Withdrawal Policies and Refunds

Business Office

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Withdrawal From a Course

To withdraw from a course, submit a course withdrawal form or email the Office of the Registrar from your salve.edu email address. Permission to withdraw must be obtained from the instructor and submitted to the Office of the Registrar prior to the withdrawal deadline, which is published in the academic calendar.

If you stop attending a course at any time without withdrawing, the final grade will be the grade you have earned in the course. You may refer to the financial information section of the academic catalog for details on tuition refunds. Refunds apply to tuition only; fees are non-refundable.

Withdrawal From the University

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students who wish to withdraw from the University must do so through the Office of the Registrar. The official withdrawal form is available on the registrar's online forms webpage. You must meet with Residence Life, Financial Aid and the Business Office and return the signed form to the Office of the Registrar. The University will initiate your withdrawal when you have not registered for the next semester, not including summer sessions.

It's important that you submit your request as soon as you decide to withdraw. Your official withdrawal date determines the amount of prorated tuition, and financial aid awards are also adjusted according to the withdrawal date.

Graduate and Professional Studies Students

Graduate students who wish to withdraw from the University must do so through the Office of the Registrar. The official withdrawal form is available on the registrar's online forms webpage. The University will initiate your withdrawal when you have not registered for the next semester, not including summer sessions.

If you receive financial aid, you must arrange for an exit interview with the Office of Financial Aid. Please refer to the financial information section of the academic catalog for details on tuition refunds. It’s important that you submit your request as soon as you decide to withdraw. Your official withdrawal date determines the amount of prorated tuition, and financial aid awards are also adjusted according to the withdrawal date.

University Refund Policy

If you leave the University during or at the end of a semester and properly communicate this according to policy, you will not be charged for the next semester. However, if you have already registered for the next semester, you must drop those courses before the next semester starts using the course adjustment form from the Office of the Registrar.

If you leave the University or change your enrollment during the first five weeks of the semester, you are eligible for a tuition and room and board refund. If you are suspended, dismissed or withdraw when under investigation for misconduct, you will not have tuition, room charges or board plans refunded for the semester in which action is taken.

Refunds are processed within 30 days after the University receives notification of your withdrawal.

Tuition refunds are calculated based on the date the Office of the Registrar receives your withdrawal form. All fees are nonrefundable after the start of classes. The University reserves the right to charge an administrative fee for refunds of this nature.

Room refunds are processed assuming another student can fill your vacated room. If the room can’t be filled, the University retains the right to enforce the terms of the student housing contract, which states that you are responsible for the entire semester room charge.

Refund Schedules

15-week courses

  • 100% before classes begin.
  • 80% before the second week of the semester.
  • 80% before the third week of the semester.
  • 60% before the fourth week of the semester.
  • 40% before the fifth week of the semester.
  • 20% before the sixth week of the semester.
  • Nothing after the sixth week of the semester.

7-week courses

  • 100% before classes begin.
  • 80% before the 10th calendar day from the start of the course.
  • 60% before the 16th calendar day from the start of the course.
  • Nothing after the 15th calendar day from the start of the course.

Intersession refund policy (MFA and INR)

  • No refund for the one-week residency after the start date.
  • Semester courses:
    • 0-30 days – 50% refund.
    • 30-60 days – 25% refund.
    • No refund after day 60.

Nursing refund policy (RN-BSN, MSN and DNP)

  • 100% tuition refund through week one
  • No refund from week two onward

Graduate five-year students

  • No refund after the first day of classes. You may change your program path at the completion of the semester.

Refunds for Students Receiving Federal Financial Aid

If you received Title IV federal financial aid such as Stafford loans, PLUS loans, Perkins loans, nursing student loans, SEOG grants or Pell grants, you are subject to repayment as mandated by the federal government. Up until the 60% completion of the semester, all Title IV funds are repaid based on a strict prorated percentage of time completed over the entire semester. After the 60% completion date of the semester, all Title IV funds are considered earned and are retained by you.

Refunds for Students Receiving Military Tuition Assistance

Salve has a policy that returns any unearned tuition assistance funds on a proportional basis through at least the 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided to the military service branch.

Refunds for Students Receiving University-Sponsored Aid

If you received University-sponsored financial aid such as grants, you are subject to the same policy as tuition. Therefore, if you are entitled to a percentage of tuition due to early withdrawal, the same percentage of the grant will be refunded to the University. The above calculation will be performed within 30 days after University withdrawal or 30 days after the University becomes aware of your withdrawal.

Financial Aid Refunds/Advances

Periodically, your tuition account could have a credit balance due to an excess of financial aid (combination of grants and loans) overcharges. This is usually a result of financial aid to be used for living expenses. When this occurs, the University complies with the refund policy as mandated by the federal government as it relates to Title IV funds. If an anticipated refund is the result of Title IV funds, the Business Office can transfer all or a portion of the credit balance prior to disbursement to the student's Salve ID to be used for books and supplies.

Once funds are disbursed (received by the University) to your account, the University makes the funds available to you through direct deposit, which you can sign up for through My Salve. If you are not signed up for direct deposit, the check will be mailed to your billing address. This process does not require a formal request.

The University will not advance anticipated (awarded not yet disbursed) financial aid prior to the actual disbursement of funds.

Tuition Overpayment Refunds

All refunds that are not Title IV federal financial aid must be requested through My Salve and will be made payable to you unless otherwise requested by the person responsible for payment of your bill. If the credit balance comes from a loan applied for by the parent, that portion of the overpayment will be refunded to the parent.

Refund requests may take up to 10 working days to process, and will be available through direct deposit or mailed home. Please complete a student refund request form and return it to the Business Office.

Credit Balances

A credit balance occurs whenever the amount of funding applied to your account exceeds your charges in a term/semester.

A Title IV credit balance occurs when the total amount of Title IV funding (Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Plus Loans, Perkins Loans, Pell and SEOG Grants) applied to your account exceeds tuition, fees, room and board in a given term/semester. Federal regulations require all Title IV credit balances to be resolved within 14 calendar days of the date the credit is created.

Federal regulations also require the University to document that you began attending classes to be eligible for a refund of a credit balance. Therefore, disbursement of Title IV funds begins once the add/drop period has passed.

Federal regulations require the University to obtain written authorization from students (and parents in the case of Parent PLUS loans) to retain Title IV funding for future charges (additional terms/semester in same academic year), or to utilize funds for allowable charges other than tuition, fees, room and board. Allowable charges are books, supplies and other educationally related goods and services provided by the institution.

The Title IV credit balance is reconciled within 14 calendar days of the creation of the credit through one of the following:

  • Holding funding until the end of the academic year if an authorization has been received.
  • Payment by EFT (direct deposit into your bank account) if an authorization has been received.
  • Payment by check to you if the prior two bullets do not apply.

When we attempt to issue a refund of the credit balance by check and the check is not cashed, we will return the funds no later than 240 days after the date the check is issued.