UGC asks universities to refund 100% fee back to students in case of admission cancellation by October 31

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will issue a notice on Wednesday obliging the university to issue a full refund, including all charges in any case of cancellation or migration up to 31 October, 2022. This move could further bring in a huge sigh of relief to hundreds of undergraduate students and parents.

According to the refund policy of numerous private universities that initiate their academic session from mid August and September, post one month from the initiation of their academic session students will not get any type of refund in case of admission cancellation. The Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) that will mark its end on 20 August, 2022 and will take the next 15 days to announce the results, many candidates have now secured a seat in the higher education institutions as a backup option. The refund period will expire prior to the start of enrollment in central universities and other participating universities.

In light of the COVID-19 situation, UGC previously mandated a refund of fees upon cancellation of enrollment/stay for all students during the 2021-2022 academic sessions in July 2021. In addition, UGC urged institutions of higher education to set a final date for undergraduate admissions after the announcement of CBSE Class XII results on July 12, 2022, giving these students sufficient time to enroll. The commission also stated that the admissions could continue until October 2022. To avoid financial hardships for parents, UGC chairman Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar said UGC has decided to notify all HEIs to refund the full amount of fees. As a special case for the 2022-2023 academic sessions, the cancellation of enrollment/residence for all students will be made by the institutions until October 31, 2022.

The letter written by UGC also clarified to HEI that full refunds, including all cancellation/transition fees, must be refunded by October 31, 2022 (i.e. no cancellation fees apply). If the enrollment is canceled by 31st December 2022, all fees charged by the student will be fully refunded after deducting more than Rs.1000 as processing fee.