Policies

Changes, Cancellations, Withdrawals, Refunds and Discounts

The policies below address changing a program, cancelling a program, withdrawing from a program, refunds, and educational deductions for tax purposes.

Cancellations & Withdrawals
Deferrals, Discounts, and Refunds
Education Deductions and the IRS
Program Changes
Program Extensions

Cancellations and Withdrawals

USAC must be notified in writing of any cancellation or withdrawal. The date of your email or postmark will serve as the official cancellation date. The $500 confirmation deposit is refundable only until the Application deadline for the program to which you applied. After this date, the $500 is nonrefundable.

Depending on the date of cancellation, you may also be billed for unrecoverable costs paid on your behalf for housing and other optional courses/activities for which payment has been made. If you withdraw after the cancellation deadline, full fees will be charged; no refunds will be given and any outstanding balance must be paid.

The Program Fees and Options/Financial Agreement form that you sign as part of your application includes a detailed cancellation/refund schedule with dates specific to your program. Review this carefully.

If you cancel or withdraw from your USAC program and are receiving financial aid/scholarships, you may be required to repay any funds awarded/disbursed. You are also still responsible for paying any outstanding balance you may have.

Program Changes

You must notify USAC in writing of any change in program. If you change to a later term, you will still be held to the cancellation and refund deadlines of your original program. If you change to an earlier term, the new program's cancellation and refund deadlines will apply.

Program Extension

Students who wish to extend their study abroad program must contact their USAC Enrollment Specialist to request a program extension. To be considered for an extension, students must continue to meet eligibility requirements; home university approval may be required. If an extension is granted, students complete a new program agreement and submit the $500 confirmation deposit for the second term.

USAC Withdraw/Refund, Deferral, Global Perspectives and Returning Student Discount Policies

The following outlines refund policies in the event a student or home university cancels participation/the program.

Student Withdrawal or Home University Cancellation

Date of withdrawal	Refund Policy
On or before the Application deadline	$100 application deposit is nonrefundable* $500 confirmation deposit is refundable *For Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 only, the application deposit will be refunded or applied to a new term if the student's cancels summer 2021 or fall 2021 study abroad on or before the USAC application deadline.
After the Application deadline and on or before the Balance Due deadline	$100 application deposit is nonrefundable $500 confirmation deposit is nonrefundable
After the Balance Due deadline and on or before the Tuition Refund Deadline	Student (or home university in the case of a school-bill agreement) is liable for unrecoverable costs including, but not limited to, accommodation deposits, special course fees, tour reservations, and other unrecoverable program expenses in excess of the $500 nonrefundable confirmation deposit and $100 nonrefundable application deposit.
After the Tuition Refund Deadline	No refunds

USAC Cancellation

The following outlines refund policies in the event USAC cancels participation/the program.

Date of cancellation	Refund Policy
Prior to program start date	Full refund of the *USAC Program Fee* for students who are enrolled in the program at the time of USAC cancellation. (This includes the application and confirmation deposits.) Beyond the Program Fee, USAC cannot guarantee a full refund of unrecoverable expenses, such as housing, optional tours, and travel, etc.; for this reason, we strongly advise participants to consider purchasing travel insurance at the time of application to mitigate potential loss.
On or after program start date	USAC may, in its sole discretion, change the location or format of the Program as circumstances warrant. Under such circumstances no refunds will be given. In the event that continuing a program in a different location or by using a different format, such as on-line instruction, is not feasible, USAC may terminate the program. In that event, a refund will be provided in an amount to be determined by USAC.

Date of cancellation

Refund Policy

Prior to program start date

Full refund of the USAC Program Fee for students who are enrolled in the program at the time of USAC cancellation. (This includes the application and confirmation deposits.) Beyond the Program Fee, USAC cannot guarantee a full refund of unrecoverable expenses, such as housing, optional tours, and travel, etc.; for this reason, we strongly advise participants to consider purchasing travel insurance at the time of application to mitigate potential loss.

On or after program start date

USAC may, in its sole discretion, change the location or format of the Program as circumstances warrant. Under such circumstances no refunds will be given. In the event that continuing a program in a different location or by using a different format, such as on-line instruction, is not feasible, USAC may terminate the program. In that event, a refund will be provided in an amount to be determined by USAC.

Deferral of Participation Policy

This policy outlines how deposits and account balances will be applied to the new term.

When the Deferral Occurs	Deposit Transfers & Refunds
Prior to the application deadline	$100 non-refundable application deposit transfers to future term. Deposit remains non-refundable if student later cancels.
	$500 confirmation deposit (if paid) transfers to the future term. Deposit is refundable only until the original program application deadline if student later cancels.
	Program Payments (in excess of the deposits): Payments made transfer to the new term and are refundable until the original program Tuition Refund deadline. If the new term deadlines are earlier than the original program, the earlier Tuition Refund deadline will apply.
After the Application deadline and on or prior to the Balance Due deadline	$100 non-refundable application deposit transfers to future term. Deposit remains non-refundable if student later cancels.
	$500 confirmation deposit (if paid) transfers to the future term and remains non-refundable.
	Program Payments (in excess of the deposits): Payments made transfer to the new term and are refundable until the original program Tuition Refund deadline. If the new term deadlines are earlier than the original program, the earlier Tuition Refund deadline will apply.
After Balance Due deadline and on or before Tuition Refund deadline	$100 application deposit does not transfer; it is non-refundable. If additional payments have been made, the application deposit will be deducted from any refund generated or credit transferred to the new term balance due.
	$500 confirmation deposit does not transfer; it is non-refundable. If additional payments have been made, the confirmation deposit will be deducted from any refund generated or credit transferred to the new term balance due.
	Program Payments (in excess of the deposits): Any credit remaining on the student's account after non-recoverable expenses have been deducted will be transferred to new term.
After Tuition Refund deadline and prior to program start date	$100 application deposit does not transfer; it is non-refundable and applied to the original program balance.
	$500 confirmation deposit does not transfer; it is non-refundable and applied to the original program balance.
	No refunds. The transferability of program payments to the new term is not guaranteed and will be limited to an amount determined by USAC.

Terms and Conditions:

Students who defer to a new term and later withdraw, or whose applications are cancelled, are held to the withdraw/refund policies of the original term.
Students who defer to a later term as a result of USAC program cancellation are released from the original withdraw/refund deadlines; the withdraw/refund deadlines of the new term will apply.
Nonrefundable deposits and credit balances may be carried forward according to the terms outlined above for up to one year from the original program term. After one year these funds are forfeited.

Global Perspectives and Returning Student Discounts

Students who complete a USAC program abroad or Global Perspectives online are eligible for a discount on a future Specialty Program abroad.

Along the left, you can identify the initial USAC program your student is participating in, and under “Specialty Program Discount Applied”, will see the discount they are earning towards their next USAC Specialty Program abroad.

Term Online or Abroad	Specialty Program Discount Applied
January, Spring Accelerated, and Summer	$100 discount for future January, Spring Accelerated, Summer term $300 for future Semester, Yearlong terms
Semester	$300 discount for future January, Spring Accelerated, Summer term $500 for future Semester, Yearlong terms

Global Perspectives*	Specialty Program Discount Applied
Summer 2020	N/A for future January terms $300 discount for future Spring Accelerated and Summer terms $500 for future Semester and Yearlong terms
Fall 2020	N/A for future January terms $300 discount for future Spring Accelerated and Summer terms $500 for future Semester and Yearlong terms
Any term after Jan. 1, 2021	Regular returning student discount applies

*Online Promotional Discounts

Terms and Conditions:

Discounts earned are based on the student's term of participation
Only one discount may be applied at a time. Discounts cannot be combined
Discounts cannot be applied to the same term in which they are earned
Discounts are applied to the first term of a multi-term program (e.g. summer or yearlong)
Students who participate in the online Global Perspectives program and a program abroad are eligible for both discounts; the larger of the two discounts will be applied first
Discounts cannot be applied to Partnership Programs or to the online Global Perspectives program

Educational Deductions and the IRS

Under current regulations, you may deduct some educational expenses from your tax return under certain conditions. Contact the appropriate tax agency (state or federal) or a tax professional for details.

Updated February 26, 2021