0% |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Notes:
- If a class has a format that is not listed on the grid, or for courses offered in a hybrid format, please compute total number of days occurring before the withdrawal date and divide by the total number of days in the course to find the percent of completed course time. If the course is 10-33% over, the amount to be refunded is 75%; if the course is 34-49% over, the amount to be refunded is 50%; if the course is 50% or more completed, a withdrawal will not be permitted. A “W” grade will be given to any student who formally withdraws from a course prior to its midpoint.
- If you are a financial aid student and you withdraw from or drop classes to a point where you are considered less than half time for the semester after a financial aid disbursement has been made and a refund check sent, you could be charged back for the full amount of the disbursement.
- Students who cease/fail to attend (virtual or otherwise) and have not formally withdrawn from the course will receive a grade of “E.” A charge back for financial aid received may be incurred based on student’s last day of attendance.
- To drop a weekend course, the drop must be completed prior to 9 a.m. (EST) of the second class meeting date. After 9 a.m. and up to the midpoint, it will be classified as a course withdrawal. To drop a weekday course, the drop request must be completed prior to 6 p.m. (EST) of the second class meeting date. After 6 p.m. and up to the midpoint, it will be classified as a course withdrawal.
- The start time for CMU Online courses is 12:01 a.m. on the first day of class. Drop/withdrawal requests received after that will be assessed a $50 fee. Each new week for an online class begins on Monday at 12:01 a.m. and ends on the following Sunday at 12:00 midnight. The amount of tuition refunded is based on the week the request is received within. Holidays do not have any effect on this definition of a week. Online classes follow the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone.