Only the compulsory program fees published on Service Ontario or optional program fees approved by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges are covered by the refund policy. An optional program fee might be the cost of a field trip or conference that is related to your studies but is not required content of the program.
To get a refund on books or equipment you received from the college under a contract you must return them:
- in the same state they were in when supplied to you
- within 10 days of withdrawing
All refunds must be in Canadian dollars. The college cannot deduct money from a refund you are entitled to for a vocational program if you owe money:
- to the private career college for other services
- for other non-vocational programs offered by the college
The same refund policy applies when you withdraw from a program or are expelled from a private career college, as long as you are expelled in accordance with the college's expulsion policy or sexual violence policy.
Cooling-off period
You can cancel a contract for the provision of a vocational program within two days of signing it if you provide written notice to the private career college. It is important to keep a copy of your written notice. You are entitled to a full refund of fees paid for the program, including any application fee, from the college.
Types of Refunds
Full Refund
In the following circumstances, you can cancel the contract and make a written request for a full refund. Once you cancel a contract and the refund is applied, you cannot continue your studies and are not entitled to receive a transcript.
- The private career college collects any fees for the program before the college is registered or before the program is approved under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005.
- You are expelled from the private career college in a manner or for reasons outside of the college's expulsion policy or sexual violence policy.
- A total of more than 10% of the program is taught by unqualified instructors.
- The contract does not include all the mandatory terms required (refer to the Contract section).
- The private career college, while still operating, discontinues the program before you can complete the Program.
In addition, you also may seek a full refund if a private career college or its representative makes untrue statements for the purposes of convincing you to enroll in the program and the statements constitute a fundamental breach of the contract. The categories of inappropriate statements include:
- A false or misleading statement.
- A statement that guarantees admission to or successful completion of the program or employment after completing the program.
- A statement that guarantees the right to enter Canada, receive a visa, or work permit.
Partial refund before a program begins
You are entitled to a refund of fees paid for a program minus 20% of the program fees up to $500 if you:
- withdraw from the program more than three days after signing a contract and before the program begins or
- do not meet the program's admission requirements when the program starts
Partial refund after a program begins
If you withdraw from a program after the program begins, you may be entitled to a refund of fees paid for the program, depending on how much of the program a private career college has delivered. In most cases, the private career college can keep 20% of the program fees up to $500, plus the fees for the portion of the program delivered. However, if the private career college cancels the contract for the program because you do not attend the first 14 days, the private career college can only keep 20% of the program fees up to $500.
International Students
If you are attending or planning to attend a private career college under a student visa, some special rules apply.
Fee Refund
You can cancel a contract with a private career college or withdraw from a program for any reason. The same refund policy for domestic students also applies to you.
International Students Unable to Get a Student Visa
A rule applies to an international student unable to obtain a student visa to enter Canada. As long as you deliver a written notice of this fact to a private career college before half of the portion of a program has passed, you are entitled to a refund of fees paid for the program, except that the college is allowed to retain 20% of the total fees for the program or $500, whichever is less.
An enrollee may cancel the enrollment agreement without penalty or obligation within 2 business days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) of signing the agreement. Refunds will be processed within 30 calendar days and include all tuition and fees paid. After two days, if the enrollee cancels prior to or on the first day of instruction, the College will refund all paid fees except the registration fee.
Cancellation requests must be in writing; the Financial Aid Officer must receive letters or emails. Upon termination, only tuition fees will be refunded. The College does not charge for textbooks or materials the student did not receive. Examples of refund calculations are available in the Financial Aid Office.
A student may withdraw from the school any time after the cancellation period and receive a pro-rata refund if they have completed 50 percent or less of the scheduled hours in the current payment period in their program of study through the last day of attendance. The refund will be less a registration or administration fee, not to exceed
$500, within 30 days of withdrawal. If this percentage is greater than 50%, the student earns 100% of the disbursed OSAP funds or aid that could have been disbursed.
To determine a refund under this section, a student shall be deemed to have withdrawn from a program of instruction when any of the following occurs:
- The student notifies the institution of the withdrawal or as of the date of the student’s withdrawal, whichever is later.
- The institution terminates the student’s enrollment due to the student’s failure to maintain satisfactory progress; failure to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution; absences more than the maximum set forth by the institution; and/or failure to meet financial obligations to the College.
- The student has failed to attend class for 28 consecutive days.
- The student fails to return from a leave of absence.
To determine the amount of the refund, the date of the student’s withdrawal shall be deemed the last date of recorded attendance. The amount owed equals the daily charge for the program during the billing period (total institutional charge, minus non-refundable fees, divided by the number of days in the billing period), multiplied by the number of days scheduled to attend, prior to withdrawal. To determine when the refund must be paid, the student shall be deemed to have withdrawn at the end of 28 days.
Return of OSAP Funds
All unearned OSAP funds must be returned if a student participating in the OSAP program withdraws or is terminated. Bryan College will calculate the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment completed. For a credit hour program, the percentage of the period completed is determined by dividing the number of calendar days completed in the payment period (or period of enrollment as of the day the student withdrew) by the total number of calendar days in the same period. The total number of calendar days in a payment period or period of enrollment includes all days within the period. The day the student withdrew is counted as a completed day. Bryan College will calculate the percentage of financial aid earned by the student and return the remaining amount to the National Student Loan Service Centre.
Refund Dates
Refunds are made within 30 days following the date on which the student withdrawals. All tuition refunds will be calculated in compliance with criteria established by the ministry of colleges and universities.