Tuition Refund Policy for St. Augustine and San Marcos Campuses
This refund policy follows the standards set out by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council.
If notification to withdraw from the University is submitted within the one week (seven-day grace period) of acceptance and submission of the tuition deposit, a full refund of the tuition deposit will be returned to the student.
A partial refund of the deposit will be given if a student provides notification to withdraw from the University up to the start of the trimester courses and after the initial seven-day grace period. For students attending the Florida campus, this partial refund will be $300 (the University retains $200 as an administrative fee). For students attending the California campus, this partial refund will be $400 (the University retains $100 as an administrative fee).
If a student submits written notification to withdraw from a course (or the program) after the stated term start date, the following formula will be used to determine the tuition refund.
| Published Length of Course |
Refundable Tuition Due After- |
| 11-15 weeks |
1st week = 80%
2nd week = 70%
3rd week = 60%
4th week = 50%
5th week = 40%
6th week = 30%
7th week = 20%
8th week = 10%
9th week = 0% |
Trimester fees are 100% refundable is said notification is received up to eight (8) weeks after the first day of a trimester. There is a $200 administrative fee for all course or trimester withdrawals on the Florida campus and a $100 administrative fee for all course and trimester withdrawals on the California campus.
If notification to withdraw is received after the eighth week, there will be no refund of tuition.
For students who receive federal financial aid and who withdraw from all classes on or before 60% of the term has elapsed, USA will calculate, according to federal regulations, any amounts disbursed that must be returned to the Title IV programs.
If a student obtains a loan to pay for an educational program, the student will have the responsibility to repay the full amount of the loan plus interest, less the amount of any refund, and that, if the student has received federal student financial aid funds, the student is entitled to a refund of the moneys not paid from federal student financial aid program funds.
Tuition Refund Policy for Austin Campus
This refund policy follows the standards set out by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council and the Texas Workforce Commission. In all cases, refunds will meet or exceed the requirements of TEC, §§132.061 and 0611.
1. Refund computations will be based on scheduled clock hours of class attendance through the last date of attendance. Leaves of absence, suspensions, and school holidays will not be counted as part of the scheduled class attendance.
2. The effective date of termination for refund purposes will be the earliest of the following:
(a) The last day of attendance, if the student is terminated by the school;
(b) The date of receipt of written notice from the student; or
(c) Ten school days following the last date of attendance.
3. If tuition and fees are collected in advance of entrance, and if after expiration of the seven-day cancellation privilege the student does not enter school, not more than $100 in nonrefundable administrative fees shall be retained by the school for the entire residence program or synchronous distance education course.
4. If a student enters a residence or synchronous distance education program and withdraws or is otherwise terminated, the school or college may retain not more than $100 in nonrefundable administrative fees for the entire program. The minimum refund of the remaining tuition and fees will be the pro rata portion of tuition, fees, and other charges that the number of hours remaining in the portion of the course or program for which the student has been charged after the effective date of termination bears to the total number of hours in the portion of the course or program for which the student has been charged, except that a student may not collect a refund if the student has completed 75 percent or more of the total number of hours in the portion of the program for which the student has been charged on the effective date of termination.*
5. Refunds for books, tools, or other supplies should be handled separately from refund of tuition and other academic fees. The student will not be required to purchase instructional supplies, books and tools until such time as these materials are required. Once these materials are purchased, no refund will be made. For full refunds, the school can withhold costs for these types of items from the refund as long as they were necessary for the portion of the program attended and separately stated in the enrollment agreement. Any such items not required for the portion of the program attended must be included in the refund.
6. A student who withdraws for a reason unrelated to the student’s academic status after the 75 percent completion mark and requests a grade at the time of withdrawal shall be given a grade of “incomplete” and permitted to re-enroll in the course or program during the 12-month period following the date the student withdrew without payment of additional tuition for that portion of the course or program. For residence or synchronous distance education courses more than 12 months in length, the refund shall be applied for each 12 month period paid, or part thereof, separately.
7. A full refund of all tuition and fees is due and refundable in each of the following cases:
(a) An enrollee is not accepted by the school;
(b) If the course of instruction is discontinued by the school and this prevents the student from completing the course; or
(c) If the student's enrollment was procured as a result of any misrepresentation in advertising, promotional materials of the school, or representations by the owner or representatives of the school.
A full or partial refund may also be due in other circumstances of program deficiencies or violations of requirements for career schools and colleges.
8. REFUND POLICY FOR STUDENTS CALLED TO ACTIVE MILITARY SERVICE.
A student of the school or college who withdraws from the school or college as a result of the student being called to active duty in a military service of the United States or the Texas National Guard may elect one of the following options for each program in which the student is enrolled:
(a) if tuition and fees are collected in advance of the withdrawal, a pro rata refund of any tuition, fees, or other charges paid by the student for the program and a cancellation of any unpaid tuition, fees, or other charges owed by the student for the portion of the program the student does not complete following withdrawal;
(b) a grade of incomplete with the designation "withdrawn-military" for the courses in the program, other than courses for which the student has previously received a grade on the student's transcript, and the right to re-enroll in the program, or a substantially equivalent program if that program is no longer available, not later than the first anniversary of the date the student is discharged from active military duty without payment of additional tuition, fees, or other charges for the program other than any previously unpaid balance of the original tuition, fees, and charges for books for the program; or
(c) the assignment of an appropriate final grade or credit for the courses in the program, but only if the instructor or instructors of the program determine that the student has:
(1) satisfactorily completed at least 90 percent of the required coursework for the program; and
(2) demonstrated sufficient mastery of the program material to receive credit for completing the program.
9. The payment of refunds will be totally completed such that the refund instrument has been negotiated or credited into the proper account(s), within 60 days after the effective date of termination.
*The refund is based on the precise number of clock hours the student has paid for, but not yet used, at the point of termination, up to the 75% completion mark, after which no refund is due.
The Texas campus is not Title IV approved. Once the Austin campus is Title IV approved by the U.S. Department of Education the following return of funds policy would apply.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RETURN OF FUNDS POLICY: U.S. Department of Education regulations prescribe that when a student receiving Federal student financial aid withdraws, any Federal student aid funds attributable to time after the last date of attendance (pro-rated on a daily basis) must be returned, unless the last date of attendance occurs after the 60 percent point in the term for which the student was charged. These regulations operate independent of the refund policy set forth above. This means that the University may be unable to retain enough of a student’s Federal student aid to cover the student’s charges under the refund policy. If so, the required return of funds will be made, and the University bills the student for any shortfall. All refunds are made within 30 days of the date the University determines that the student has withdrawn.
Cancellation Policy-Austin
A full refund will be made to any student who cancels the enrollment contract within seven days after the enrollment contract is signed or within the student’s first three scheduled class days.
Students Right to Cancel - San Marcos
Students at the San Marcos campus may cancel their enrollment agreement for school obtain a refund of charges paid through attendance at the first class session, or the seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later.