Refunds
Course Credit
Refund Appeals
Refunds for Special Programs
Refunds are generated by the Billing and Payment Services office after a student drops a course or cancels/withdraws from Berkeley Summer Sessions before the published deadlines for refund. Please note that if you have any outstanding debts to the University (including Fall or Spring fees, printing fees, Course Material Fees, library fines, or emergency loans), your refund will be applied first to the debt.
All students should check their billing information, including most up-to-date information on outstanding balance or available refund, by logging on to Bear Facts.
If You Cancel (Deadline to Cancel Registration)
UC Students and domestic visiting students will receive a refund of all fees, minus $100 cancellation fee, if fees have already been paid in full. If no payment has been made, all Summer Sessions fees will be removed from your CARS (Campus Accounts & Receivable System) bills, but you will be assessed a $100 cancellation fee. If Financial Aid paid your fees, you will not receive a refund, and you will be assessed a $100 cancellation fee.
International students will receive a refund of all fees, minus a $100 cancellation fee, if a Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS-2019) has not been processed at the time of cancellation. If a Certificate of Eligibility has already been processed, the International Service Fee ($300) is not refunded.
If You Withdraw (Deadline to Withdraw With or Without Refund)
The withdrawal processing fee is $192 (plus Class Pass fee if applicable) for UC students, $385 for domestic visiting students, and $685 for international students. Refund for the course fee will be determined based on the deadline to receive a refund for each class.
If Your Course is Cancelled
Although very few courses are cancelled, summer courses are offered contingent on adequate enrollment. Summer Sessions reserves the right to cancel a course if it has not enrolled to an adequate level prior to the beginning of the course's instruction. Courses may also be canceled by the sponsoring academic department based on their internal criteria. Adequate course enrollment is determined by UC Summer Sessions' sole judgment.
If a course, in which you are enrolled, is canceled you will be notified by email and given a full refund of the course fee or credit towards another course. If the canceled course is your only course, and you do not want to take another course in its place, you must cancel your registration by the course session's cancellation deadline. YOUR REGISTRATION IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY CANCELLED BECAUSE YOUR COURSE IS CANCELLED. If you cancel your registration by Tele-BEARS please notify us a day or so later and the $100.00 Cancellation Fee will be waived. If you do not have access to Tele-Bears, please submit a Record Change Form requesting cancellation and indicate that your course was cancelled so the cancellation fee can be waived.
Contact our student services staff if you have further questions about submitting a cancellation and receiving a refund of your fees.
Refund from Credit Card Payments
If your fees have been paid with a credit card, and you are eligible to receive refund, you will receive a refund back to your credit card approximately within 30 days from the date you drop a course or cancel/withdraw from Berkeley Summer Sessions. Once a credit card refund has been processed, you will receive a notification of the refund to the email address you provided at the time of your registration. If the credit card refund cannot be processed, you will receive a refund check (please see "Refund from Non-Credit Card Payments").
Refund from Non-Credit Card Payments
If your fees have been paid with a method other than a credit card (check, money order, electronic check, bank wire, etc.), and you are eligible to receive refund, it takes 30 days from the date the payment was originally received for a refund to be issued. For secure and timely delivery of refunds, students are strongly encouraged to sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to expedite receipt of their refunds and to avoid problems with returned mail due to an outdated address. Please note that international students may not be eligible for EFT, as it requires an U.S. bank account to sign up. Please visit the Frequently Asked Questions for EFT on the Billing & Payment Services website for more information.
If EFT is not activated, a refund check is issued in 30 days, and you will receive an email notification that the refund check is held for pick up at Billing & Payment Services office, located at 140 University Hall (Office Hours: M-F 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.). Checks not picked up within 21 days will be mailed to the local address on file in Bear Facts. Make sure your local address is current in Bear Facts to avoid delays in payment and problems with returned mail due to an outdated address. If your CARS account is past due, or there are problems with your registration for the term of the refund, EFT will be superseded, and a check will be printed.
If you drop a course after the deadline to drop for refund, you will not receive a cash refund, but you will have course credit you may apply toward any course you subsequently add. Course credits cannot be applied towards previously added courses, nor can it be transferred to another terms at the University.
We understand that situations occur that may prevent you from attending or completing Summer Sessions courses. If you need to drop or withdraw from Berkeley Summer Sessions after the refund deadline, there are procedures in place for requesting an appeal to the refund policy.
Please note that refund appeals will NOT be accepted after
September 26, 2009 for Summer Sessions 2009; the deadline for refund appeals for Summer Sessions 2010 is September 24, 2010.
All refund appeals require a signed letter of explanation, supporting documentation and a completed Record Change Form (This form is not required if you have already dropped a course or withdrew from Berkeley Summer Sessions before submitting the refund appeal). You should state, as concisely and clearly as possible, the reason for this appeal. The appeal letter is limited to one page, and it must be written and signed by the student. The letter should also include your current email and postal address so that we can notify you of the decision on the appeal.
Supporting documentation from medical personnel or hospital must be typed on an official letterhead, signed and delivered/mailed in a sealed envelope. Emails or unsigned letters on a plain stationary are not acceptable.
We honor the confidentiality of all supporting documentation, as well as your overall student records.
Required Documentation for the Most Common Appeals
Medical
For medical problem, we require verification of the severity of the condition (verification of how the condition affects your ability to perform university level coursework), not a detailed description of the condition itself. We require a letter from the physician or other personal healthcare provider, or the form used by the Tang Center at UC Berkeley.
Death in the Family
We require a copy of death certificate (or verification of death from hospital or attending physician), and the deceased's relation to the student.
How to Submit
In person @ Office of the Registrar (120 Sproul Hall)
Mail to:
Refunds: Summer Sessions
University of California, Berkeley
120 Sproul Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-5404
Students participating in a special program offered by Berkeley Summer Sessions, such as Travel Study or Internship programs, must follow the policies and procedures published on their respective sections.
Please refer to the policies for Travel Study and Internship for more information.
