Appeal for Refund Process

Appeal the Cancellation Policy

Students have the option to appeal the Learning Abroad Center’s Cancellation Policy when canceling from a program for extenuating circumstances. What are considered "extenuating circumstances" when canceling from a program?

Extenuating circumstances are defined as:

• Medical: Can be physical, mental, emotional, etc. and require documentation from attending physician and completion of the Medical Refund Form.
• Illness/Death in the Immediate Family: Family medical emergency (surgery, long-term illness diagnosed) which requires documentation from attending physician and completion of the Medical Refund Form. Death of an immediate family member—parents, guardians, siblings, children, spouses, registered domestic partners—does not include grandparents and requires appropriate documentation.
• Academic: Unforeseen academic change and requires appropriate documentation.
• Military Activation: Requires a copy of the military activation orders showing dates that conflict with the program dates.
• Unanticipated Change in Financial Situation: Financial emergency (does not include "did not understand what I was financially accountable for when paying the deposit" as the budget estimate sheet is available at the time of application, "not eligible for financial aid" as students can work with financial aid office prior to confirmation on a program to determine if eligible for financial aid, OR "did not receive a scholarship I was counting on" unless the scholarship was awarded but not received) which requires appropriate documentation.
• Other: Includes legal situations (delay or denial of issuance of visa which is out of control of individual etc.) which requires documentation of situation, process, and timeline.

Students sign a Release and Waiver when confirming to a program which includes a statement that they have read and understand the Cancellation & Refund Policy.

Procedure

Students (not the parents) must complete the Appeal for Refund Process and submit to the Learning Abroad Center Finance Director within a month of the cancellation date:

1. The Appeal for Refund Form
2. A Personal Statement explaining the reason for the appeal
   1. medical—include details on the illness, when it started, treatment and support you received pre-departure (did you disclose on your LAC health form?), onsite and upon return
   2. Illness/Death in the family
   3. Academic
   4. Military Activation
3. Additional documentation to support the appeal
   1. medical—the Refund Appeal Medical Supplement
   2. Illness/Death in the immediate family—Letter from attending physician or documentation of death. etc.

The Learning Abroad Center Cancellation Appeal Committee meets monthly (usually at the end of the month) and reviews each case individually and makes every effort to be fair and equitable in determining the amount of non-recoverable costs in addition to the $400 non-recoverable deposit the student is responsible for. Students are notified by email within one week after the committee meeting. 

Important Notes

The Learning Abroad Center Cancellation & Refund Policy as well as extenuating circumstances are exclusive of the University of Minnesota policy and also that of the program providers' (e.g. The Alliance, Arcadia, Butler, CAPA, CIC-SPA, CIEE, CET, HECUA, IES, SIT, SFS, etc.).

Program providers have the right not to accept the cancellation refund appeal request made by the student and will bill the U of M for any non-recoverable costs on behalf of the student.  The Learning Abroad Center will in turn bill the student in the student finance system for the amount due and in most cases will not be able to reduce the non-recoverable costs to a lesser amount.

Students participating in Collegiate & Departmental Programs are not eligible for the Appeal for Refund through the Learning Abroad Center. Refund decisions are made by the sponsoring College or Department and you should contact them for further details. 

In accordance with the Procedure: Conflict Resolution Process for Student Academic Complaints, students who have a complaint after receiving a decision from the Refund Appeal Review Committee have the option to make their case to the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance Associate Vice President and Dean at international@umn.edu. Complaints must:

• must be based on a claimed violation of a University rule, policy, or established practice
• if alleging discrimination in the University-student relationship, may be filed under this procedure or with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, but not both

The AVP & Dean's decision may be appealed to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, for a final decision.