Refund Policy

Students who have a credit balance on their account may be eligible to receive a refund. The type of credit on a student's account will determine the method of initiating the refund and the length of time for a student to receive their refund.  Pending financial aid is not considered a credit to a student’s account until the funds have been disbursed.  You do not need to submit a request for a refund to be processed; all refunds are automatically processed once financial aid disburses for a term.

Students have the option of receiving their refund via ACH Direct Deposit, which allows Canisius to electronically transfer funds into the checking or savings account designated by the student, or having a paper check mailed. We encourage all students to sign up for ACH Direct Deposit through the On-Line Student Accounts Center in your MyCanisius.

If a student anticipates a refund and their student account shows a credit balance, a student may be eligible for an Emergency Advance on their refund.  Refund inquiries and requests can be emailed to @email.

Students should be aware that changes to their account that occur after a refund is processed may result in a balance to the college. It is strongly recommended that students and parents verify the accuracy of any refund received and report any discrepancies to the Student Records & Financial Services Office immediately.

In this section you will find information about:

  • Cancel (Drop)/Withdrawal and Refunds
  • Refund of Excess Financial Aid
  • eRefund
  • Refund by Mail
  • Federal Direct (Parent) PLUS Borrowers
Cancel (Drop)/Withdrawal and Refunds

Canisius has established a tuition refund schedule that allows a refund of tuition when you totally withdraw from Canisius or when you’re billed by credit hour and withdraw from a course(s). The refund is a credit to your student account and may result in adjustments to your financial aid. If a credit balance is created on your student account the credit balance will be refunded to you.  Students may cancel (drop) courses without tuition liability up through the first week of classes.
No refund of tuition will be granted to a full-time undergraduate student who withdraws from a course but continues attendance in other courses at the college, with the exception of courses dropped up through the first week of classes. Such students will be deemed to retain full-time status. Refunds of tuition will be calculated from the date on which the withdrawal is approved by the appropriate academic associate dean. The same schedules for tuition refunds will be used to determine the final bill for housing and food costs, as specified in the Housing and Food Contract.

Full-Time Undergraduate Total Withdrawal Refund Schedule:
WEEK PERCENTAGE
First week of classes (Drop-and-Add Week) 100%
Second week of classes 90%
Third and fourth week of classes 50%
Fifth week through eighth week of classes 25%
After eighth week of classes None
Part-Time Undergraduate or Graduate student.  If the course is a 3.0 credit hour class, the refund schedule is as follows:
WEEK PERCENTAGE
First week of classes (Drop and Add Week) 100%
Second week of classes 90%
Third and fourth week of classes 50%
Fifth week through eighth week of classes 25%
After eighth week of classes None
Part-Time Undergraduate or Graduate student.  If the course is a 1.5 credit hour MBA class that meets 7-8 times including the final exam, the refund schedule is as follows:
WEEK PERCENTAGE
After first class 100%
After second class 50%
After third class 20%
After fourth class None
Part-Time Undergraduate or Graduate student.  If the course is a 1.0 credit hour, 5 week class, the refund schedule is as follows:
WEEK PERCENTAGE
First week of classes (Drop and Add Week) 100%
Second week of classes 30%
After second week None

Fees are not refundable.

Refund of Excess Financial Aid

Canisius will refund the credit balance which is the result of Federal financial aid within two weeks of either the date the aid was credited to the student's account or the first day of the semester, whichever is later.

eRefund

eRefund is a fast and convenient way to receive your student refund.  Create your eRefund account in the On-Line Student Accounts Center in your MyCanisius.  After an eRefund has been generated by Canisius to your financial institution, the process may take up to 3-5 business days before it will appear as a credit in your account. Please refer to your financial institution's policy concerning the availability of these funds.

Refund by Mail

Refunds by mail may be delayed.  Students may choose to have their refund mailed to a permanent mailing address.  It is the student's responsibility to keep his/her permanent mailing addresses up-to-date. For students who do not indicate a refund preference, refunds will be mailed to the permanent mailing address.

Federal Direct (Parent) PLUS Borrowers

If a credit balance results from the disbursement of a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan, the refund will be issued to the parent borrower unless otherwise requested in writing to be issued to the student.  Parents can also request the refund be issued to the student on the loan application.  Parent PLUS Loans refunds issued to the parent borrower will be processed in the form of a paper check and mailed to the parent address.