Late Arrivals and Cancellations

Late Arrivals

Should it become apparent that you will arrive late after the start of classes, then immediately:

  1. Send the relevant UAlberta Exchange Programs Coordinator AND your home institution exchange officer an email that explains the situation and includes notice of your expected arrival date. 
  2. Contact all of your UAlberta professors/instructors directly to advise them of the situation and find out if there’s any way you can mitigate the impact of your late arrival by, for example, gaining access to course resources, journal articles, etc. so that you can start your academic work before you arrive. 
  3. Contact Residence Services at housing@ualberta.ca to inform them and ask what they would have you do to secure any on-campus housing arrangements you may have made. 
  4. If your late arrival has anything to do with Government of Canada immigration requirements (e.g., delays to the issuance of your visa, study permit, etc.) then you should connect with one of UAlberta's International Student & Visitor Services (ISVS) advisors to seek advice about your situation.

Please note:  You will NOT be permitted to arrive later than 3 business days before the UAlberta registration deadline (which is typically sometime 1 - 2 weeks after the start of classes).  If you haven't confirmed your arrival with the relevant UAlberta Exchange Programs Coordinator by that time then UAlberta reserves the right to cancel your exchange and you would be solely responsible for any exchange-related costs that you have incurred.

Cancellations

Should you decide to cancel your exchange, you will need to: 

  1. IMMEDIATELY drop any UAlberta courses in which you might be registered.  If you don't drop your courses by:
    • the registration deadline (typically sometime 1 - 2 weeks after the start of classes) then you will end up having a UAlberta transcript still showing all of your courses and you will be assigned grades of "W" ("withdrew with permission") for all of them.
    • the withdrawal deadline (typically sometime about 3 months after the start of classes) then you will end up having a UAlberta transcript still showing all of your courses and you will be assigned grades of "F" ("failure") for all of them.
    • The exact dates for the registration and withdrawal deadlines change from year to year and can be found in the Academic Schedule of the UAlberta Calendar.  When viewing the Academic Schedule make sure you are looking at the schedule for the correct school year!
  2. Inform the relevant UAlberta Exchange Programs Coordinator. 
  3. Inform your home institution exchange officer. 
  4. Inform any other individual or group at UAlberta (e.g., Residence Services if you’ve made on-campus housing arrangements) and at your home institution with whom you’ve made financial or other types of exchange-related commitments. 
  5. Return any items borrowed from UAlberta libraries.

Failure to inform the people and groups listed above about your exchange cancellation could result in a situation in which you are still charged fees (and any related interest) for the exchange.  You may also still be charged fees (and any related interest) depending on how late into the term you make the decision to cancel your exchange.  Some fees may always have been non-refundable.

Return to the sitemap of the Incoming Exchange Student Application Guide.

Updated for 2025/26 applications