8. Undergraduate Fees, Financial Assistance, Refunds
This section explains Athabasca University's fee schedule and what a student is entitled to receive. Financial assistance is available to part-time and full-time students from the Alberta Student Finance Board or the Student finance board of the province in which a student resides. Regulations on course load and course completion requirements for the Alberta Student Finance Board are subject to change at any time.
8.1. Explanation of Fees
A fee is the amount of money a student pays for a service rendered by the University. Course fees are determined by combining the tuition fee, the materials fee, and
the mandatory Students Association, and Alumni Association fee. The payment of course fees entitles the student to receive most course materials (texts, study manuals and guides, and other instructional materials required to complete the course) and other support services (including tutorial assistance where provided) for the period of active registration.
- Students living outside North America will have their course materials shipped via airmail at their expense unless they specify otherwise.
- Extraordinary or miscellaneous fees may be associated with certain courses. These are stated in the relevant course outlines.
- The Government of Alberta requires foreign national students living in Canada to pay tuition fees that are double those paid by Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Admission, evaluation, course materials, Students Association and Alumni Association fees (where required) are in addition to this.
When first seeking admission to Athabasca University, all students submit the application fee with their completed General Application Form. This fee is payable only once and covers the administrative costs involved with entering the student demographic information and creating the student account and record. This fee is non-refundable, even if students are unable to register in their preferred course or for a requested start date.
Requests with insufficient fees cannot be processed until full payment is received.
Athabasca University reserves the right to make changes to any policies, procedures, fees, course availability, delivery mode, schedules, program requirements, or other information described in this Calendar at any time without further notice.
8.2. Methods of Payment
Fees are revised occasionally. For information regarding fees, you may contact the Information Centre or an Athabasca University learning centre (see inside front cover for telephone numbers).
Full fees must accompany all requests by cheque or money order; VISA®, MasterCard® or AMERICAN EXPRESS® ; INTERAC® (on site) at Athabasca, Calgary, Fort McMurray, and Edmonton learning centres. Requests with insufficient fees cannot be processed until full payment is received.
Note: Post-dated cheques are not accepted for home-study registrations. Cash may be paid in person. Please do not send cash through the mail.
Continuing students paying by cheque should ensure their student ID number is clearly written on the cheque. This will ensure your monies are posted to the correct student account rather than to an account of another student with the same name.
When paying by VISA®, MasterCard® or AMERICAN EXPRESS® please indicate the specific fee you are paying (e.g., admission fee, evaluation fee, etc.). Should you make an error in determining the amount of the fee, Athabasca University will automatically charge the correct fee to your credit card account. By charging the correct fee initially, Athabasca University assists you by reducing the credit card transaction fees you pay and avoiding the delay encountered by having us contact you to arrange for authorization of the additional fees.
Students using the automated touchtone system may authorize course registration fees to be charged to their VISA®, MasterCard® or AMERICAN EXPRESS® account. Students forwarding registrations by fax should not mail original documentation to avoid duplication of charges and processing.
8.3
Fee Summary: Effective September 1, 1999
See attached table
8.3.1. Academic-Related Fee Notes
- The Application Fee is non-refundable and submitted only once, the first time a student seeks admission to Athabasca University, and must be submitted with the General Application Form. This fee must be added to each fee listed where applicable.
- The mandatory Students Association fee and Alumni Association fee are refunded by Athabasca University only if the student withdraws before or within 30 days of the start date. After 30 days the fees will not be returned. This fee is not eligible for income tax purposes.
- Students Association fee per course registration or re-registration:
- 3 or 4 credit $7
- 6 credit $14
- Alumni Association fee per course registration or re-registration:
- A foreign national is a person who does not hold Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status as defined by Employment and Immigration Canada. For more information regarding foreign national admission requirements see 5.2.
A foreign national living temporarily in Canada on a student visa, is required to pay double the tuition fees of Canadian students as follows (includes tuition fee, Student's Association fee, Alumni Association fee, and out of province fee): 3-credit: $764; 4-credit: $964; and 6-credit: $1371. A foreign national living temporarily in Alberta will reduce each of these course fees by $60.
- The Withdrawal Processing Fee is retained by Athabasca University should the student withdraw.
- Only two extensions (each extension is two months in length) are granted to any home-study course registration.
- This fee is payable only once and levied for the review of non-Athabasca University post-secondary studies.
- This fee is levied when a student changes programs or changes from inactive status to active status in a credential program.
- The Materials Handling Fee is deducted from a refund if the course materials have been marked, damaged, or some materials are missing. See 8.5 for more information about refunds.
- This fee is levied each time an examination is returned unwritten and is requested again. Refer to 7.2.5 Multiple Requests for the Same Examination and 7.2.6 Supplemental Examinations for either home study or paced study courses.
8.4. Other Fees
8.4.1. Senior Citizens
Canadian senior citizens (65 years of age or over) are required to pay only one-half the course registration fees and extension fees but must pay in full, the one-time, non-refundable application fee, challenge for credit fee, transcript fees, evaluation fees, change of credential fees, Letter of Permission fees, supplemental examination fees, multiple examination fees, Athabasca University publications fees, Students Association and Alumni Association fees, and all other service fees.
8.4.2. Miscellaneous
- Calendar
The Athabasca University Calendar is provided free of charge to: Canadian citizens; Canadian citizens living outside of Canada; and foreign nationals living temporarily in Canada.
Foreign nationals living outside Canada will be charged for a Calendar. Payment must be received by the University before the Calendar will be mailed: VISA®, MasterCard®, AMERICAN EXPRESS®, or cheque or money order, made out to Athabasca University in the amount of $10 Canadian funds or $8 U.S. funds.
- Publications
| Alberta Universities Writing Competence Test | $ 50 |
* Coping with Exam Anxiety Handbook
to registered Athabasca University students and
available through AUSA | No charge |
* Improve Your Study Skills: A Series of
Seven Modules for Adult Students
to registered Athabasca University students and
available through AUSA | No charge |
| * Available only at Edmonton or Calgary learning centres. |
- G.S.T.
The government's current guidelines exempt academic-related fees from the Goods and Services
Tax. The Goods and Services Tax is charged on fees
for all other goods and services such as workshops, handbooks and other publications, self-help seminars, Athabasca University, T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.
- Delinquent Accounts
Students with delinquent accounts will be deregistered. They will not be permitted to receive Athabasca University services including issuance of examination results, transcripts or record of academic standing, Letters of Permission, evaluations, library borrowing privileges, online computing access, or subsequent enrolment, until accounts have been settled. This policy encompasses all financial obligations due Athabasca University including those attributable to fees, deposits, non-return of equipment, material, or library books, failure to follow formal withdrawal or cancellation procedures, and any dishonoured cheques returned by the bank.
- A returned cheque charge of $20 will be assessed
on any dishonoured (N.S.F., payment stopped, account closed, etc.) cheque. Deregistration shall constitute withdrawal from all courses and forfeiture of all fees paid to date.
- Accounts shall be considered delinquent if they remain unsettled 25 days after the date the finance department issues written notification.
- Receipts
Receipts for payment of fees are not issued unless requested. Where receipts are required for reimbursement by an employer, please submit a separate request at the time of registration or contact
the Student Fee Coordinator, Financial Services. Receipts for income tax credit purposes are automatically issued annually in February and need not be requested (see 8.6 Tuition and Education Tax Credit Receipts).
8.5. Refunds
There are two levels of refund available to students
who withdraw from an undergraduate course either before the start date or no later than 30 days after the start date providing they meet certain criteria explained in this section.
- Refund 1: [(a) with described deductions] providing the course materials are returned unmarked and undamaged (reusable); or
- Refund 2: [(b) with described deductions] because the course materials are marked or damaged. Do not return marked or damaged course materials.
8.5.1. 1.(a) Course Materials Undamaged
If the course materials are completely unmarked, able to be issued to another student, and received by the University within 30 days of the processing of a refundable withdrawal request, you will receive a refund less the following deductions:
SAMPLE REFUND
(amounts effective September 1, 1999):
| Total course package cost (3-credit): | $404 |
| (a) Described deductions: |
| Processing fee | $75 | |
| Total deduction: | $75 | |
| Total refund: | $329 |
8.5.2. 2. (b) Course Materials Damaged, Marked, or Missing
If the course materials have been marked, damaged or some are missing, do not return the material. You will be charged both the processing fee and the *materials fee and are entitled to keep the material.
SAMPLE REFUND
(amounts effective September 1, 1999)
| Total course package cost (3-credit): | $404 |
| (a) Described deductions: |
| Processing fee | $75 | |
| *Materials fee | $95 | |
| Total deduction: | $170 | |
| Total refund: | $234 |
- There are no refunds for students who withdraw more than 30 days after the course start date.
- If the course materials are returned to the University by students withdrawing from a course and hoping to obtain a refund, the course materials will not be returned to the student. Returned course materials become the property of Athabasca University.
- Your refund will be processed 45 days after the course withdrawal.
8.6. Tuition and Education Tax Credit Receipts Information
Tuition and academic fees may be used to reduce income tax in Canada. The University will automatically mail in February the appropriate Tuition and Education Credit Certificate Form T2202A (Tuition Tax Receipt) for qualifying students, to the address on record. Students should notify Athabasca University immediately following any address changes.
To be eligible for the tuition tax credit, the total of such fees paid to an educational institution in Canada for the year must exceed $100. T2202A will not be issued by the University where this requirement is not met.
The calendar year for which the fees are paid, not when the fees were paid, is used to calculate eligible tuition fees. Tuition fees paid for courses that extend beyond the calendar year-end will be pro-rated on the T2202A according to the period of course delivery pertaining to each calendar year. For example, if a course has an October 1 start date and a March 31 contract date, only 50 per cent of the tuition fee representing the October through December period will be reflected in the current year tax credit certificate. The remaining
50 per cent, representing January through March, will be reflected on the following year's T2202A.
Full-time students may be eligible for the education
tax credit for each month of full-time registration. For income tax purposes, a full-time student is defined as
a person actively registered in a minimum of 2 credits per month. The T2202A Tuition and Education Credit Certificate will automatically reflect the number of months of enrolment that are eligible to be considered as full time. Fees paid to the Students Association and the Alumni Association are not eligible for inclusion as an income tax credit. Further details concerning the Tuition and Education Tax Credit may be obtained by referencing Revenue Canada's Personal Income Tax Guide or contacting the Revenue Canada district taxation office.
8.7. Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is available to part-time and full-time students from the Alberta Student Finance Board or the student finance board of the province in which a student resides. Full-time students may be eligible for loans. Part-time students (students completing fewer than 9 credits in a four-month period or 18 credits in an eight-month period) may be eligible for bursaries, loans or grants. The amount of loan or bursary varies according to need.
The regulations for funding require that academic progress be monitored. Continuation of funding to students is dependent on the student's academic success. You are required to pass at least 60 per cent of a full course load for each funding period in order to receive continued funding from the Alberta Student Finance Board. The Alberta Student Finance Board
considers a full course load to be 15 credits in a four-month period. This means that in order to be eligible for continued funding, you must successfully complete 9 credits in the four-month period, even if you are registered in only 9 credits.
The regular contract dates of six and twelve months are reduced to four and eight months for full-time Athabasca University students receiving financial aid. The regular six- and twelve-month contract dates apply to a full-time student at another institution who is taking only one or two courses with Athabasca University. All start dates per semester must be the same.
Note: The regulations on course load and course completion requirements for the Alberta Student Finance Board are subject to change at any time.
8.7.1. How to Apply
Students contact the Office of the Registrar to obtain
a Financial Aid Package that contains application forms. The signed study plan, the Application for Financial Assistance and, if applicable, the General Application Form and non-refundable application fee, are submitted to the Office of the Registrar for endorsement and forwarding to the provincial student finance board for processing. Processing of applications usually takes twelve weeks from the time that complete documentation is submitted. You should apply at least three months before your anticipated start date.
Note: Requested dates for funding periods cannot be changed without reassessment of the loan certificate by the student finance board.
8.7.2. Full-time Status for Financial Assistance
For the purpose of applying for financial assistance, a full-time student is defined as an individual taking at least 60 per cent of a full course load. For Athabasca University students, this means students must complete a minimum of 2 credits per month or a minimum of 9 credits in a four-month period to be considered a full-time student. Students receiving financial assistance for full-time studies may extend or withdraw from a course only if such action does not place them below the minimum full-time load (see 6.7 Course Extensions).
In the event of a discrepancy between the informal web site version and the printed 1999-2000 Calendar, the latter alone is to be regarded as the authoritative and legally binding source.
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