Refunds and Overpayments
Students are eligible for a refund through an e-Transfer if they have a Canadian Bank account and have a credit present on the account. Read more about the eligibility for a refund and how you can request one!
Refund Eligibility
You may be eligible for a refund if you have a credit present on your account (also known as an overpayment), or if your payment has been applied towards charges in a future term. As per the Academic Calendar, a refund can't be requested for classes dropped after the term’s add/drop deadline.
Fees charged as part of the admission process, including the application fee and admission deposit, are non-refundable.
Credits from UCalgary awards, scholarships and bursaries don't require students to request a refund. UCalgary award overpayments are refunded on a set schedule - see below for more details.
A credit on the account is shown as a negative number under your outstanding changes for the term, and this is considered an overpayment. Credits/overpayments can be viewed in the “My Financials” section of Student Centre.
Credits from overpayments will automatically apply to the next active term once the student is registered and charges are on the account. If a payment applies to a future term, and that term’s fee deadline has not passed, a refund can be submitted by selecting “View/Request Refund.”
You can verify if payments have applied to future terms by selecting “Account Inquiry” in the My Financials section of the Student Portal, or viewing by "Payments" and selecting payment links to view changes paid.
Contact Enrolment Services for assistance if a credit has not been correctly applied to charges owing.
Requesting a refund
Refunds for fee overpayments are processed by student request. If you don't request a refund, funds will automatically apply toward future terms once you're registered for that term and charges have appeared on your account. To request a refund, please submit a refund request through the “My Financials” section of the Student Centre. View instructions on how to request a refund (pdf). Note: refund requests can take up to eight weeks to be reviewed and approved.
Refunds on payments made to the student account by external third parties (such as external award agencies, parents, and family members) will be refunded back to the student, not the original payor. Refunds requested on payments made by third party sponsors will be returned to the sponsor, or refunded as per the terms of the sponsorship agreement.
If it has been more than 8 weeks since you requested a refund, please submit a “Refund Trace Request” service request through your Student Centre. View instructions for completing a service request (pdf).
The method of refund will depend on whether the payment originated in Canada. Please see the specific scenarios below. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact Enrolment Services.
A domestic payment is a payment that originated within Canada. Domestic payments include:
- Canadian online banking
- CIBC Student Pay from a Canadian bank account or credit card
- Convera Global Pay for Students from a Canadian bank account or credit card
View additional information on acceptable methods of payment.
Domestic payments under $10,000 will be refunded by e-Transfer to a Canadian bank account through the UCalgary email that we have on file. Where an e-Transfer refund can't be issued for a domestic payment, a cheque will be mailed to the student's Canadian address that we have on file. If the student's address on file is international, the refund will be issued via Convera Global Pay transfer (service charges will apply).
For more information on e-Transfers, refer to the e-Transfer refund section of this website.
For additional information how a refund will be issued, contact Enrolment Services.
An international payment is a payment that originated outside of Canada. International payments include:
- CIBC Student Pay (country outside of Canada)
- Convera Global Pay for Students (country outside of Canada)
View additional information on acceptable methods of payment.
Refunds on international payments will be issued by Convera Global Pay Transfer back through the original payor country. Once your refund is approved, you'll receive an email to deposit the Convera Global Pay transfer.
Note: International payment refunds through Convera Global Pay are subject to service fees and can't go back through a Canadian Bank.
e-Transfer refunds will be issued for all domestic payments under $10,000. They'll go to a Canadian bank account through an email sent to your UCalgary email account..
Once your refund has been approved, you'll need to follow these steps to accept your refund:
- Locate the e-Transfer refund email in your UCalgary email account
- Select the “deposit your money” link in the e-Transfer email
- Choose your Canadian bank from the list of options
- Enter your eight-digit password* to accept the e-Transfer refund
*The eight-digit password is the last four digits of your UCID followed by your birthdate in the DDMM (day/month) format. For example, if your UCID is 00001234 and your birthdate is July 21, your password would be 12342107. If you have auto-deposit set up on your bank account, the refund will deposit automatically.
Note: where an e-Transfer refund can't be issued for a domestic payment under $10,000, a cheque will be mailed to your Canadian address on file. If an international address is on file, your refund will be issued via a Convera Global Pay transfer (service charges will apply).
Residence payments are refunded by cheque to your Canadian address on file.
In most cases, UCalgary undergraduate award payments are split equally between the fall and the winter terms. View additional information on how awards are paid out.
Overpayments from UCalgary undergraduate awards will be refunded by direct deposit on October 25 for the fall term and on February 25 for the winter term. The refund will be automatically issued if your direct deposit information has been updated in your Student Centre.
If your direct deposit information hasn't been updated, a cheque will be mailed to the Canadian mailing address that is on your file. To update your banking information, visit the "My Financials" section of Student Centre and selecting "Submit Direct Deposit Info."