Ariz. Admin. Code § 4-39-404

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 45, November 8, 2024

Section R4-39-404 - Tuition Refund Policy

A. A licensee shall allow a student or prospective student to cancel an enrollment agreement with the licensee if the student or prospective student submits a written notice of cancellation to the licensee within three days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and state and federal holidays, of signing the enrollment agreement.

B. No later than 30 calendar days after a licensee receives a written notice of cancellation described in subsection (A), the licensee shall provide to the student or the person that paid the student's tuition and student fees a refund of 100 percent of all student fees and tuition paid.

C. A licensee offering an accredited program shall develop and implement policies and procedures for cancellations and tuition refunds that:

1. Are published in the catalog that meets the accreditation standards established by each accrediting agency named in R4-39-103(D)(3) and the enrollment agreement required under R4-39-401;

2. Are applicable to all students; and

3. Comply with:

a. Accreditation standards established by each accrediting agency named under R4-39-103(D)(3) or (F)(1)(a); and

b. DE requirements governing each federal student financial aid program in the agreement under R4-39-103(D)(6) or (F)(1)(b).

D. A licensee offering a non-accredited program shall develop and implement policies and procedures for cancellations and tuition refunds that:

1. Are published in the catalog required under R4-39-301 and enrollment agreement required under R4-39-401;

2. Are applicable to all students;

3. Are based on an established time period for each program that:

a. Has a prescribed student tuition obligation and tuition refund calculation; and

b. Does not exceed the full length of the program or one calendar year, whichever is less;

4. Allow the licensee to retain an administrative fee or registration fee not to exceed $200.00 if the fee is published in the catalog required under R4-39-301 and enrollment agreement required under R4-39-401;

5. Provide the following refunds for a student who withdraws from or is terminated by the licensee:

a. Before beginning classes in a time period, a refund of 100 percent of the tuition charges for the time period;

b. If 10 percent or less of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, a refund of at least 90 percent of the tuition charges for the time period;

c. If more than 10 percent but less than or equal to 20 percent of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, a refund of at least 80 percent of the tuition charges for the time period;

d. If more than 20 percent but less than or equal to 30 percent of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, a refund of at least 70 percent of the tuition charges for the time period;

e. If more than 30 percent but less than or equal to 40 percent of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, a refund of at least 60 percent of the tuition charges for the time period;

f. If more than 40 percent but less than or equal to 50 percent of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, a refund of at least 50 percent of the tuition charges for the time period; and

g. If more than 50 percent of the time period used under subsection (D)(3) has expired, no refund or a refund in an amount determined by the licensee.

E. When calculating a refund under subsection (D)(5), a licensee offering a non-accredited program shall:

1. Use the last date of attendance as the date of withdrawal or termination to determine the percentage of time in the program that expired;

2. Determine that a student has withdrawn from an institution if the student has not attended any class for 30 consecutive scheduled class days; and

3. Using the date established under subsection (E)(1), base the percentage of the time expired on either clock hours elapsed for a program measured in clock hours or the number of days elapsed since the start of the period established under subsection (D)(3).

F. A licensee offering a non-accredited program is exempt from the requirement in subsection (D)(5), regarding refunding tuition and fees, for a program that:

1. Is less than 50 clock hours

2. Has a total cost of less than $1000, and

3. Is provided by a private non-accredited vocational institution or a private non-accredited degree-granting institution.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-39-404

New Section made by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 2262, effective August 6, 2005 (Supp. 05-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 22 A.A.R. 921, effective 6/4/2016.