Refund policy
Our policy on Reduction of Tuition Fee Liability and Refunds for students who withdraw, suspend or discontinue their studies.
Refunds from Academic Session 2010-11 onwards
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on when refunds of tuition fees will be made by the University and how they will be calculated. This policy relates to the portion of the tuition fee that is paid directly by the student or by a private sponsor and does not include courses offered by the Centre for Open Studies.
This policy does not cover the following:
- Non-refundable tuition fee deposits.
- Accommodation fees. For information on these please contact Accommodation Services
- Graduation official gown hire and photography - please contact Ede and Ravenscroft Limited
- Field trips - please contact your Department
All refunds must be requested in writing by either raising a support call for the attention of the MyCampus Accounts Receivable team or by emailing mycampus-fees@glasgow.ac.uk.
1.1 Any refund of tuition fees and or reduction in tuition fee liability is at the discretion of the University of Glasgow.
1.2 In all cases, any other debt owing to the University will be subtracted from any refund of fees.
1.3 The calculation of any refund which may be due will be based on personal contributions that have been paid for tuition fees less the fee liability. The University will apply the following rules when calculating fee liability for students who are withdrawn from University:
Programmes of study commencing in Semester 1
| Withdrawal date | Fee liability |
|---|---|
| Within 13 weeks of the start of semester one | 60% annual tuition fee is due |
| Thereafter | 100% annual tuition fee is due/No refund |
Programmes of study commencing in Semester 2
| Withdrawal date | Fee liability |
|---|---|
| Within 13 weeks of the start of semester two | 60% annual tuition fee is due |
| Thereafter | 100% annual tuition fee is due/No refund |
Programmes of study with non-standard start dates
The official start date of the programme of study will be used to calculate fee liability.
| Withdrawal date | Fee liability |
|---|---|
| Within 13 weeks of the start of the official start date of the programme | 60% annual tuition fee is due |
| Thereafter | 100% annual tuition fee is due/No refund |
In the case of programmes of study where fees are credit based, or which are designated by the University as distance learning, the fee liability will be calculated on the number of credits for which the student is registered.
Pre-sessional English courses
| Withdrawal date for October, November and January Entry courses | Fee liability |
|---|---|
| Within 13 weeks of the start date | 60% annual tuition fee is due |
| Thereafter | 100% annual tuition fee is due/No refund |
| Withdrawal date for February, April, May, June and July Entry courses | Fee liability |
| 100% annual tuition fee is due/No refund |
Online Learning - Pay by course option
Tuition fees are due 7 calendar days prior to the scheduled start date of each course and students are entitled to a 14 calendar day cooling off period after the payment deadline of each course.
This applies to the following courses:
- Education, X118A-5300
- Global Mental Health, B762A-5100, B762A-5112, B762A-5113
- One Health AD33-5100, AD33-5112, AD33-5113
- Population Health Sciences, B903-5100, B903-5112, B903-5113
- Public Health, A377B-5104, A377B-5112, A377B-5113
- Primary Health Care, A305B-5100, A305B-5112, A305B-5113
- Health Professions Education, A38F-5100, A38E-5100, A38F-5112, A38F-5113
- Health Technology Assessment, B791A-5100, B791A-5112, B791A-5113
- Marketing, N500A-5300, N500A-5321, N500A-5322
- Data Analytics, G305-5200,G305A-5205,G305A-5206
- Data Analytics for Government, GI32A-5200, GI32A-5205, GI32A-5206
- Museum Education Online MSc, PX13A-5300
- Assessment in Education, X324-5300
- End of Life Studies, L400-5300, L400-5321, L400-5322
|
Withdrawal date |
Fee liability |
|
7 calendar days or less from the scheduled start date of the course |
No Tuition Fee will be payable for the course |
|
More than 14 calendar days after the scheduled payment date for the course, which is 7 days prior to the scheduled start date of the course. |
100% of tuition fee is due |
- Where a student has paid all or part of the tuition fee for a course and withdraws 7 calendar days or less from the scheduled start date of the course, they are entitled to a refund of the tuition fee amount paid. Refund requests must be made in writing prior to calendar day 7 of the course to your Student Services Coordinator.
- Where a student is paying per course, they will only be fee liable for courses in which they remain enrolled beyond calendar day 7 of the scheduled start date of the course. The student will not be fee liable for future courses that have not yet started should they choose to withdraw.
- Where a student registers to take multiple courses/credits in advance within MyCampus, they are committing to pay for those courses and become fee liable. It is therefore vital that students only commit to the courses/credits they are in a position to fund in full when making their selection in the system during registration. Any questions or concerns about this should be directed to your Student Services Coordinator.
- Students have 6 years to complete their programme.
1.4 In the case of students who have left their programme of study refunds will only be made when the University's student withdrawal procedure has been correctly followed and the student is recorded as withdrawn in the University student records system. Retrospective or backdated withdrawals will be verified against University attendance records. If this is not possible the date of withdrawal will be taken as the date that the notification of withdrawal is received by the Registry.
1.5 Where tuition fees are wholly or partially paid by a third party, the refund rules will be superseded by any relevant arrangement agreed by the University, concerning the student and the third party. These include the following:
- Students fully funded by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) (i.e. where SAAS pay 100% of your annual tuition fee liability) will not be liable for tuition fees if they withdraw before 1 December. The full annual tuition fee will be paid by SAAS for all students in attendance at 1 December.
- Students partially funded by SAAS (i.e. where SAAS pay less than 100% of your annual tuition fee liability and you or another third party pay the remaining balance) will not be liable for the portion of their tuition fee paid by SAAS if they withdraw before 1 December. However you do remain personally liable for the remaining balance of your tuition fee. Normal refund rules apply when recalculating tuition fee liability on withdrawal for this portion of the tuition fee.
- Students with SLC funding which does not include a Tuition Fee Loan e.g. Masters Loans via Student Finance England/Wales, maintenance only loans etc. are classified as self-funding, as these loans are not paid direct to the University of Glasgow. Students not in receipt of a Tuition Fee Loan are subject to the standard 13 week/60% tuition fee liability rules.
- Students in receipt of a tuition fee loan from the Student Loans Company (SLC) will be liable for 25% of their tuition fee loan if they withdraw before the start of Semester 2. If they withdraw before the spring vacation, they will be liable for 50% of their tuition fee loan. If they withdraw after the spring vacation they will be liable for the full tuition fee loan.
- Students partially funded by SLC (i.e. where SLC pay less than 100% of your annual tuition fee liability and you or another third party pay the remaining balance) will be liable for 25% of their tuition fee loan if they withdraw before the start of Semester 2. If they withdraw before the spring vacation, they will be liable for 50% of their tuition fee loan. If they withdraw after the spring vacation they will be liable for the full tuition fee loan. These students remain personally liable for the remaining balance of their tuition fee. Normal refund rules apply when recalculating tuition fee liability on withdrawal for this portion of the tuition fee.
- Refunds of US Federal Loans will be calculated according to the Return to Title IV (R2T4) regulations. For further information on this please see our Stafford Federal Loans page.
1.6 All refunds will only be made to the bank and account holder (or other financial institution) that originally paid the fee. Refunds are not made in cash. Please ensure that the bank account selected as your refund account in MyCampus is correct and valid before you request your refund.
1.7 Where a student undertakes an approved temporary suspension of their studies, tuition fees already paid will not normally be refunded but retained until studies are resumed or permanent withdrawal occurs. Students who suspend their studies remain liable to pay any outstanding fees which may be due at the point of suspension.
1.8 Consideration may be given to making refunds to students who have to withdraw due to exceptional mitigating circumstances. The University shall consider each case on merit. All cases must be submitted on a completed Tuition Fee Refund and Liability Reduction form.
The form can be submitted in one of the following ways:
- In person to the Student Services Enquiry Team located in the Fraser Building
- Sent as an attachment by email to reg-sec@glasgow.ac.uk
- Posted to the following address:
Refund Applications
Registry, Fraser Building
University of Glasgow
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
In cases where a student is unable to pursue their studies as a result of a serious medical condition or bereavement, or where we cannot support a change of programme of study under the Student Transfer Policy, we may refund the balance of fees paid. Academic or financial difficulties are not normally regarded as reasons for any refund or reduction in fee liability.
1.9 Complaints about refund decisions or the refund process should be put in writing and addressed to the Director of Registry.
Payment of refunds
- Please allow 3 weeks from requesting a refund to receiving it.
- All refunds will be calculated in UK Sterling. The University will not refund any shortfalls due to exchange rate fluctuations, or offer compensation for any bank or other charges incurred.
- Where payment of tuition fees was split between more than one payee, any refund due will be made in proportion to the original split.
- Cash refunds are not made.
- Documentary evidence of sponsorship is required before any refund of personal contributions towards fees can be considered. This may include copies of award notices from funding bodies or letters from sponsors confirming details of the tuition support to be provided.
All refunds will be paid back as follows:
| Original payment method | Paid back by |
|---|---|
| Debit card | Debit card used for original payment |
| Credit Card | Credit card used for original payment |
| Cheque from student | BACS to student bank account |
| Cheque from other sponsor | BACS to original sponsor bank account |
| Bank transfer | BACS to bank account used for original payment |
| Direct debit | BACS to bank account used for original payment |
| Bank draft | BACS to student or sponsor bank account |
| Cash (cash payments are not accepted for tuition fee payments). | Where cash is accepted for other types of payment refunds will be made by BACS to the original payee bank account |
Find out more:
For more information regarding tuition fee refunds please email the Accounts Receivable Team: MyCampus-fees@glasgow.ac.uk.
To help us deal with your enquiry please quote your student number in your email.