Refund of Tuition and Mandatory Fees, Including Nonresident Tuition
Regulations governing the refund of tuition and mandatory fees, including nonresident tuition, for students enrolling at the California State University (CSU) are included in Section 41802 of Title 5, California Code of Regulations. For purposes of the refund policy, mandatory fees are defined as those systemwide and campus fees that are required to be paid in order to enroll in state-supported academic programs at the CSU. Refunds of fees and tuition charges for self-support, special session and Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE) programs or courses at the CSU are governed by a separate policy established by the university, available at at the SF State Bursar's office website..
In order to receive a full refund of tuition and mandatory fees, including nonresident tuition, less an administrative charge established by the university, a student must cancel registration or drop all courses prior to the first day of instruction for the term. Information on procedures and deadlines for canceling registration and dropping classes is available at the SF State Bursar's office website.
For state-supported semesters, quarters and non-standard terms or courses of four weeks or more, a student who withdraws during the term in accordance with the university's established procedures or drops all courses prior to the university-designated drop period will receive a refund of tuition and mandatory fees, including nonresident tuition, based on the portion of the term during which the student was enrolled. No student withdrawing after the 60 percent point in the term will be entitled to a refund of any mandatory fees or nonresident tuition.
A student who, within the university designated drop period and in accordance with university procedures, drops units resulting in a lower tuition and/or mandatory fee obligation shall be entitled to a refund of applicable tuition and mandatory fees less an administrative charge established by the university.
For state-supported non-standard terms or courses of less than four weeks, no refunds of tuition and mandatory fees, including nonresident tuition, will be made unless a student cancels registration or drops all classes, in accordance with the university's established procedures and deadlines, prior to the first day of instruction for state-supported non-standard terms or courses or prior to the first meeting for courses of less than four weeks.
Students will also receive a refund of tuition and mandatory fees, including nonresident tuition, under the following circumstances:
- The tuition and fees were assessed or collected in error;
- The course for which the tuition and fees were assessed or collected was canceled by the university;
- The university makes a delayed decision that the student was not eligible to enroll in the term for which tuition and mandatory fees were assessed and collected and the delayed decision was not due to incomplete or inaccurate information provided by the student; or
- The student was activated for compulsory military service.
Students who are not entitled to a refund as described above may petition the university for a refund demonstrating exceptional circumstances and the chief financial officer of the university or designee may authorize a refund if they determine that the fees and tuition were not earned by the university.
Information concerning any aspect of the refund of fees may be obtained from the SF State Bursar’s Office at (415) 338-1281 or bursar@sfsu.edu.
College of Professional & Global Education
Refund deadlines and fees are based on the type of extension class the student is dropping and term/semester in which it runs. Current refund information for extension classes may be obtained from the College of Professional & Global Education’s website at cel.sfsu.edu. To obtain current Drop and Refund information from our homepage, search on the word refunds. Students are encouraged to be aware of drop deadlines and refund policies before enrolling and paying for any extension courses.