Withdrawal Refund Policy

Withdrawal Refund Policy—NY

The date of determination of a student's official withdrawal is based on the date the college is provided official notice of withdrawal. Suspension for any reason is considered a withdrawal. The actual date of withdrawal for Return of Title IV or for Unofficial Withdrawal purposes will be based on the last class day or the best available academic information.

Tuition and General Fee Refund—NY

If a student withdraws or is suspended after the semester begins, the student will be refunded a percentage of tuition and general fees, as shown on the following chart:

Withdrawal Date	Amount of Refund
1–7 calendar days	100%
8–14 calendar days	85%
15–21 calendar days	50%
After 21 calendar days	No Refund

Withdrawal Refund Policy—CA

Students may withdraw from the CIA at any time after the cancellation period described in the Cancellation Policy and receive a pro rata refund if they have completed 60% or fewer of the scheduled class days in the current payment period in their program through the last day of attendance. The refund will be less registration fee or an administration fee not to exceed $250, and less any deduction for equipment not returned in good condition, within 45 days of withdrawal. New, unused equipment may be returned to the college's student affairs assistant within 20 days of withdrawal for credit to the student account.

Tuition and General Fee Refunds—CA

If a student has completed more than 60% of the period of attendance for which the student was charged, the tuition is considered earned and the student will receive no refund. If the student has received federal student financial aid funds, the student is entitled to a refund of moneys not paid from federal student financial aid program funds.

For the purpose of determining a refund under this section, a student shall be deemed to have withdrawn from a program of instruction when any of the following occurs: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 CIA of the student's withdrawal or the date the student plans to withdraw, whichever is later.
• The CIA terminates the student's enrollment for failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, failure to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution, absences in excess of maximum set forth by the institution, and/or failure to meet financial obligations to the CIA.
• The student fails to return from a leave of absence.

For the purpose of determining the amount of 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 (total institutional charge, minus non-refundable fees, divided by the number of days in the program), prior to withdrawal.

Withdrawal Refund Policy—TX

1. Refund computations will be based on scheduled course time of class attendance through the last date of attendance. Leaves of absence, suspensions, and school holidays will not be counted as part of the scheduled classes.
2. The effective date of termination for refund purposes will be the earliest of the following:
   • The last date of attendance, if the student is terminated by the college,
   • The date of receipt of written notice from the student, or
   • 10 school days following the last date of attendance.
3. If tuition and fees are collected in advance of entrance, and if after expiration of the 72-hour cancellation privilege the student does not enter the college, not more than $100 in any administrative fees charged shall be retained by the college for the entire program.
4. If a student enters a program and withdraws or is otherwise terminated after the cancellation period, the college may retain not more than $100 in any administrative fees charged for the entire program. The minimum refund of the remaining tuition and fees will be the pro rata portion of tuition, fees, and other charges that the number of hours remaining in the portion of the course or program for which the student has been charged after the effective date of termination bears to the total number of hours in the portion of the course or program for which the student has been charged. Students may not collect a refund if they have completed 75 percent or more of the total number of hours in the portion of the program for which they have been charged on the effective date of termination.¹
5. Refunds for items of extra expense to the student, such as books, tools, or other supplies, are to be handled separately from the refund of tuition and other academic fees. The student will not be required to purchase instructional supplies, books, and tools until such time as these materials are required. Once these materials are purchased, no refund will be made. For full refunds, the college can withhold costs for these types of items from the refund as long as they were necessary for the portion of the program attended and separately stated in the enrollment agreement. Any such items not required for the portion of the program attended must be included in the refund.
6. A student who withdraws for a rea­son unrelated to his or her academic status after the 75 percent completion mark and requests a grade at the time of withdrawal shall be given a grade of "incomplete" and be permitted to re-enroll in the course or program during the 12-month period following the date the student withdrew without payment of additional tuition for that portion of the course or program.
7. A full refund of all tuition and fees is due and refundable in each of the following cases:
   1. An enrollee is not accepted by the college,
   2. The course of instruction is discontinued by the college and this prevents the student from completing the course, or
   3. The student's enrollment was procured as a result of any misrepresentation in advertising, promotional materials of the college, or representations by the owner or representatives of the college.

A full or partial refund may also be due in other circumstances of program deficien­cies or violations of requirements for career schools and colleges.

1. Refund policy for students called to active military service—A student of the college who withdraws as a result of being called to active duty in a military service of the United States or the Texas National Guard may elect one of the following options for each program in which the student is enrolled:
   1. If tuition and fees are collected in advance of the withdrawal, a pro rata refund of any tuition, fees, or other charges paid by the student for the program and a cancellation of any unpaid tuition, fees, or other charges owed by the student for the portion of the program the student does not complete following withdrawal;
   2. A grade of incomplete with the designation "withdrawn—military" for the courses in the program, other than courses for which the student has previously received a grade on the student's transcript, and the right to re-enroll in the program, or a substantially equivalent program if that program is no longer available, not later than the first anniversary of the date the student is discharged from active military duty without payment of additional tuition, fees, or other charges for the program other than any previously unpaid balance of the original tuition, fees, and charges for books for the program; or
   3. The assignment of an appropriate final grade or credit for the courses in the program, but only if the instructor or instructors of the program determine that the student has:
   4. Satisfactorily completed at least 90 percent of the required coursework for the program; and
   5. Demonstrated sufficient mastery of the program material to receive credit for completing the program.
2. The payment of refunds will be com­pleted once the refund instrument has been negotiated or credited into the proper account(s) within 60 days after the effective date of termination.

¹More simply, the refund is based on the precise number of course time hours the student has paid for, but not yet used, at the point of termination, up to the 75 percent completion mark, after which no refund is due. Form PS-1040R provides the precise calculation.

Cancellation and Withdrawal from Travel Programs—NY

Regardless of the reason for cancellation, students who fail to cancel their travel reservation by the published deadlines will be responsible for cancellation costs as set forth by the terms and conditions of the current travel provider.

Cancellation and Withdrawal from Concentration Programs—NY

Regardless of the reason, students who withdraw from or transfer their enrollment in a concentration that includes a semester away at a domestic or international location less than 90 days prior to the assigned semester-away term will incur a fee of $350, as set forth by the terms and conditions of The Culinary Institute of America.

Residence Hall Fee Refunds—NY & CA

Housing cancellations must be submitted in writing to the Residence Life Office 30 days prior to the semester start date. Applicants who fail to cancel 30 days prior to the semester start date or fail to occupy their assigned room will be subject to a $250 cancellation fee.

Students withdrawing or suspended for any reason will be refunded a percentage of their residence hall charges as shown in the following chart:

Room Exit Date	Amount of Refund
Prior to the start of the first semester	100%
1–14 calendar days of the semester	80%
After 14 calendar days of the semester	No Refund

Board Fee Refunds—NY & CA

Board fees are refundable on the same schedule as residence halls.

Additional Refund Information

The CIA will credit a student account any tuition due as indicated above, and will pay any balance due to the student from unliquidated tuition deposits within 30 days of the date the college determined the withdrawal. New, unused equipment may be returned to the college's Central Issue Department within 20 days of withdrawal for credit to student accounts. Uniforms that have been embroidered with student names may not be returned.

Treatment of Title IV Aid When a Student Withdraws

The law specifies how the college must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance students earn if students withdraw from school. The Title IV programs covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Federal Direct Stafford Loans, PLUS, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOGs), and Federal Perkins Loans.

When students withdraw during their period of enrollment, the amount of Title IV program assistance that students have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If students received (or the college or parent received on their behalf) less assistance than the amount that they earned, students may be able to receive those additional funds as well. If students received more assistance than they earned, the excess funds must be returned by the college and/or the student.

The amount of assistance that students have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if a student completed 30% of a period of enrollment, the student earns 30% of the assistance the student was originally scheduled to receive. Once a student has completed more than 60% of the period of enrollment, the student can earn all the assistance the student was scheduled to receive for that period.

If a student did not receive all of the funds that were earned, the student may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, students may choose to decline the loan funds so that they don't incur additional debt. The college may automatically use all or a portion of a student's post-withdrawal disbursement—including loan funds, if accepted—for tuition fees and room and board charges (as contracted with the college). For other college charges, the college needs a student's permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. If students do not give permission (which some colleges ask for upon enrollment), they will be offered the funds. However, it may be in a student's best interest to allow the college to keep the funds to reduce debt.

There are some Title IV funds that students were scheduled to receive that cannot be earned once they withdraw because of other eligibility requirements.

For example, if a student is a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and has not completed the first 30 days of the program before withdrawal, the student will not earn any Direct Loan funds that would have been received had the student remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If students receive (or the college or parent receives on their behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, the college must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

1. students institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of their funds, or

2. the entire amount of excess funds.

The college must return this amount even if it wasn't kept in the student's Title IV program funds. If the college is not required to return all of the excess funds, students are responsible for returning the remaining amount. If students have any loan funds that must be returned, the student (or their parent for a PLUS loan) must repay them in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, the student makes scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that students must return is called an overpayment. The amount of a grant overpayment that students must repay is half of the unearned amount. Students must make arrangements with the college or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when students withdraw are separate from any other refund policy the college has. Therefore, students may still owe funds to the college to cover unpaid institutional charges. The CIA may also charge students for any Title IV program funds that the college was required to return.

If students have questions about Title IV program funds, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on "Student Aid on the Web" at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

The college will make available upon request examples of the application of our refund policies.