Section 20.17.115. Tuition and refund policy.

	(a)  An applicant who is not accepted by an institution shall be given a refund of all tuition and fees paid. The student may be charged a non-refundable application fee. The application fee may not exceed $75.  
	(b)  A deposit or downpayment may be required only if it is credited toward tuition.  
	(c)  An institution shall acknowledge a student's cancellation or withdrawal, in writing, within five business days after receipt of notification.  
	(d)  All refunds to a student must be made no later than 30 days after receipt of notification of the student's withdrawal or last recorded date of physical attendance, whichever is earlier.  
	(e)  Repealed 12/29/2010.  
	(f)  An institution shall provide a "cooling-off" period, which expires at the close of business on the first day of a student's scheduled attendance, and during which a student, upon submitting written notice to the institution, may cancel the enrollment contract and receive a 100 percent tuition refund, less any application fee.  
	(g)  An institution must have a written policy for refunding tuition, fees, and other charges if a student withdraws or otherwise fails to complete the course of study. An institution may charge a student who withdraws or otherwise fails to complete the course of study, after the cooling off period in (f) of this section, a withdrawal fee, not to exceed $100. The institution's refund policy must provide, at a minimum, that  
		(1) the amount charged to a student for tuition, fees, and other charges for a portion of the course of study may not exceed a reasonable portion of the total charges for tuition, fees, and other charges;  
		(2) student refunds shall be computed from the last day of physical attendance; and  
		(3) time spent on an approved leave of absence may not be considered time in attendance for the purposes of determining a refund.  
	(h)  Except as provided in (m) of this section, the institution shall adopt and make known to the student a refund policy that provides for an equitable refund in cases of discontinued attendance. The policy must be either equal to or at least as favorable to the student as the following schedule:  
		(1) for a period of time after instruction has begun but before the second day of classes or the equivalent, the institution shall refund 100 percent of the tuition; after that,  
		(2) for a period of time after the first day of class but not more than 10 percent of the classes has elapsed, the institution shall refund at least 90 percent of the tuition; after that,  
		(3) for a period of time after which greater than 10 percent but not more than 20 percent of the classes has elapsed, the institution shall refund at least 80 percent of the tuition; after that,  
		(4) for a period of time after which greater than 20 percent but not more than 25 percent of the classes has elapsed, the institution shall refund at least 55 percent of the tuition; after that,  
		(5) for a period of time after which greater than 25 percent but not more than 50 percent of the classes has elapsed, the institution shall refund at least 30 percent of the tuition; after that,  
		(6) the institution may require the student to remain committed to the entire amount of the tuition.  
	(i)  For the purposes of (h) of this section, institutions offering distance delivery or independent study programs that are not measured in clock hours will calculate the percent of classes elapsed by dividing the number of lessons or instructional units that the student completed by the total number of lessons or instructional units required to complete the program.  
	(j)  For an institution that has courses of study for which tuition is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis, the institution may not commit the student to pay for instruction that has not been received by the student.  
	(k)  An institution that has courses of study for which tuition is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis and that holds unearned tuition money on behalf of a student must place that money in a non-interest-bearing trust account that contains only tuition money. The tuition money may be withdrawn only as it is earned by the institution as a result of the student's enrollment and attendance under the terms of the institution's enrollment agreement. The commission may, and upon written application, waive the trust account requirements of this section for a public institution. If a student enrolls but fails to attend or otherwise withdraws from the institution, the balance of the student's tuition money remaining on account with the institution, if any, must be refunded to the funding source.  
	(l)  This section does not apply to refunds due to a student because the institution has closed or the program in which the student is enrolled has ceased operating.  
	(m)  An institution accredited at the collegiate level with students enrolled in individual terms shall adopt and make known to the student a refund policy that provides for an equitable refund in the event of discontinued attendance by the student, which at a minimum, must  
		(1) conform to the minimum standards set by the institution's accrediting body;  
		(2) comply with applicable United States Department of Education minimum standards for refund of Title IV grant or loan assistance as set out in 34 C.F.R. 668.22; and  
		(3) be approved by the commission.  

Authorities

14.48.050;14.48.060

Notes

Authority

AS 14.48.050 AS 14.48.060

History

Eff. 3/15/85, Register 93; am 4/2/86, Register 97; am 7/11/87, Register 103; am 5/4/90, Register 114; am 10/11/95, Register 136; am 6/13/97, Register 142; am 4/24/98, Register 146; am 4/20/2000, Register 154; am 4/27/2001, Register 158; am 1/30/2003, Register 165; am 12/31/2005, Register 176; am 6/7/2007, Register 182; am 12/29/2010, Register 196; am 5/26/2011, Register 198