Centenary University institutional refund policies

The following is a summary of Centenary University’s refund policies with regards to tuition, room & board, and fees.

The refund policy is in effect beginning the first day of each semester. 

This policy is used to determine the adjusted costs the student is obligated to pay the University after the percentage to be refunded has been applied.  Any schedule changes (course drops, withdrawals, or leave of absence) after the first day of the semester, will receive refunds according to the University’s refund schedule.  The date used to calculate the refund percentage will be one of the following:

1. The date the student submits an Add/Drop form to the Registrar’s Office.

2. The date the student submits an Official Withdrawal or Leave of Absence form to the Academic Success and Advising Center.

3. The date the University is notified that the student has ceased participating in an academic related activity for all courses.

4.  **Non-attendance does not constitute as official notice to Centenary of withdrawal.**  Students who do not notify Centenary, do not attend, or begin and then stop attending will be charged based on when the University was notified that the student ceased participating.

**The health insurance fee, if assessed to your account, is nonrefundable if you withdraw from the University after the add/drop period.

Please Note: This policy is not to be confused with Federal and State regulations regarding the return of federal and state aid funds when a student receiving federal and state financial aid withdraws or takes a leave of absence. Federal and State aid includes all aid identified on a student’s financial aid award as a federal or state; scholarship, grants and/or loans.

A separate calculation, to determine the aid which must be returned if any, is done according to federal and state regulations. The date used in determining the federal refund policy will be the last date of attendance,  in the applicable term’s courses. However the percentage of funds that must be returned, as prescribed by the regulations, may not match the percentage used to determine costs. This may then create a balance owed by the student to the University, above any prior unpaid balance or a balance due on federal grants, which must be repaid directly to the federal government.

*For example, if you withdraw from all of your classes in a traditional undergraduate program 4 weeks after the semester started, you will receive no refund of your tuition according to the Institutional Refund Policy. In addition, you will have completed 4 of 15 weeks of the semester which is about 26%.  As a result, you will be eligible to retain about 26% of your federal aid and the remaining 74% of your federal aid may be returned to the federal government.

For detailed information see our Student Withdrawal and Return of Federal Title IV Funds Policy page.

* Due to new regulations regarding the return of Federal and State funds, any student receiving Federal/State grants or loans should contact the Financial Aid Office (ext. 2350) before withdrawing or taking a leave of absence.

Refund policy – All students, all programs (Traditional & Accelerated), all semesters

Refunds of the Semester Charges paid will be made in accordance with the following schedule:

Exceptions to Refund Policy

The following pertains to all University refund policies due to a withdrawal, leave of absence or a dropped course. Appeals to the University policy, for a proration of tuition and fees, may be considered as circumstances warrant.

The appeal must be submitted in writing, signed and dated, to the Student Accounts Office. The appeal must contain your personal statement explaining the extenuating circumstances surrounding your decision to withdraw, take a leave of absence or drop a course after the start of the semester. With the appeal, you must submit third party documentation supporting your statement. (Examples of supporting documentation: Doctor’s note, death certificate or obituary, police accident report, etc.) Without supporting documentation, your appeal will be denied.

The appeal process can take up to 30 days to process. If an appeal is granted, tuition and fees will be prorated. The prorated amount is based on the number of weeks from the beginning of the term to the date the student officially notified the University of the withdrawal or leave of absence. All Centenary grants and scholarships will be adjusted accordingly to match the prorated tuition and fees.

All appeal decisions are final.

Send appeal to:

Centenary University
Student Accounts Office
400 Jefferson Street
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Fax: (908) 850-8313
[email protected]

Time Limit

The appeal must be received by the University within one year from the last date of the semester for which you are appealing. Requests submitted after one year will not be considered and will be returned to the student.

Financial Aid

An approved appeal may affect your financial aid. Any institutional awards will be prorated using the same prorated calculation used for tuition and fees. Any federal and/or state aid will be adjusted as described in the “Financial Aid Student Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Funds Policy”.

Extenuating Circumstances:

Examples of Appropriate Circumstances for an appeal:

Please note that appropriate documentation such as, but not limited to: medical paperwork, death certificates, active duty letter, etc. will need to be supplied with the letter of appeal.

• The death of an immediate family member or close relative: spouse, child, parent, step-parent, sibling
• The onset of a medical or mental health condition that prohibits your continued attendance
• An accident or injury that prohibits your continued attendance
• A substantive administrative error made by the University
• Call to active military duty or training
• Need to relocate or leave the country to care for an immediate family member (Spouse, child, parent, step-parent, sibling)

Examples of Unacceptable Circumstances for an appeal:

• Personal errors in judgement or irresponsibility involving availability of finances (including but limited to non-qualification, late application, or loss of eligibility for financial aid or scholarships), academic ability, child care, time management.
• Lack of knowledge and/or misinterpretation of University policies and procedures as published in the Centenary University Academic Catalog, the student handbook, or the Centenary Website.
• Dissatisfaction with course content, academic progress, course requirements prior to registration and attendance, and/or personal conflicts with faculty member of Academic issues must be addressed with the appropriate academic chairperson or Vice President for Academic Affairs.
• Voluntary/involuntary acceptance of employment or other activity impacting ability to attend class (i.e. lack of child care; work schedule/hours changes; business trip; vacation)
• Voluntary enlistment in the armed forces
• A pre-existing medical or mental health condition that began prior to the semester
• Pregnancy (unless a doctor certifies that you are unable to continue to attend school because of complications in your pregnancy occurring after the start of the semester)
• Changing your mind about attending Centenary, your major/program or the courses you registered after the start of the semester
• Incarceration in a civilian or military facility
• Academic Dismissal or Expulsion from the University

Outstanding/delinquent balances

If term balances are not paid, students will not be able to register for future terms, receive grades or transcripts until the balance is paid in full. If an account remains delinquent, the account will be placed with a 3rd party collection agency. The student will be responsible for all past due charges as well as collection agency contingency fees (up to a maximum of 50% of the delinquent account balance), late payment penalties, reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs and the account will be reported to the credit bureau.