Fees policies

Penalties and Appeals (for undergraduate students)

Penalties

Class drop penalties are designed to discourage students from holding space in classes which they eventually decide not to take. If you drop classes and thereby decrease your class load, penalties of $50 or $100 for each class will be assessed, depending on when you dropped it. The purpose of this policy is to make more class spaces available to students earlier in the enrollment process.

The system monitors your class drops. Approximately one week after all students have been given access to enroll, the system will take a "snapshot" of the classes in which each student is enrolled. The system then takes two more snapshots of each student's classes, one at the end of week one of classes and a final one at the end of week two. The first and last snapshots are compared. If you were not enrolled at the time of the first snapshot, the second and last snapshots are compared. If your class load has decreased, you will be assessed a penalty for each class drop that resulted in a decreased load. The penalty is $50 if the class was dropped before the end of week one, and $100 if the class was dropped before the end of week two. After week two there is no refund of tuition fees for classes dropped.

Appeals

The SFU Enrollment Appeals Committee hears appeals for refunds of tuition fees and tuition penalties for classes dropped due to extenuating circumstances beyond your control. Your appeal must be supported with proper documentation, i.e. medical and/or (in cases that involve a death in the family) a certificate of death. Financial hardship does not qualify. You must appeal within one calendar year from the time you dropped the class(es). If you are uncertain about your health, finances, time or other resources, you are advised to be conservative in committing yourself to classes. Although the University allows students to drop classes under extenuating circumstances, extenuating circumstances alone are not sufficient for granting an appeal for a refund of tuition fees.

The Student Services office provides appeal forms and advice on submitting an appeal. You can also download a PDF of the enrollment appeal form.