If a student withdraws from the university or drops a course, the refund policy will be:
- For changes made through the first ¼ of the term of instruction (measured in weekdays, not class days), 100 percent of the semester course fees and tuition for the net credits dropped will be refunded, if applicable.
- For changes made after the first ¼ of the term of instruction and through the end of the session, no refund will be made for any credits dropped. Any courses approved for late add will be billed in the next monthly bill.
When dropping a course, the date the notification from the department is received in the Office of the Registrar will determine the amount of refund applicable.
Appeals concerning the refund policy should be referred to the Office of the Registrar.
Medical Withdrawal Policy for Class Tuition and Fees Refund
If a medical withdrawal is approved with a committee-required last date of attendance starting with the first day of semester through the last day of the end of the semester refund period, students receive "no record" class drops and 100% tuition and fees refund. If a medical withdrawal is approved with a committee-required last date of attendance starting with the first day of no tuition refund through the last day of the semester, students receive W grades and a lump-sum tuition refund of $500 which is the approximate cost of 1 tuition credit hour for an in-state Freshman.
Students are responsible for any tuition and fee charges not covered by the lump-sum tuition refund. If the lump-sum tuition refund creates a tuition and fees credit on the students’ account, the refund will be applied to the students’ accounts.
This policy is non-appealable.
Net refunds due to a drop of credits or withdrawal from the university are processed daily and posted to students' accounts. Amounts due students will be applied against outstanding balances owed the University or returned to students. Questions regarding account balances should be referred to the Student Accounts Office, Hannah Administration Building, 426 Auditorium Road, Room 140.
Refund Rules for Other Fees, Taxes, Assessments
The Engineering Program Fee, Science and Technology Fee, Health Science Program Fee, Broad College of Business Program Fee, and the Computational Mathematics Science and Engineering Fee or the differential is refunded in the same percentage as course fees when withdrawing from the University or dropping from above 4 credits to 4 credits or less.
Student government taxes, FM Radio tax, and The State News assessments are refundable upon presentation of the appropriate receipt at the respective organization's office.
Late registration fees will not be refunded.
Residence Hall housing fees are refunded on a pro-rata basis, based on certain variables. In some instances, the cost of room and board
may be prorated as of the day following departure, if proper check-out procedures have been followed. Details and procedures are found in the On-Campus Housing Handbook: Terms and Conditions.
University Apartment rent refunds - Tenants will be held to their lease end date, so no proration will occur if they move out early. Refunds for tenants who have been officially released from their lease will be prorated as of the day following the official check out time.
In general, all fees collected by Michigan State University and their respective refund policies shall be subject to judicial review as provided in
Student Rights and Responsibilities at Michigan State University.
Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of TA funds originally awarded.