Student Account Refunds
Summary
Students who withdraw from the University before the end of a term may be eligible to receive refunds of portions of their tuition under certain limited circumstances.
Policy Statement
Annulled Registration
Students who take a leave of absence or summer annulment from the university voluntarily before the first day of instruction may have their registrations annulled. Tuition is refunded in full if the student never attended. Such students are not included in university records as having registered for the term and new students do not secure any privileges for admission for any subsequent quarter as returning students. A leave of absence or summer annulment does not automatically cancel health coverage (both Cardinal Care and the Campus Health Services Fee) unless the leave of absence or summer annulment is granted before the first day of instruction. Financial aid recipients should be aware that a proportion of any refund is returned to the various sources of aid.
Cancellation of Registration or Suspension
Students who have their registrations canceled or are suspended from the university generally receive refunds on the same basis as those receiving leaves of absence unless otherwise specified. A student whose registration is canceled less than one week after the first day of instruction for an offense committed during a preceding quarter receives a full refund of tuition fees.
Institutional Interruption of Instruction
It is the University's intention to avoid the necessity of taking the actions described in this paragraph. However, should the University determine that continuation of some or all academic and other campus activities is illegal, impracticable, and/or in the reasonable judgment of the university, their continuation involves a significant threat of harm to persons or property, activities may be curtailed and students and others requested or required to leave the campus. In such an event, arrangements are made as soon as practical to offer students the opportunity to complete their courses, or substantially equivalent work, so that appropriate credit may be given. Alternatively, the university in its discretion may determine that students receive refunds on the same basis as those receiving leaves of absence, or on some other appropriate basis.
Leaves of Absence
A student in good standing who desires or is required to take a leave of absence from the University after the first day of instruction, but before the end of the first 60 percent of the quarter (term withdrawal deadline), may file a petition for a leave of absence and tuition refund. Graduate students submit the completed leave of absence form to the Student Services Center. Undergraduates who wish to withdraw from the current quarter, or from a quarter for which they have registered in advance and do not wish to attend, must file a Leave of Absence Petition with and receive approval from the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, via the office of Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR), Sweet Hall. A voluntary leave of absence after the first 60 percent of the quarter (term withdrawal deadline) is only granted for approved health and emergency reasons.
Room and Meal Plan Refunds
Students assigned to a University residence are subject to the terms of the University Residence Agreement, and are required to live in University Housing for the full duration of their signed contract. The text of the University Residence Agreement is available on the Residence Agreement website.
Room refunds are made only when students move out of the residence system and graduate from or cease to be enrolled at the university. Eligibility for refunds is listed in the Residence Agreement. Termination of Occupancy is filed in Axess. Filing a termination of occupancy form and moving out of Student Housing does not necessarily entitle a student to a refund. Students in Greek letter houses are billed directly by the fraternity or sorority, and refunds are arranged between the student and the fraternity or sorority.
A meal plan refund is based on the date when a student moves out of University residence and is approved under conditions as specified in the Residence Agreement. If a student uses the meal plan after that date, an additional daily charge incurs.
Any decision to refund prepaid room and meal plan charges or to waive liability for deferred charges is made at the sole discretion of the University. Students with questions about refunds should contact Housing Assignments for room refunds or the central office of Stanford Dining for residential meal plan refunds.