Fees & Refunds

It is important to take note of all your academic dates, and payment and refund deadlines. Please note that being unaware of an academic, payment or refund deadline is not a typical reason to get an exception or extension.

Fees Payment

After you enrol in courses, your fees are calculated based on a variety of factors that are explained below. To complete your registration in a given session, you have to pay at least the minimum first installment of your fees (or officially defer them) by the payment deadlines. You can view your minimum payment to register by accessing your invoice on ACORN.

It is important to remember that if you don't pay the minimum installment or defer your fees by the deadline noted in the below table, you may be removed from your courses.

Session Deadline to pay minimum installment or defer fees
2024 Summer April 24, 2024
2023-24 Fall/Winter August 30, 2023

 

The deadline to pay your remaining balance in full can be found on the Fee Payment & Service Charge Billing Deadlines page. If you have not paid all outstanding fees by the deadlines stated in the aforementioned webpage, service charges of 1.5% per month compounded (19.56% per annum) will be applied to your unpaid balances. If you have not paid your fees in full by the end of the session, a financial hold will be placed on your account and you will not be able to register in future sessions until your balance is paid in full.

You can view your fees invoice and account balance on ACORN. Once you have your invoice, you can pay your fees at a bank or through online or telephone banking.

If you applied for OSAP or government financial aid by the deadline and cannot pay the required fees before receiving your funds, you can defer payment of your fees on ACORN.

If you are receiving an undergraduate scholarship or award, including entrance scholarships, you can submit a request to defer that amount of your tuition. You are responsible for paying the balance of your minimum payment to register.

Visit the Office of Student Accounts website for more information about making payments, deferring your fees with OSAP or other government loans, or using your undergraduate scholarship/award.

After you have paid your fees, you can check your registration status in ACORN.  Your registration status is displayed under "Academics" on the Home/Dashboard page after you log in. 

  • Registered: This means your registration is complete.
  • Invited: This means your registration is not complete and you may be removed from courses after the payment deadline noted above.
  • Financially Cancelled: This means your registration has been cancelled.

 

Fees Calculation and Assessment

There are different factors that contribute to how your fees are calculated. This includes the number of courses you are enrolled in, the date you dropped any courses and incidental and ancillary fees.

The following information applies to all programs except deregulated programs. Students enrolled in deregulated programs (all Rotman Commerce Specialist programs, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Specialist program, Computer Science Specialist and Major programs, and Data Science Specialist program) should scroll down to the Deregulated Fee Programs section.

Fee amounts are listed on the Office of Student Accounts website.

Fall/Winter Session Fees

For the Fall/Winter session, there are two types of fee assessment methods. The type of fees you are charged depends on your course load in this session.

  • Program fee: A flat fee for studies in the Fall/Winter session. The Program Fee is charged to students whose Course Load Count is between 4.0 - 6.0 credits. Note: All students are initially charged a Program Fee, regardless of course load.
  • Course fees: Fees assessed on a course by course basis. Course Fees are charged to students whose Course Load Count is 0.5 to 3.5 credits. When a course is added, the course fee is charged immediately. When you cancel courses, refunds for the cancelled courses are calculated based on the refund schedule.

Summer Session Fees

During the Summer session, all Arts & Science tuition fees are charged on a per-course basis. This means that you are charged fees for each course separately and refunds for cancelled courses are calculated based on the refund schedule for the summer session.   

The calculation of your course load includes your F, Y and S section code courses in the Fall/Winter term. This means that courses you are enrolled in during the Fall and Winter terms will be included in the count, even if you have not started the Winter term yet.

You can add and cancel courses and make changes to your course load but it will not affect your course load count for fees assessment until the following deadlines:

  • Deadline to add F and Y courses in SeptemberThe Faculty will count and lock your F and Y course enrolments for the year. Even if you cancel a F or Y course after this deadline, the course will be counted in your Course Load Count for tuition fee assessment purposes.
  • Deadline to add S courses in JanuaryThe Faculty will count and lock your S course enrolments for the Winter term. Even if you cancel a S course after this deadline, the course will be counted in your Course Load Count for tuition fee assessment purposes.

The following formula is used to determine your Course Load Count: F + Y courses as of the last day to add F + Y courses in September + S courses as of the last day to add S courses in January = Course Load Count for tuition assessment purposes

  • If your course load count is 4.0 credits or more (including approved, interim, requested and waitlisted courses), you will be charged the Program Fee.
  • If your course load count is 3.5 credits or fewer (including approved, interim, requested and waitlisted courses), you are eligible for Course Fees. See below for instructions on changing your fees assessment.

After the deadline to add S courses, all eligible students will be reassessed to Course Fees automatically. If a student's fees are changed from Program Fees to Course Fees, that student's academic fees will be amended retroactively. Any service charges that were applied to outstanding program fees, however, will remain.

If you plan to take 3.5 credits or fewer in the Fall/Winter Session, you may be eligible to pay Course Fees. To request a change of your fee assessment from Program Fee to Course Fees, go to the Faculty’s Online Services Website at least one day after you have enrolled in courses on ACORN. The website will remain operational until the last day to add S courses in January, after which point, the Faculty will change all eligible students to Course Fees. 

Changing from Program Fee to Course Fees means that ACORN will only allow you to enrol in up to 3.5 credits (see important note below). If you change your mind after having switched to Course Fees and want to enrol in more than 3.5 credits, you will need to contact your College Registrar’s Office to have your fees reassessed back to the Program Fee. It's best to remain as a Program Fee student if you're not sure yet how many courses you will take. It is important to remember that your Program fees will be automatically adjusted later in the Winter term.

Once you are reassessed to Course Fees, you will be charged for each individual course you enrol in. If you cancel a course, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund depending on the course cancellation date. For more information on Course Fee refunds, visit the Office of Student Accounts website.

Important: If you are reassessed to Course Fee and you cancel F or Y courses after the deadline to add F or Y courses in September, the cancelled course(s) are still included in your Course Load Count (see above). ACORN will allow you to enrol in up to 3.5 credits at any one time. Therefore, if you subsequently add S courses that will bring your overall Course Load Count to 4.0 credits or more, your fee status will be changed back to Program Fee even though you are technically enrolled in 3.5 or fewer. It is very important that you consult your College Registrar’s Office before you make such changes as the change will result in a significant increase in your tuition fees for the year.

Compulsory fees for registration consist of tuition, incidental and ancillary fees. The tuition fee portion is assessed as described in the section above. Incidental and ancillary fees for all Arts & Science students are calculated based on a student's attendance status in full-time (3.0 to 6.0 credits) or part-time (0.5 to 2.5 credits) studies. Please view the Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees & Ancillary Fees policies for more details.

The Office of Student Accounts is responsible for your tuition and ancillary fees, processing payments, issuing refunds and applying service charges. For detailed information about fees and refunds, visit the Office of Student Accounts website.

 

Deregulated Fee Programs

If you're enrolled in a deregulated fee Program, you must pay deregulated academic fees until you complete all courses taken in the Faculty of Arts & Science (which may include those taken after your Program requirements have been completed). Enrolment in these Programs means that you will be charged the academic fees which are associated with the Programs.

Academic Fees Assessment

Fall/Winter Session Fees

After you are enrolled in a Rotman Commerce specialist program, your Fall/Winter session fees will be calculated by one of two assessment methods:

  • Program fee: A flat fee for studies in the Fall/Winter session. The program fee is charged to students in a Rotman Commerce specialist program whose course load count is between 3.0 – 6.0 credits. The program fee will apply regardless of when the courses are taken (Fall term only, Winter term only, or both). For example, if you are in good academic standing, and you enrol in 3.0 credits for the Fall term only and do not enrol in any courses for the Winter term, you will be billed the program fee for the entire Fall/Winter session. 
  • Course fees: Fees assessed on a course by course basis. Course fees are charged to students in a Rotman Commerce specialist program whose course load count is between 0.5 – 2.5 credits. When a course is added, the course fee is charged immediately. When you cancel courses, refunds for the cancelled courses are calculated based on the refund schedule.

Students are charged deregulated academic fees as soon as they are officially enrolled in a program that is associated with that type of fee. The normal entry point into a program is at the end of the session in which you complete your fourth credit.

If you are invited to, and enrol in, a Rotman Commerce specialist program at a later point in your studies, you may be charged retroactively for all courses taken after the session in which you earned your fourth credit.

Students admitted with transfer credits will be charged the deregulated academic fee immediately if 4.0 or more transfer credits are granted. If fewer than 4.0 transfer credits are granted, the deregulated program fee will be assessed at the normal entry point into the program. 

Summer Session Fees

Summer session fees are calculated on a course fee basis. The academic fee of each summer credit is one fifth of the program fee for the following Fall/Winter session. 

If you are registered in the Summer session and are invited to, and enrol in, any Rotman Commerce specialist program for the first time, you will be charged retroactively for all courses taken after the session in which you earned your fourth credit. If you are a newly-admitted first-year student and take Summer session courses after your first Fall/Winter session (prior to beginning your Rotman Commerce specialist program in the following Fall term), you will not have your Summer session tuition retroactively re-assessed to deregulated fees. If you are not a newly-admitted first-year student, retroactive fees may apply. This revision will be a recalculation of your current and previous fees based on the higher charges for these programs.

Note: Please determine your new fees before enrolling in a program if you enrol in July or later. Visit the Student Accounts website for fee information. 

If you have questions about how your fees are calculated, contact Rotman Commerce.

Changing from Program Fees to Course Fees

The information below is effective as of the 2023-24 Fall/Winter session. 

The calculation of your course load for tuition fee assessment purposes includes your F, Y and S courses in the Fall and Winter terms. This means that courses you are enrolled in during the Fall and Winter terms will be included, even if you have not yet started the Winter term.

You can add or cancel courses and make changes to your course load, but it will not affect your course load count for fees assessment until the following deadlines:

  • Deadline to add F and Y courses in September: The Faculty will count and lock your F and Y course enrolments for the session. If you cancel an F or Y course after this deadline, the course will still be counted in your course load count for tuition fee assessment purposes.
  • Deadline to add S courses in January: The Faculty will count and lock your S course enrolments for the Winter term. If you cancel an S course after this deadline, the course will still be counted in your course load count for tuition fee assessment purposes.

To determine your course load count for tuition purposes: 

  • (F + Y courses as of the deadline to add F + Y courses in September) + (S courses as of the deadline to add S courses in January) = your course load count.
     
  • If your course load count is 3.0 credits or more (including approved, interim, requested and waitlisted courses), you will be charged the program fee. The program fee will apply regardless of when the courses are taken (Fall term only, Winter term only, or both). For example, if you are in good academic standing, and you enrol in 3.0 credits for the Fall term only and do not enrol in any courses for the Winter term, you will be billed the program fee for the entire Fall/Winter session. 
     
  • If your course load count is 2.5 credits or fewer (including approved, interim, requested and waitlisted courses), you are eligible for course fees.

Request a change of your fee assessment from program fee to course fees at least one day after you have enrolled in courses on ACORN. You can request a change until the last day to add S courses in January, after which point the Faculty will change all eligible students to course fees. If your fees are changed from program fee to course fees, your academic fees will be amended retroactively. However, any service charges that were applied to outstanding program fees will remain.

Once you are reassessed to course fees, you will be charged for each individual course you enrol in. If you cancel a course, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund depending on the course cancellation date. For more information on course fee refunds, visit the Office of Student Accounts website.

Changing from program fee to course fees means that ACORN will only allow you to enrol in up to 2.5 credits (see important note below). If you change your mind after switching to course fees and want to enrol in more than 2.5 credits, you will need to contact your College Registrar’s Office or Rotman Commerce Academic Services to have your fees reassessed back to the program fee. It is recommended that you remain as a program fee student if you are not sure yet how many courses you will take. 

Important: If your fees are assessed on a per-course basis, and you cancel F and Y courses after the deadline to add F and Y courses in September, the cancelled course(s) will still be included in your overall course load count. ACORN will allow you to enrol in up to 2.5 credits. Therefore, if you subsequently add S courses that will bring your overall course load to 3.0 credits or more, your fee status will be changed back to the program fee even though you are technically enrolled in 2.5 or less. It is very important that you consult Rotman Commerce Academic Services before you make such changes, as the changes will result in a significant increase in your tuition fees for the year.

Incidental and Ancillary Fees

Compulsory fees for registration consist of tuition, incidental and ancillary fees. The tuition fee portion is assessed as described in the section above. Incidental and ancillary fees for all Arts & Science students are calculated based on a student's attendance status in full-time (3.0 to 6.0 credits) or part-time (0.5 to 2.5 credits) studies. Some incidental fees are optional and students may choose to opt out of those fees. Please refer to the Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees & Ancillary Fees policies for more details.

Withdrawing from the Program

If you are currently enrolled in a Rotman Commerce program and you withdraw from the program by the following deadlines, your deregulated tuition fees for the relevant academic session will be changed to non-deregulated fees.

Withdrawal Deadlines for Fall/Winter Session:

Withdrawal Deadlines for Summer Session:

Note: If you withdraw from a Rotman Commerce program, you will be required to cancel all 200+ level RSM courses. If you do not do so, you will be removed from the courses.

If you are enrolling in a Rotman Commerce specialist program for the first time this year, you will be charged retroactively for all sessions in which you enrolled in courses beyond your fourth credit. If you are a newly-admitted first-year student and take Summer session courses after your first Fall/Winter session (prior to beginning your Rotman Commerce specialist program in the following Fall term), you will not have your Summer session tuition retroactively re-assessed to deregulated fees. If you are not a newly-admitted first-year student, retroactive fees for the Summer session may apply. If you withdraw from the program, the deregulated fees for those sessions may be completely reversed if the withdrawal occurs by the following deadline:

  • Summer session: If you enrol in the program during the Summer session (July to September), and you withdraw from the program by the last day of Fall term classes (in December), any retroactive charges on your account will be reversed.
  • Current session fees will be readjusted according to the dates listed above for students currently enrolled in a Rotman Commerce program.

Academic Fees Assessment

Fall/Winter Session Fees

Your Fall/Winter Session fees will be calculated as described in the Fees Calculation and Assessment section above.

Students are charged deregulated academic fees as soon as they are officially enrolled in a program which is associated with that type of fee. The normal entry point into a program is at the end of the session in which you complete your fourth credit.

If you are invited to, and enrol in, the Computer Science Specialist/Major or Data Science Specialist or Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Specialist program at a later point in your studies, you will be charged retroactively for all courses taken after the session in which you earned your fourth credits.

Students admitted with transfer credits will be charged the deregulated academic fee immediately if 4.0 or more credits in transfer credits are granted. If transfer credits assessed are less than 4.0, the deregulated program fee will be assessed at the normal entry point into the program.

Summer Session Fees

Summer Session fees are calculated on a Course Fee basis. The academic fee of each summer credit is 1/5 of the program fee for the following Fall/Winter Session. 

If you are enrolled in Summer Session courses and enrol in a Computer Science Specialist/Major or Data Science Specialist or Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Specialist program for the first time, your summer fees will be reassessed and calculated at 1/5 of the deregulated program fee for each credit. Check ACORN for your adjusted balance after you have enrolled in the deregulated program — pay this amount as soon as possible, even if the amount does not agree with the amount you originally viewed on ACORN.

The deregulated academic fee schedule for the Fall/Winter session can be found on the Student Accounts website.

Incidental and Ancillary Fees

Compulsory fees for registration consist of tuition, incidental and ancillary fees. The tuition fee portion is assessed as described in the section above. Incidental and ancillary fees for all Arts & Science students are calculated based on a student's attendance status in full-time (3.0 to 6.0 credits) or part-time (0.5 to 2.5 credits) studies. Some incidental fees are optional and students may choose to opt-out of those fees. Please view the Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees & Ancillary Fees policies for more details.

Withdrawing from the Program

If you are currently enrolled in a Computer Science Specialist/Major, Data Science Specialist or Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Specialist and you withdraw from the program by the following deadlines, your deregulated academic fees for the relevant academic session will be changed to non-deregulated fees. 

Withdrawal Deadlines for Fall/Winter Session:

Withdrawal Deadlines for Summer Session:

If you are enrolling in a Computer Science Specialist/Major, Data Science Specialist or Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Specialist for the first time this year, you will be charged retroactively for all sessions in which you enrolled in courses beyond your fourth credit. If you withdraw from the program, the deregulated fees for those sessions may be completely reversed if the withdrawal occurs by the following deadline:

  • Summer session: If you enrol into the program during the summer session (July to September), and you withdraw from the program by the last day of Fall classes (in December), any retroactive charges on your account will be reversed.
  • ‘Current’ session fees will be readjusted according to the dates listed above for students currently enrolled in a Bioinformatics Specialist/Computer Science Specialist or Major/Data Science Specialist program.

 

Refunds and Courses Cancellations

If you cancel a course, you may be eligible to receive a full or partial refund. Whether or not you are eligible for a refund depends on a variety of factors including how your fees are assessed (either program fee or per-course fee) and on what date you cancelled the course. Refund information and deadlines are available on the Student Accounts website.

Last day to cancel courses without academic penalty

This is the last day to cancel an individual course so that it disappears from your permanent academic record. You may also request a Late Withdrawal (LWD) at your College Registrar's Office up until the last day of classes; the overall number of credits for which you can request Late Withdrawal is 3.0. Courses with an LWD notation remain on your permanent academic record, but do not impact your GPA.

Important Note: Cancelling a course by the deadline to cancel courses without academic penalty does not necessarily mean that you will receive a refund. Always be sure to check the refund schedule to determine whether you might be eligible for a refund.

Refund Deadlines

Whether or not you are eligible for a refund depends on a variety of factors including how your fees are assessed (either program fee or per-course fee) and on what date you cancelled the course. 

For refund deadlines, please refer to the Office of Student Accounts website
 

 

Financial Aid

If you are looking for financial aid to support your academic expenses, or if you are in need of emergency financial assistance, speak to your College Registrar's Office. You can also apply for emergency undergraduate grants (related to COVID-19 and others) using the U of T Grant Application Portal.