Refund and Withdrawals
Deadlines
For current deadline dates, view the Academic Schedule.
Tuition Deposit
The Tuition Deposit is nonrefundable, except in cases where a student has paid the deposit and is subsequently denied admission or receives a study permit rejection.
Withdrawing from a Course
Before the Registration Deadline
If a student, enrolled in one course, withdraws from the course before the registration deadline, no fees will be assessed. If the course change results in a registration status change (e.g., from full-time to part-time), Non-Instructional Fees will also be reassessed accordingly.
Course withdrawals (drops) can only be processed on Bear Tracks until the registration deadline for the term.
After the Registration Deadline
If a student withdraws from a course after the Registration Deadline and up to the Refund Deadline there will be a 50% reduction in the Instructional Fees assessed for that course. If the course change results in a registration status change, Non-Instructional Fees will also be reassessed.
For course withdrawals after the Registration Deadline the effective date of the withdrawal is the day the Faculty receives the withdrawal form. Students who register and then cease to attend or never attend without formally withdrawing will not be eligible for any refund of fees nor will they be exempt from paying assessed fees that are unpaid.
After the Refund Deadline
Students who withdraw after the Refund Deadline will not receive any reduction in Instructional and Non-Instructional fees assessed.
Fee Deadline
Fees deadlines are firm and are strictly enforced. Students must ensure that they process and confirm any intended withdrawals by the required deadline since ignorance of the deadline or its consequences will not be accepted as an excuse. No special financial consideration is given to students who must withdraw after the deadlines. Students should be aware that when they withdraw from a course at any time after the Registration Deadline, they have effectively occupied a place in the class for the entire term. Since space in classes is limited, an underlying principle of this policy is to ensure that as many opportunities as possible are left open for students seeking to register. The university treats all students in an equitable fashion by adhering strictly to the deadlines published.
Students are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their registrations. Students should validate course changes and any fee assessment changes, by reviewing their Class Timetable and Fee Assessment on Bear Tracks.
Credit Balances
Where students have a credit balance as a result of reassessment, University of Alberta (Student Receivables, Billing and Collections, Finance Services) will issue a refund.
Changes from credit to audit
If the change is made during the audit registration period (see Academic Schedule), the assessment for the course will be at the audit rate both for undergraduate students and graduate students.
Partially Paid Accounts
If the full fee assessment for the term has not been paid upon withdrawal or a change from credit to audit, money may still be owed to the University. Account balances can be checked on Bear Tracks or requested through the Student Service Portal.
Financial Supports
Scholarships, awards and bursaries
Refunds for scholarships, awards and bursaries are automatically generated following your payment deadline and do not need to be requested. Most scholarship, award or bursary payments will be applied directly to the student tuition account. Any overpayments resulting from scholarship, award or bursary funding will be assessed by University of Alberta (Student Receivables, Student Finances) and excess funds will be refunded to the student via e-Transfer.
If your refund is related to a scholarship, award or bursary, refer to Refunds for Domestic Payments and Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries below.
Student loans
If student loan funding has been remitted to the student tuition account by the university to pay for tuition and fees, any overpayments resulting from a change in registration status from full-time to part-time will be assessed by University of Alberta (Student Receivables, Student Finances) and refunded to the National Student Loan Centre.
Refunds
The University of Alberta works with PayMyTuition, an electronic payment tool, to remit digital international and domestic refunds and awards and scholarship payments to students. Interac e-Transfers through PayMyTuition have replaced direct deposit and cheques as a form of refund payments for domestic refunds and scholarship, award and bursary refunds.
Please allow four weeks for refunds requested by students to be issued.
Please note: Refunds will not be generated if the student has an amount owing to the university.
Requesting a Refund
Students can determine if a refund is available by viewing their student account within Bear Tracks.
To obtain a refund:
- Log into Bear Tracks
- Click the financial account tile
- Confirm you have a credit balance
- Submit an inquiry through the Student Service Portal to request a refund of your credit balance
To obtain a refund:
- Log into Bear Tracks and select the Financial Account tile
- Confirm you have an overpayment/credit balance by accessing the Account Balance tab.
- Submit an inquiry through the Student Service Portal to request a refund of your credit balance
Note: Financial support refunds will automatically be processed. There is no need to request a refund if your credit balance is related to a scholarship, award or bursary.
Processing Times for Refunds
Refund requests typically take up to 21 business days from the time you submit your refund request for processing. Once the refund request is processed, your account balance in your student account is adjusted and your overpayment will no longer appear.
Depending on the refund method, processing times may vary:
- Interac e-Transfer refunds via PayMyTuition: Within five to ten business days from the time your refund has been processed, you will receive an automated email confirming that your e-Transfer refund is on its way.
- Credit card refunds via PayMyTuition: It may take up to 10 business days from the date your refund was processed for funds to appear on your credit card statement. You may review your student account within Bear Tracks to confirm the date your refund was processed.
- International student refunds via PayMyTuition: Further instructions requesting currency, banking and beneficiary information will be emailed within five business days of your completed refund assessment. Once those details are confirmed, the funds can be deposited directly into your international bank account.
- Cheque Refunds: Cheque refunds will be available for situations where an e-transfer cannot be processed.
Refunds through PayMyTuition
The University of Alberta works with PayMyTuition to remit digital international and domestic refunds, awards, and scholarship payments to students. This has replaced direct deposit and cheques as a form of refund.
When you first receive an email from Interac (notify@payments.interac.ca), your university account may flag the message as a potential phishing email. If this happens, please click on the “Looks Safe” button to help your email recognize it as a legitimate sender. View image of the email you'll receive from Interac.
Domestic Payments and Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries
Once your refund is processed, your student account balance in Bear Tracks is updated. You will receive an Interac e-Transfer link and further instructions by email in 5-10 business days.
There is a $10,000 limit on domestic e-Transfer refunds. Any refunds above that amount will be split up into multiple payment transfers.
Once your refund has been processed:
- You will receive an automated email from University of Alberta informing you that PayMyTuition has been authorized to issue your refund. The email will be directed to your preferred email address on file.
- PayMyTuition ( studentrefunds@paymytuition.com) will inform you that your Interac e-Transfer email will be issued within the next 5 business days.
- The Interac e-Transfer email will instruct you to log into Bear Tracks to retrieve your one-time passcode* to securely access and collect your refund payment.
*If your email address is registered for auto-deposits through your bank, you will not require a one-time passcode to finalize the deposit. Instead, when you select to deposit your funds, you’ll sign into your financial institution and the refund will auto-deposit upon sign in.
The Interac e-Transfer email will expire in 30 days. Please collect your funds within the 30-day period. If you do not collect your funds before the expiration date, the funds will be returned to your student account, and you will be required to submit a new refund request to collect your funds.
Finding your Passcode in Bear Tracks
You can find your one-time passcode by following these steps in Bear Tracks:
- Log into Bear Tracks
- Select the Financial Account tile
- Select Interac Refund Passcode to locate your one-time passcode
The Interac e-Transfer email will instruct you on where to input the passcode.
- Using the Interac e-Transfer email communication, make your selection to Deposit your money.
- You will then be redirected to the page below where you must select your Canadian financial institution.
Note: Once you receive the Interac e-transfer email communication, you may choose to deposit the funds into someone else’s bank account so long as you have access to their online banking. The Interac e-Transfer email containing the Deposit your Money link will be sent to the ualberta email address on your student account; however, you may enter someone else’s online banking login details to claim the deposit.
International Payments
Refund assessments can take up to 21 business days. Once your refund has been processed, your student account balance will be updated.
In approximately a week when your student account balance is updated, you will receive an email communication with instructions on how to complete your refund.
Upon approval of your refund from the University of Alberta, you will receive an email from the university confirming that your refund has been issued.
You will then receive an email from PayMyTuition (studentrefunds@paymytuition.com). This email will provide further instructions on how to complete your refund.
You may choose to deposit the funds into someone else’s bank account. When you are directed to the PayMyTuition refund form, you will have the option within the Beneficiary Information tab to select someone else as the recipient and input their bank information.
- Enter beneficiary details: Complete the online refund beneficiary instruction form which requires currency, identification documentation (either passport or driver’s license), banking and beneficiary information.
- Complete verification: Upon receipt of your completed beneficiary instructions, PayMyTuition will verify your request for accuracy. They will complete fraud and compliance checks to comply with various anti-money laundering and compliance laws.
- Payment confirmation: PayMyTuition will send you a confirmation email once your beneficiary information has been verified and approved. You will receive a PDF summary that is password protected. This PDF can be accessed using the bank account number that you provided in Step 2 as the password.
- Refund processed: Once your refund has been processed, you will receive a notification that your refund is complete. Please allow 3-5 business days for the payment to be deposited to your account.
If you encounter any difficulties with the PayMyTuition tool, please contact support@paymytuition.com.
CONTACT
For live chat or in person or phone support, contact Student Receivables through the U of A Student Service Centre:
If you encounter any difficulties with the PayMyTuition tool, please email support@paymytuition.com.