Refunds & Appeals
Refunds
Dropping Courses or Withdrawing from a Semester
Students are financially responsible for all fees incurred by course registration. A student may drop a course or withdraw from all courses with no academic penalty within the period established each term as published in the Academic Calendar Schedule of Dates. However, withdrawals may have financial penalties; the portion of tuition and fees that is refunded will depend on the date of withdrawal and the refund schedule.
Students who drop one or more courses before the specified deadline date and are registered in less than 2.00 credits for the remainder of the semester may receive a partial refund. Students still enrolled in 2.00 credits or greater after dropping a course do not qualify for a refund. For students with permanent disabilities, please refer to the tuition policy for students with permanent disabilities for details about course load, billing and refunds.
Discontinuing attendance at classes, or notification to the instructor, does not constitute official withdrawal from a course or the University.
Students who are on financial sanction will not be able to drop courses directly on WebAdvisor; visit the Financial Sanction webpage for instructions.
Please refer to the Statement of Financial Responsibility.
Basis for a Refund
Dropping of courses or withdrawal from a semester may create a credit on your account as per the following examples:
- Official withdrawal from all classes as per the approved refund schedule.
- Students dropping from 2.00 credits or greater to less than 2.00 credits as per the approved refund schedule.
- Course load reduction when the student was originally taking 1.75 credits or less (e.g., reducing course load from 1.50 credits to 1.00 credits, or from 1.50 credits to 0.5 credit) as per the approved refund schedule.
- International applicants whose study permit is denied by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) may be eligible for a refund of their tuition and fees. Applicants must request a refund, drop their courses through WebAdvisor and forward a copy (PDF) of their IRCC denial letter to accquest@uoguelph.ca. This request must be received within 14 days of the denial letter date; otherwise, a refund will be denied.
Refunds
Refunds may be requested when there is a credit balance on your student account. Credit balances appear as a negative amount in WebAdvisor.
Undergraduate and Diploma Students
Refunds are student-initiated by request and are not processed automatically. Refund requests can be submitted only after the tuition refund schedule for the applicable term has ended.
For example:
- Summer 2026 term refunds may be requested starting June 9, 2026.
Graduate Students
- If your credit balance is the result of award funding, refunds are issued automatically during the first two weeks of classes each semester.
- If your credit balance is for another reason, you must submit a refund request to [accquest@uoguelph.ca].
Refund requests may take up to four weeks for review and processing.
Please Note
- Credit balances that are not requested as a refund will be carried forward to the next semester.
- Refunds under $100 will only be issued if you are graduating or not returning in a future semester.
- Refunds will not be issued for amounts less than $10.00.
Requesting a Refund
The University of Guelph has partnered with PayMyTuition to issue refunds directly to your bank account (see Domestic and International instructions below).
Follow the steps below to request your refund.
Refund Processing Timelines
Refund requests may take up to four weeks to process and may take longer during peak periods.
For Undergraduate and Diploma students, requests are processed only after the tuition refund schedule has ended:
- Fall 2025: October 6, 2025
- Winter 2026: February 2, 2026
- Summer 2026: June 9, 2026
Receiving Your Refund
Incomplete or incorrect submissions may result in processing delays.
Please know that PayMyTuition will not email you asking for your bank information.
Refunds are subject to the following conditions:
- International payments:
Payments received from an international source are eligible for refund only after the student has been registered in two consecutive terms at the University of Guelph.- Refunds are limited to $2,000 per registered semester
- Only one refund may be issued per semester
- Amounts exceeding $2,000 will be returned to the originating bank account (less a $30 wire fee) or applied to a future registered semester.
- Canadian payments:
Payments made from a Canadian bank account are not subject to the above restrictions but refunds remain subject to review. - OSAP recipients:
Refund eligibility may be impacted by OSAP funding requirements.
If your refund request is declined, an explanation will be sent to your uoguelph.ca email account.
Undergraduate Refund Schedules
Please see the Undergraduate Calendar for the refund policy related to:
- Cooperative Education
- Dental Insurance premium
- Medical Insurance premium
Undergraduate and diploma students on the Guelph campus who have documented extenuating circumstances and wish to appeal the tuition fee penalties calculated based on the refund schedule should review the Tuition Fee Appeal Process below.
Graduate Refund Schedule
Tuition Fee Appeal Process
Diploma and Undergraduate Students (Guelph and Ridgetown Campuses Only)
By registering for courses at the University of Guelph, students agree to pay all assessed tuition and fees as a result of this registration (see the Statement of Financial Responsibility). Students are responsible for the full fee for any courses added to their record, regardless of when in the semester they added them.
There are tuition penalties for dropping courses after the start of classes. The amount that the student is refunded depends on the date that courses were dropped or the student withdrew, as per the refund schedule, and does NOT include refunds for the student health or dental plans. Space in courses is limited, so the refund schedule is in place to reflect the resources used by students before they dropped courses or withdrew. Refunds are based on the student’s actual drop date as recorded in WebAdvisor.
Students who have documented extenuating circumstances and wish to appeal the assessment of tuition fee penalties relating to dropped course(s) or withdrawal from the University, must complete the following steps:
- fill out the online Tuition Fee Appeal form;
- attach official supporting documentation; and
- submit the completed package.
Tuition fee appeals must be filed with Student Financial Services no later than the 20th class day in the subsequent semester of the relevant term. (For example, the 20th class day in the winter semester for a fall semester appeal.)
Cooperative Learning, Special University Fees, Distance Education Resource and miscellaneous fees are not refundable. Compulsory fees are not appealable and follow the refund schedule. Refunds for the student health and dental plan fees are not considered in the tuition appeal. Students have the opportunity to opt out of the dental plan in the Fall, or in their first semester, prior to the payment deadline. The health plan fee is not refundable. If you have questions or concerns about the health and dental plans, please contact the Central Student Association (CSA).
Please review the following information prior to completing and submitting a tuition fee appeal.







