Refunds
Review withdrawal and refund eligibility and deadlines.
Refunds cannot be granted for any course(s) for which you have or will receive a grade, including grade notations, e.g. discontinued (DISC).
On this page:
Withdrawal from a course or program
A refund of fees paid or a financial credit on an account can only be granted upon request to you for amounts not currently due to the University.
Once fees are due, you must have officially withdrawn from that course(s) before the Did-not-enter (DNE) withdrawal deadline to be eligible for a refund on fees paid for a course(s). If a refund is granted before fees are due, you must still ensure that you are properly withdrawn from their courses. The following does not constitute an official withdrawal from the course or program of study:
- Not attending classes
- Not paying tuition
- Informing the instructor of one’s intent to withdraw
Suppose you have not yet made payment and withdraw after the DNE deadline. In that case, you will be held financially responsible for paying the resulting fees.
Tuition and all compulsory fees charged for previous academic terms are non-refundable.
Withdrawal from a Co-op program
No refund will be granted for any course(s) for which you have or will receive a grade, including grade notations, e.g. discontinued (DISC). Once you have registered for a course, you are responsible for the payment of all resulting fees.
Refunds by wire transfer for international students
You can submit a refund by wire transfer online through:
- Got to My CU Account
- Proceed to My Student Centre
- Go to "Finances" section (not the Finance drop down)
- Select "Refund Request"
- A wire transfer refund is typically processed within ten business days.
- You will assume the wire transfer cost; it will be deducted from the amount of the refund.
- Requests for wire transfers to a Canadian or U.S. bank will not be processed. Canadian and U.S. students must submit a cheque Refund Request.
Withdrawal deadlines
Deadline to withdraw from a course with refund (DNE)
Course grade notation: DNE (Did Not Enter)
| Fall (/2) courses | September 18, 2023 |
| Fall/Winter (/3) courses | September 18, 2023 |
| Winter (/4) courses | January 29, 2024 |
Academic course withdrawal deadline without refund (DISC)
Course grade notation: DISC (Discontinued)
| Fall (/2) courses | December 5, 2023 |
| Fall/Winter (/3) courses | April 17, 2024 |
| Winter (/4) courses | April 17, 2024 |
Requesting a refund
About refunds
- You may choose to leave a credit on your student account to apply for fees due in the next semester(s).
- *NEW* Canadian students can now use Interac e-Transfer™, a fast and secure payment method, to receive their refund for all forms of payments other than online credit card and CIBC International Student Pay platform payments.
How to submit a refund request
Canadian students can submit a refund request online through the Student Hub by doing the following:
- Go to My CU Account
- Proceed to My Student Centre
- Go to "Finances" section (not the Finance drop down)
- Select "Refund Request"
When entering the Refund Selection screen, please follow these steps:
- Enter the refund amount, one refund request, up to a total of $25,000 per day.
- Select the method of refund by choosing “Interac e-Transfer” in the drop-down menu under the “Refund By” column.
- Submit the refund. You will note that the email address where the refund will be sent to will be auto-populated with the preferred email address that is set up on your Student Centre. Therefore, before submitting any refund please make sure that the preferred email address is up-to-date, valid and active on your Student Centre.
- Once your refund is approved (approval process may take up to 10 business days), a confidential refund password will be visible in your Student Centre, under Refund Status. Please note that once the refund request is approved, your account balance in your student account will be adjusted and your credit balance for the amount of the refund will no longer appear. Visit the Account Inquiry page for more information.
- Within the next business day after approval of your refund, you will receive an email from Interac confirming the refund amount at your preferred email address that was set up on your Student Centre.
- If you have auto-deposit enabled with your Canadian bank, the funds will automatically be deposited to your bank account.
- Otherwise, after receiving the Interac refund email, please follow the next steps.
- Confirm the email is coming from the email ending with “@payments.interac.ca”.
- Click the link indicating “Deposit your Money”.
- Select the financial institution at which you will deposit the funds.
- When asked for the answer to the security question, please enter the confidential refund password obtained from your Student Centre, under Refund Status (step 4).
- Once the password is entered the funds will be deposited in your Canadian bank account.
You have up to 30 days to deposit your money (see steps 6 to 10 in INSTRUCTIONS). If you do not deposit it within 30 days of receiving the Interac refund email, the refund will be cancelled. When the refund is cancelled you will receive an email from Interac stating the cancellation.
Is the password required if I have Interac e-Transfer auto-deposit enabled with my Canadian bank?
If you have auto-deposit enabled with your Canadian bank, you will not need to answer a security question nor provide a password. Therefore, although you will receive a password in your Student Centre you do not have to use it as the funds will be deposited automatically at your Canadian bank account.
For more information on Interac e-Transfer™ auto-deposit, please contact your Canadian bank or visit the Interac website: https://www.interac.ca/en/how-to-use/interac-e-transfer/how-to-set-up-interac-e-transfer-autodeposit/
What happens if a wrong password/answer is entered for the security question?
You can attempt to answer the security question up to 3 times.
Be sure to use the confidential refund password exactly as obtained from your Student Centre, under Refund Status.
If after 3 attempts you cannot provide the correct answer/password to the security question, the refund will be cancelled.
How long will it take to receive my refund?
It could take up to 10 working days to receive your refund money. Here is why:
- All refund requests must be reviewed by Concordia staff and this step could take up to 10 working days. Our normal approval time is 3 working days.
- Once approved, the next business day, you will receive an Interac notice by email (to your preferred email address which you set up in your Student Centre).
- You will have up to 30 days to accept the refund by providing the correct password obtained from your Student Centre, under Refund status.
Please note that if you have auto-deposit enabled with your Canadian bank, the funds will automatically be deposited to your bank account as soon as you receive the Interac notice by email and you will not have to provide any password.
What should I do if my Interac e-Transfer™ refund is cancelled?
- Please wait until your Student Centre reflects the cancellation of your current refund request which may take up to 5 business days after your Interac e-Transfer refunds has been cancelled by Interac.
- Afterwards, you will be able to submit a new Interac e-Transfer refund request.
Can I use a cell phone number to receive the Interac e-Transfer™ refund?
No. Only the preferred email address set up in your Student Centre can be used to receive an Interac e-Transfer refund. Therefore, please make sure that the preferred email address you have set up is valid, up-to-date and active before you submit any refund request.
Can I request a refund for more than $25,000?
No, you can only make one request up to a maximum of $25,000, per day.
If the total refund exceeds $25,000, please split the total amount into separate refund requests where each does not exceed $25,000.
However, please note that you can only do one request for a maximum of $25,000 per day. Therefore, after your first request of $25,000, for the subsequent one(s), you will have to wait for the first request to be approved (which may take up to 10 business days) before submitting additional requests.[MF1] [GP2] [GP3]
Can I request multiple Interac e-Transfer™ refunds at the same time?
No, the Student Centre system will not allow you to do so. Please wait until the first request is approved (which may take up to 10 business days) before submitting a new Interac e-Transfer refund request.
I did not receive the refund notification email from Interac. What should I do?
- Verify your student portal to confirm the Interac e-Transfer refund was approved.
- Wait 1 business day after the approval to receive the refund notification email from Interac at your preferred email address that was setup in your student portal. Please verify both the inbox and the junk/spam folder in your email.
- If you still do not find the refund notification email from Interac, please contact BIRKS at students@concordia.ca or by phone to 514-848-2424 ext. 2668.
The refund amount I received is different from what I requested. Why did this occur?
Upon submission of your refund request, it will be reviewed by a Concordia University staff member to confirm the accuracy of the requested amount. Please be aware that if any new charges appear on your account since the date of your request, this may alter the amount of the available credit balance. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding discrepancies in your account, we encourage you to contact the BIRKS team for assistance.
Who can I contact for any other questions?
You can send an email to BIRKS at students@concordia.ca or by phone to 514-848-2424 ext. 2668.
I am an international student with a Canadian bank account. Can I request an Interac e-Transfer refund?
Currently this service is only for Canadian students, however, this service is planned to become available to all Concordia students. We will update you soon.
If you want to learn more about Interac e-Transfer , please contact your Canadian bank or visit the Interac website: https://www.interac.ca/en/how-to-use/interac-e-transfer/how-to-set-up-interac-e-transfer-autodeposit/
When requesting a refund on the Student Information System, "Cheque" is set as a default option. If you request a cheque refund, it will automatically be made payable to you unless you request that the cheque be made payable to a third party (e.g. a parent, spouse). In that case, the student must provide the third-party payee's name and mailing address.
- When the refund pertains to the current academic term, the refund will only be processed after the deadline for withdrawal with a full refund (DNE deadline).
- A cheque refund is normally mailed within ten business days of the deadline for withdrawal with full refund (DNE) deadline and the student's online request.
- Processing a refund may sometimes take longer than ten business days, especially during peak refund request periods.
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Retroactive withdrawal with a refund
Student Request Committees consider students' requests for exceptions to the rules governing the retroactive or late withdrawal (DNE) from a course(s).
- You may apply for a full or partial refund of tuition fees for a discontinued (DISC) course in exceptional cases.
- Information and application forms are available on the Course withdrawals page.
- Students should read the information and application request forms carefully before submitting them.
- Requests that do not meet the SRC criteria and demands submitted without the proper support will automatically be denied.
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