Important Facts
College Vidya News Team Jul 30, 2024 2K Reads
The University Grants Commission or the UGC, the primary national statutory body for higher education, releases its guidelines for the refund of fees each year to prevent unfair and opportunistic practices by institutions and safeguard student rights. The guidelines of UGC, which are binding on all higher educational institutions of the country, state the rules and regulations about fee refunds that must be abided by to ensure the welfare of students and prevent fraudulent practices.
But in most cases, while the guidelines mandate fair practices for HEIs across India, students stay in the dark about them and are unaware of their rights when it comes to fee refunds by institutions. This blog details the guidelines that have been issued by the UGC concerning the policies for fee refunds, a pertinent aspect for students to take note of, along with other facts about their financial rights to further the aim of UGC in enhancing the well-being of students taking up higher education.
The latest guideline released by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the admission session 2023-24 came in July 2023 in light of the vast number of complaints they continue to receive each academic year from students about grievances of fee refund by higher educational institutions (HEIs).
The latest guideline release for this year, dated 3 July 2023 intends to address the representations and concerns raised by both students and guardians of students enrolled in various higher educational institutions regarding their non-refund policies for fees of students desirous of migrations or withdrawal of their registered applications.
The decision came in light of the discussions and deliberations in the 570th meeting of the commission, held in June 2023, based on which the commission reiterated its stand on the matter of fee refunds by HEIs for students.
The guideline issued by UGC aims to address the queries of students at all levels of higher education (i.e. undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral or PG diploma, etc.) as well as in all modes of education (i.e. regular mode, distance or ODL mode, or online learning mode) to mandate institutions to abide by the UGC fee refund policies under all circumstances. To read the official "UGC Fee Refund" notice Click here.
The University Grants Commission or UGC, as the national statutory body of India, receives multitudes of queries, grievances, and concerns from students and guardians regarding the fee refund policies of higher educational institutions across the nation at various levels.
Taking cognizance of the opportunistic nature of such policies in a large number of HEIs when it comes to providing refunds of student fees and registration charges, the UGC has released detailed guidelines and instructions for HEIs to abide by across the nation, irrespective of their ownership, level of education or mode of education.
The commission noticed that a very large number of grievances raised by students and guardians point to the unfair and coercive practices of non-refund student fees in practice in universities, colleges, and institutes. To address such concerns and with the aim of “prohibiting coercive and profiteering institutional practices in the matters related to refund of fees in case of withdrawal from the program” (UGC Notification on Refund of Fees and Non-Retention of Original Certificates, dated October 2018), the UGC released its detailed fee-refund guidelines that are binding on all HEIs in India.
These guidelines have been elaborated upon below:
Category |
Point of Time when Notice of Withdrawal of Admission is Received in the HEI |
Percentage of Refund of Fees |
(1) |
15 Days or More Before the Formally Notified Last Date of Admission |
100% |
(2) |
Less than 15 Days Before the Formally Notified Last Date of Admission |
90% |
(3) |
15 Days or Less After the Formally Notified Last Date of Admission |
80% |
(4) |
30 Days or Less, but More than 15 Days After Formally Notified Last Date of Admission |
50% |
(5) |
More Than 30 Days After Formally Notified Last Date of Admission |
0% |
* In Direct Reference to the Guidelines of Fee Refund Provided in the UGC Notification for Refund of Fees and Non-Retention of Original Certificates (2018)
These guidelines indicate that:
The release of UGC regarding updated amendments and guidelines for fee refund by HEIs was released in July 2023 after the 570th meeting of the commission led to the insight into non-compliance of certain institutions with existing fee refund guidelines and profiteering practices existent in HEIs.
Accordingly, the latest guidelines took cognizance of these issues and reiterated the following updates about the fee refund:
As is the case with a majority of the students pursuing further education in India from various higher educational institutions (HEIs), you may be unaware of your rights as a student concerning refund of fees.
This blog is an attempt to sensitise students who are currently pursuing higher education or are willing to do so shortly, about their rights to refund of fees upon withdrawing or migrating their application.
Here are a few of your rights regarding fee refunds from HEIs as per the latest UGC guidelines that you must take cognizance of, mentioned for your quick reference.
For UGC Detailed Guideline - Click Here!
Disclaimer: The above-mentioned rights of students and guidelines are for informational purposes only and are subject to amendment/change as per UGC’s latest updates. They are not meant for contesting any HEI directly and for such purposes, the official website of UGC must be referred to.
As can be seen from above, UGC has devised a detailed and intricate framework of guidelines and regulations to safeguard the interests and financial well-being of students enrolling in higher education. In cases when a student faces an issue in receiving their refund for the withdrawal application within a stipulated period of the last date of admission, they can file grievances in the grievance redressal committee of the institution. The HEIs are mandated by the UGC to take prompt and appropriate action for such cases and complaints, upon failure of which they are liable to punitive measures by concerned disciplinary bodies for corrective measures.
The UGC has created a detailed framework for refund of students’ paid fees provided they file their withdrawal of application from an institution within a maximum period of 30 days after the formally announced last date of admission in that institution. Depending upon how much in advance the student withdraws/migrates their application, they can receive a refund ranging from 100% to 50%. It is to be noted that caution/security deposit amounts if charged by the institution, have to be refunded in full capacity irrespective of when the application is withdrawn from the HEI.
The UGC has released updated guidelines for fee refunds in the academic session 2023-24 which states that a full fee refund is to be provided by HEIs to students who withdrew/canceled their application up till 30th September 2023. Until 30 October 2023, the HEIs cannot charge more than INR 1000 as processing fees from students for withdrawing/migrating/canceling their applications.
Yes, if you are applying to a university in India that is recognized and validated by the UGC and you withdraw/migrate your application from the institution within a maximum of 30 days after the last date of admission, then you are eligible for a fee refund as per UGC guidelines.
You can get a refund from your college upon withdrawing your application till a maximum period of 30 days after the formally announced last date of admissions in the institution, post which you are not eligible to get a fee refund.
Yes, all the guidelines and frameworks of UGC for fee refunds are eligible for students who decide to change their college of admission and migrate to another recognized higher educational institution.
Yes, if you are a student pursuing online education from a UGC-recognised and duly accredited online institute/university/college, then you are eligible for fee refunds as per the standard UGC guidelines binding on all higher educational institutions in India.
The UGC mandates HEIs to look into your application for a fee refund and take prompt action within a maximum period of 15 days accordingly. If any action is not taken, no information is communicated to you or a refund is initiated by the institution, check if you are eligible for a fee refund as per the UGC’s guidelines. In case you are eligible for a fee refund but your concern is not being addressed or delayed, you can file a grievance with the grievance redressal committee of the concerned HEI.
Online Education News / Colleges & Universities / Admission Assistance
College Vidya is India’s leading online education advisory platform that has been covered by top media houses like Forbes India, Hindustan Times, etc. Recently, College Vidya’s newly launched CV subsidy has been making headlines all over the internet. For any details about educational news, College Vidya is your go-to source.
Our team of experts, or experienced individuals, will answer it within 24 hours.
Tired of dealing with call centers!
Get a professional advisor for Career!
LIFETIME FREE
Rs.1499(Exclusive offer for today)
Pooja
MBA 7 yrs exp
Sarthak
M.Com 4 yrs exp
Kapil Gupta
MCA 5 yrs exp
or