Receive Your Refund

Are you eligible for a refund?

It’s not just classes that give you credits. Sometimes, something happens to cause a credit balance on your student account. This might be a result of:

See your account balance

Getting your refund

If you end up with a credit balance, you’ll be issued a refund. It’s usually processed within five business days after the credit is posted to your student account.

When you receive a refund will depend on whether you’ve set up direct deposit or will be receiving a check. (Credit card payments that result in a credit balance will be refunded to the credit card, and should appear within ten business days.)

Get your refund via direct deposit

With direct deposit, your refund will be deposited straight into your checking or savings account. You’ll get your money faster than if you wait for a check—usually within three business days after the processing date shown on your account.

Get a refund check in the mail

If you haven’t signed up for direct deposit, we’ll mail your check to your local address—so make sure you keep your address current. Mailed checks will usually arrive within 7–10 business days after the processing date shown on your account. If you don’t receive your refund check within 10 business days, you should issue a stop payment request so your refund can be re-sent to you.

How—and when—refunds are processed

Financial aid is normally credited to your account 10 days before the first day of classes, and we’ll process those refunds the same day. After this initial process is complete, refunds will be processed every Friday. 

Exceptions will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

How dropping courses affects your student account

If you drop a course, you may be eligible for a refund of tuition and fees. The refund amount you’ll receive depends on the length of the course and when you drop it. Be sure to check the official calendar for the deadlines for each refund amount.

General refund deadlines
Refund amount9–16 week courses5–8 week courses2–4 week courses1 week or less courses
100% of course fees refunded1st week of classes1st week of classes2nd day of classes1st day of classes
75% of course fees refunded2nd week of classesN/AN/AN/A
50% of course fees refunded3rd week of classes2nd week of classes4th day of classes2nd day of classes
25% of course fees refunded4th week of classesN/AN/AN/A

If dropping a course results in a financial aid refund, the Office of Student Financial Services may need to determine whether the refund is appropriate or if your aid must be adjusted for compliance reasons.

Learn more about how dropping classes affects you