Tuition fee refunds

Full fee refunds 

If you withdraw from one or more of your enrolled courses during the Change of Enrolment period, you will be eligible for a full refund of tuition fees for the course(s) you withdraw from.

The Change of Enrolment period is the time between the Official Course Start Date and the Final Date to Add or Withdraw with a Full Refund - for most courses this is a two week period, except whole year courses, summer school courses and short courses. The Official Course Start Date and the Final Date to Add or Withdraw with a Full Refund can be found on the Key Course Dates page. 

You will also be eligible for a full refund of tuition fees for any course or programme that the University withdraws or cancels.

You can withdraw from one or more of your enrolled courses during the Change of Enrolment period by submitting a Change of Enrolment in myUC. 

Partial fee refunds 

If you withdraw from one or more of your enrolled courses AFTER the Change of Enrolment period, you may be eligible for a partial refund (not more than 50%), provided you meet the following criteria: 

• you withdraw by the Final Date to Withdraw (No Refund) (WD) date for the relevant course(s)
• you can provide acceptable evidence that your withdrawal is due to medical or exceptional circumstances that impacted your study
• you submit an application for Consideration for a Partial Refund within the calendar year of the relevant course 

Be aware that withdrawing from courses after the Change of Enrolment period, may impact on your eligiblity for a student loan and/or allowance (regardless of whether you are awarded a partial refund). Check with Studylink for details. 

Medical or exceptional circumstances

The following are deemed to be medical or exceptional circumstances:

• serious illness or accident, or severe psychological impairment
• bereavement
• critical personal circumstances involving the health and wellbeing of a relative
• sporting/cultural commitments where you are representing New Zealand or trialling for New Zealand representation
• service in the New Zealand Armed Forces
• other exceptional circumstances beyond your control (for example a natural disaster, damage to significant property, impacts arising from being the victim of a crime, etc)

The following are not deemed to be medical or exceptional circumstances:

• domestic or financial commitments/changes
• employment commitments/changes (except essential workers during lockdown)
• circumstances which arise after the completion of the relevant course
• short-term impairment (eg missing 2 days of class due to illness)
• circumstances which are more appropriately covered by provisions for Special Consideration in Final Examinations (eg short-term illness during the exam period)
• known impairment such as chronic illness (medical or psychological), injury or disability unless medical evidence confirms that, despite appropriate management, there has been an unexpected worsening of the condition
• ignorance of withdrawal regulations and dates

If an application is made for the same/similar reasons to a previous application, the applications may be declined on the grounds that the reason is not unexpected.

Acceptable evidence 

If your application for Consideration for a Partial Refund is due to medical impairment (illness, injury, or mental health) you must provide a medical certificate that is dated to the period of impairment (that is, when the symptoms of your illness or injury are apparent to the Medical Practitioner). A medical certificate dated after the period of impairment is unlikely to be considered acceptable.

In cases of bereavement, appropriate evidence may include a death notice. Where the notice does not mention you by name, you will need to provide a letter from a funeral director, minister of religion, kaumatua/kuia or the police to confirm your relationship with the deceased.

For all other exceptional circumstances, the nature of the supporting documentation will depend on the circumstances, but might include police reports or a letter from an appropriate third party. If you are unsure of appropriate evidence, contact Student Services for advice. 

Information provided in support of your application will be kept in confidence in accordance with the University's Privacy Policy. 

How to apply for Consideration for a Partial Refund

Submit your application for Consideration for a Partial Refund by email to late-enrol@canterbury.ac.nz.

In your email you need to include your name, student ID number, the course(s) you are wanting to withdraw from and receive a partial refund for, and an outline of what you consider to be medical or exceptional circumstances.

You will need to attach suitable supporting evidence. If you submit the email without this supporting evidence, you have 28 days to provide the evidence. After 28 days your application will be considered on the basis of whatever has been provided.

A hardcopy of your supporting evidence can be provided in person at Te Pātaka, Puaka-James Hight. 

Late discontinuation - no refund of fees

If you wish to withdraw from one or more of your enrolled courses AFTER the Final Date to Withdraw (No Refund) (WD), you will need to make an Application for Special Consideration for Late Discontinuation but you will not receive a refund of tuition fees.  Special Consideration for Late Discontinuation is for students who have been prevented from completing a course of study, due to circumstances beyond their control, or that were not reasonably foreseeable, and they were unable to withdraw from the course(s) by the published withdrawal deadline. An approved application for Special Consideration for Late Discontinuation removes the relevant course(s) from your academic transcript but does not give you a refund of tuition fees. 

Be aware that late discontinuation of courses (with or without special consideration) may impact on your eligibility for a student loan and/or allowance. Check with Studylink for details. 

If you cannot complete your Enrolment

If you have pre-paid your tuition fees but cannot complete your enrolment (for example if your Student Visa is not approved by Immigration NZ), you can request a refund of your tuition fees. 

If your residency status changes

If you are granted 'domestic' status (residence class visa and/or citizenship) while you are part-way through the academic year, you may be eligible for a refund of the difference in international and domestic tuition fees for any courses that you have enrollled and paid for but have not yet started. 

To request a refund of the difference in fees, go to Student Services (Level 1, Matariki) with proof of your new domestic status, before the official course start date for all courses you are enrolled in that you wish to be included in the calculation. 

For research students the refund will be calculated from the beginning of the following calendar month, and a refund must be requested before the end of the previous month. 

If your refund exceeds $3,500 NZD, it will be subject to a checking process with the original payment source confirmed by Student Financial Services before the refund can be released.

Refunds will normally be paid back to the source account.  In exceptional circumstances refunds may be paid to a New Zealand bank account, with appropriate documentation. If payment has been made by credit card then the refund will be made against the card.

Tuition fee refunds made to an overseas bank account are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. The rate used will be the exchange rate at the time the refund is processed and may result in the payment being a lower amount than what was originally paid depending on exchange rate movement.

Refund timeframes

All refunds of tuition fees will be made as soon as possible after the withdrawal, change of circumstances, identification of error, or fee appeal resulting in a refund decision. If you have any questions about a refund decision please email late-enrol@canterbury.ac.nz or visit the Enrolments team in Te Pātaka, Level 3 Puaka-James Hight. For any questions about an outstanding refund payment, email studentfinance@canterbury.ac.nz or visit Student Finance (Te Pātaka, Level 3 Puaka-James Hight).

Refund payments

Refunds of tuition fees will be paid back to the original source of payment for student loans, scholarships or Fees Free.  If you personally paid for your fees, you will receive notification from Student Finance to arrange either a refund to your credit card or to your bank account, depending on how the fees were paid – note we are obligated to make the refund back to the source account.

Please note to comply with payment card industry security and international banking regulations do not email any credit/debit card information to us. Any communication containing a number sequence that may be a credit/debit card number will be blocked by the University. If you have not received confirmation that we have received your refund information, please contact studentfinance@canterbury.ac.nz.

Provision of tuition

In the event that UC ceases to be a provider of educational instruction, you will be eligible for a refund of tuition fees for all enrolled courses in the semester or term of cessation.

If UC ceases to be a signatory of the Pastoral Care Code, the refund procedures outlined on this webpage will still apply.