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Financial Aid & Fees

Policies & Appeals

 

 

Financial Aid

Here you can find information on the different policies that Financial Aid and Awards implements or is responsible for. 

New content is added and updated on a regular basis.

 

Fee Policies

Senate Policy on Student Debtors (Overdue Accounts)

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to make changes, without notice, in the scale of fees. If fee changes are approved after publication deadlines, every effort will be made to notify students affected. However, lack of notification does not exempt a student from paying the appropriate fee. Normally, fee increases, if applicable, become effective September 1 each year. Acceptance of fee payment does not necessarily imply acceptance of registration.

While every effort is made to avoid errors in fee assessment, should an error occur, it will be corrected and every effort is made to attempt to notify affected students. However, lack of notification does not exempt a student from paying the appropriate fee.

  • Ancillary fees for the next academic year are approved by the Board of Trustees at their May meeting. Therefore, students registered full or part-time, who start their program in May, may be assessed ancillary fees retroactively

The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) regulates the fees that universities are permitted to charge students. These guidelines are a reference for Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s faculty and staff to evaluate whether specific course related fees are allowable under the MAESD protocol.

Guidelines to Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Compulsory Course Related Fees (PDF, 391.7 KB)

The university accepts no responsibility for uninsured medical expenses incurred by students or their dependents. International students who do not have health or hospital insurance valid in Ontario during OHIP's 3-month waiting period, will be enrolled  for the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP). For more information, visit

  • International students registered at Queen's University and residing in Ontario must enrol themselves, and their dependents in Ontario, in mandatory basic health insurance through the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP)
  • Canadian students from other provinces must inform their local Ministry of Health that they will be studying in Ontario. Canadian students from outside Canada are eligible to apply for free provincial basic health insurance (Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)) while studying in Ontario.

The cost of assessment materials bundled with electronic learning materials is exempt from the requirements for approval according to an ancillary fee protocol. The university notes that such costs to students in need are offset by funding from the Queen ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s General Bursary. Nevertheless, if students find it an exceptional hardship to afford the cost of assessment materials bundled with electronic learning materials required for a course and to be used to create a significant portion of the final grade, they may appeal for an increase in their General Bursary assessment.

Semi-annually, in June and November, overdue accounts from the preceding summer, fall, and winter terms may be placed in the hands of a collection agency. For more information, visit the Financial Services website.

A service charge, (prime + 3%), will be assessed on the 15th day of each month. Service charges are calculated on the overdue amount. Starting September 2015, no service charges will be levied in September, January, and May.

 

Appeal Processes

Failure to pay tuition and fees for a semester may result in students being charged a $150 late fee. Late fees are assessed on the first business day in October for fall semester and the first business day in February for winter semester. This timing provides students a grace period between the posted due date and late fee application. The grace period provides students time to sort government aid payments or to pay for courses that were added late during the final open enrollment period. Students will only be assessed one late fee per academic year. In addition to late fees, failure to pay will be accompanied by assessment of a hold on a student ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s account until the outstanding balance is cleared. The hold will impact the following:

  • Enrollment – Adding or swapping courses will be prohibited. Only dropping courses will be allowed.
  • Transcript and diploma – Obtaining a diploma, official, or unofficial transcript will be prohibited.
  • Final grades – Students will not be able to view their final course grades in SOLUS. Students will still be allowed to view course materials and complete their course work and assessments.

Late Fee Appeals

If you believe there were extenuating circumstances and you would like to appeal the late fee (eg. You made the full payment on or before the due date but it has not been posted in SOLUS yet) please kindly complete the . Before submitting an appeal, please note the following:

  • If you made your payment on or before the payment grace period end date, please make sure to include proof of the payment with the appeal (eg. a screenshot of your bank account showing the payment to Queen's with the date).
  • If you were expecting a payment from OSAP you do not need to provide supporting documentation with the appeal. Please provide a detailed description of why you are appealing and we will investigate your OSAP application. If there does become a need for documentation, we will follow-up with you.
  • If you were expecting payment from a government aid source outside of Ontario please provide supporting documentation as we have less detailed access to government aid information outside of Ontario.
  • If your payment was made after the payment grace period ended, please provide a detailed description of the circumstances that prevented you from making payment on-time. Please provide any supporting documentation you may have.

Student Wellness Services cancellation policy

Senate Policy states that official transcripts may not be released until the outstanding account is settled in full or until an acceptable arrangement for settling the account is made.

This policy will be waived in the following circumstances and at the written request of the student.

  • BEd Students: One transcript may be sent to the Ontario College of Teachers
  • Law Students: One transcript may be released to a second year law student for the purpose of applying for an articling position that they would take up after they finish their law degree. One transcript may be released to the Law Society for the purpose of being called to the Bar

If you require a transcript, but cannot pay the outstanding debt in full, please submit an appeal for a transcript, including your proposed payment arrangement by submitting the following form: .

If your appeal is approved, only one transcript will be released to the intended recipient. It will not be released directly to the student.

Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ Fees Policy, the Payment Due Dates, Refund Policy, and Financial Drop Deadlines.

In rare situations, a student may wish to submit an appeal for a Tuition Fee Amendment on the grounds of serious extenuating circumstances (e.g., sudden injury or sudden onset of illness; death of an immediate family member; or other serious life crisis) that prevent the student from completing their courses. 

Such extenuating circumstances may warrant a reversal/refund, in part or in full of their assessed tuition fees after the last date for refund/reversal within the published withdrawal schedule.

Students must submit a letter outlining the nature of the appeal along with supporting documentation from a healthcare professional (e.g., physician, psychologist, counsellor, etc.), or in cases of death, a copy of the death certificate or obituary notice is required.  

Appeals may only be submitted for classes that have been dropped. Students may not appeal for a tuition fee amendment for classes that are in progress or have been graded.

Financial appeals may take up to 60 days to finalize.

NOTE:  A successful academic petition does not guarantee a successful financial appeal.

Financial Appeal Tuition Fees Submission Deadlines  

  • Fall Session (September – December) Deadline of April 30th. 
  • Winter Session (January – April) Deadline of August 31st 
  • Full Academic Year (September – April) Deadline of August 31st 
  • Summer Session (May-August) Deadline of December 31st 

Please complete the form to initiate your request.

Senate Policy states that any student with an overdue debt with the university will not be permitted to register until the outstanding account is settled in full or until an acceptable arrangement for settling the account is made.

If you wish to register, but cannot pay the outstanding debt in full, please submit an appeal to register with debt. Your appeal must include:

  • A description of the extenuating circumstances that led to the outstanding balance
  • A budget that outlines ALL of your expenses and sources of income
  • A repayment plan

To appeal to register with debt, complete the . For any questions or concerns, please email reg.appeals@queensu.ca.

  • If OSAP is one of your sources of income, be sure to apply for OSAP before you submit your appeal. The appeals committee will provide a decision only after OSAP has provided an assessment
  • If you are appealing for a Tuition Fee Amendment, the appeals committee will consider your appeal to register with debt after you provide the decision for the Tuition Fee Amendment

Before appealing to the University Registrar ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Tuition and Fee Appeals Committee, students must exhaust their opportunities to appeal to the unit that assessed the fees in question. The University Registrar ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Tuition and Fee Appeals committee is called on to make decisions regarding second-level appeals of tuition, student fees, and all other administrative fees charged by the university. The committee focuses on cases that fall outside of current precedents. Therefore, the first-level of an appeal must initially be reviewed, and a decision made, by the office that assessed the fee.

  • If, for example, a student wishes to appeal their tuition or student fees, the student must first complete an Appeal of Tuition Fee Amendment form and submit it to the Office of the University Registrar
  • If the appeal is regarding a charge for Student Wellness Centre services, then the initial appeal must first be heard by that office, etc.

An appeal to the University Registrar ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Tuition and Fee Appeals committee will only be considered after the initial appeal has been denied. The Committee does not hear appeals denied on the basis of a standing precedent by the office assessing the fee. The committee will only hear appeals based on an appellant providing new information or showing that an error was made by a department that resulted in fees being posted inappropriately. Normally, only currently registered students may appeal tuition and fees.

An appeal to the University Registrar ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Tuition and Fee Appeals Committee must be commenced within 12 weeks of the negative decision of the office assessing the fee. Appeals to the University Registrar ¹ú²ú´«Ã½ ’s Tuition and Fee Appeals committee must be submitted in writing (with all appropriate documentation) to the email fees@queensu.ca to the attention of the University Registrar.

  • Appellants will not normally be permitted to make in-person presentations to the committee
  • The Chair of the committee will communicate the decision to the appellant within ten (10) business days of the meeting where the decision was made
  • The decisions of the committee are final