Policies & Program Withdrawals

Take note of the following policies for withdrawing from a program, refunds, cancellations, and dismissal.

Study Abroad Application Fee

This is a non-refundable fee billed to all students who submit an outgoing study abroad application, regardless of the administering unit. In addition, any student whose application was not submitted but is in "Accepted" or "Committed" status will also be charged this fee. Once you have completed all application components, the “Submit Application” button will mark your application as complete, and ready to review. The fee will be charged to your student account within a month of submitting the application.

Withdrawal Policy

You will be directed to read the withdrawal policy multiple times throughout the application cycle. It is important to understand the policy before committing to a study abroad program. Withdrawing from a program after committing will have financial consequences.

Withdrawal Prior to Application Deadline

Students can log into their My Study Abroad account, click the Withdraw button located next to the application they wish to withdraw from, and provide the reason they are withdrawing. There are no financial obligations for withdrawing prior to the application deadline.

Withdrawal After Commitment

After commitment, it is not sufficient to withdraw an application online, either by the student or study abroad office staff. Students must officially withdraw from any study abroad program by completing the following tasks which apply to their situation:

• Notify their home college office in writing by email.
• Notify the program’s sponsoring study abroad office in writing via email.
• Notify their study abroad program provider or host institution (if applicable).
• Students who withdraw or are withdrawn from the program prior to the commitment deadline will not be charged a withdrawal fee.
• Students who withdraw or are withdrawn from the program after the commitment deadline will pay a withdrawal fee.

Refund Policy

Students who are in committed status and have signed the Confirmation of Participation are financially obligated to program costs.The date a student notifies the study abroad office is the date for which a potential refund would be calculated. If the withdrawal happens before the student is billed for the program costs, the student will receive a charge to their student account at the time of withdrawal and must be paid according to the University Bursar due dates.

Refunds Prior to Program Start Date

Students who withdraw or are withdrawn from the program before the commitment deadline will not be charged a withdrawal fee.

Students who withdraw or are withdrawn from the program between the commitment deadline and the day before the advertised start date of the program will pay:

• $350 withdrawal fee (semester/AY programs); $250 withdrawal fee (summer/short term programs); $150 withdrawal fee (virtual programs)
• Any non-refundable portion of airfare, if applicable.
• Any non-refundable payments made on behalf of the student to the host university or program provider.
• Any withdrawal fees charged by the host institution or provider.
• Non-refundable Study Abroad Application Fee.

Refunds After Program Start Date

If a student chooses to completely withdraw or is completely withdrawn from the program by staff, on or after the advertised start date of the program, the student will pay full price of the program. No refunds of any kind will be made. The only exception is verifiable health matters, which follow the same procedures as Medical Withdrawal from a University of Illinois semester. In this case, only recoverable costs will be refunded. Under no circumstances can any requests for refunds be considered for students who complete the program regardless of the mode of instruction. No refunds will be made for housing costs.

Cancellation Policy

Should the university need to cancel a program for health and/or safety reasons, every effort will be made to refund recoverable billable costs, as listed on the Confirmation of Participation, to participants. The time of program cancellation will determine the actual recoverable costs. The closer the program is to the start date, less recoverable costs will be available.

Dismissal Policy

There are circumstances under which the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and/or the partner institution have the authority to dismiss a student from an education abroad program. The circumstances for dismissal include, but are not limited to:

• Students whose conduct does not comply with all rules, regulations, and standards of conduct issued by the University of Illinois (including, but not limited to, the Student Code).
• Students whose conduct is in violation of the rules and guidelines of the partner institution.
• Students whose conduct is in violation of the laws and standards of their host country or any country, which they travel to during the program.
• Situations in which the behavior, whether academic or social, of the student causes their presence in the program to jeopardize the reputation of the University, the participation of others in the program, or the safety of the student or other participants.

Students dismissed from the program will be responsible for the costs of their return transportation and will not be entitled to a refund of any fees, dues, tuition, or payments of any kind that have been paid in connection with their participation in the Program. If dismissed from their accommodations but not the program, neither the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign nor the partner institution will have any further responsibility for their accommodations. The student will be responsible for finding and paying for new accommodations and will not be entitled to a refund of any fees or pre-paid costs associated with the initial program accommodations. A program dismissal will result in no credit for academic coursework completed after the date of dismissal.