Refund Policy
Refund Policies
The enrollment fee is nonrefundable. The health insurance fee is refundable only if withdrawal occurs prior to the applicable semester waiver deadline. The waiver deadline is located on the Student Health and Counseling Services webpage.
Students who wish to withdraw from SVA must notify their academic advisor in writing. Written approval from a parent or guardian must be included if the student is under 18 years of age. The effective date of the withdrawal is the date written notification is received by the academic advisor. Lack of attendance alone does not entitle a student to a refund.
Refunds, less the nonrefundable enrollment fee and health insurance fee (if applicable), are made after the prorated percentages of liability are applied, unless superseded by an existing state or accrediting agency refund policy. Upon withdrawal from the semester, SVA does not charge any department or course fees. However, payment plan fees, late fees and any other administrative fees are not prorated. Only tuition and housing costs are prorated. Prorated housing costs are based on the check out date, not the official date of withdrawal.
Withdrawal Liability
The prorated percentages of liability (tuition and fees owed) are based on the official date of withdrawal, as follows:
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Effective Day of Withdrawal | % Liability Incurred |
1st Week of Semester | 0% |
2nd Week of Semester | 25% |
3rd Week of Semester | 50% |
4th Week of Semester | 75% |
After 4th Week of Semester | 100% |
No refund will occur for withdrawal after the fourth week of the semester.
Title IV recipients should note that the amount of the student refund will be calculated only after the aid proceeds are appropriately returned to each program. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for more information on Title IV refunds.
Continuing Education Refund Policy
The refund policy for the Continuing Education program can be found here under Policies and Resources.
Destinations Program Tuition Refund Policy
The effective withdrawal or cancellation date is the day the Program Coordinator receives your written notification. Please note that failure to attend or notifying anyone other than the Program Coordinator does not constitute an official withdrawal or cancellation. The prorated liability percentages are determined based on the official withdrawal date from any Destinations Program.
Your 30% deposit is non-refundable and will be retained in full. In addition, you are still responsible for the remaining 70% of the program cost, based on the prorated refund schedule below.
Effective Withdrawal Date | % Liability for Remaining Program Cost |
9 weeks before program start date | 0% + non-refundable deposit |
30 days before the program start date | 25%+ non-refundable deposit |
15 days before the program start date | 50% + non-refundable deposit |
14 days before the program start date | 100% + non-refundable deposit |
Artist Residency Program Refund Policy
There is a $500 cancellation fee for withdrawal in writing at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program. There will be no refunds for withdrawals requested less than 2 weeks prior to the start of the program.
To withdraw from the program you must notify the coordinator of Artist Residency Programs, in writing, of your intention to withdraw. You may do so by emailing your withdrawal to rcohen33@sva.edu or by sending written notification via mail or fax. The Division of Continuing education is located at 209 East 23rd Street. All refunds for payments made by American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa, will be credited to the appropriate credit card account. Payment made by check or money order will be refunded by check, payable to the registrant. Processing of refunds takes approximately four weeks.
The $500 program cancellation fee is non-refundable. The effective date of the withdrawal or cancellation is the date that the program coordinator receives written notification. Lack of attendance alone does not entitle a student to a refund.
Refunds, less the non-refundable program fee, are made after the prorated percentages of liability are applied. Prorated housing costs are based on the check-out date, not the official date of withdrawal or cancellation.
The prorated percentages of liability (tuition and fees owed) are based on the official date of withdrawal or cancellation, as follows:
Residency Program Tuition Policy
0% liability if withdrawal occurs 15 days before the program begins
100% liability if withdrawal occurs 14 days before the program begins
Pre-College Refund Policy
The refund policy for the Pre-College program can be found here.
Matriculated students taking a leave of absence from SVA for medical reasons are eligible for a one-time Medical Withdrawal Tuition Benefit. At the time of withdrawal, the academic advisor will provide the student with a Clinician's Verification of Health Condition form (available for download on sva.edu/health under “Resources”).
To qualify for the benefit, students must be taking an approved medical leave of absence, without final grades issued in any registered courses, and must submit the PVMC form to Student Health and Counseling Services within 30 days of the date of withdrawal. Students will be credited for tuition, department fees, course fees, late payment fees, payment plan fees and health insurance fees (provided that the plan has not been used). Housing fees, department fines and previously issued refunds are excluded from this policy.
All medical benefit credits are applied to the first semester the student returns to SVA. If the full benefit credit is not used in one semester, the remaining credit will be carried over for the period of one academic year only. There are no refunds on medical benefit credits.
The Medical Withdrawal Tuition Benefit is effective only after students with financial aid have had a proration performed by the Financial Aid office.
There is no penalty or liability for any course adjustment completed during the course adjustment period. The course adjustment period is typically held during the first week of the fall and spring semester. You can find the specific dates for each semester's course adjustment period listed in the academic calendar.
However, if you drop any course after the course adjustment period is over, you will be charged for the percentage of tuition for which you are liable. The only exception being if you stay within full time tuition (12-15 credits for most programs). The percentages of liability for course adjustment after the course adjustment period are the same as the percentages of liability upon withdrawal. See those percentages on the Withdrawing from SVA tab.
Please note, there is a $100 late course adjustment fee charged to all students who add any courses after the course adjustment period has ended.
Tuition Insurance
Because your college education is an investment worth protecting, we have partnered with GradGuard to offer tuition insurance to our students and families as financial safeguard.
The Tuition Protection Insurance Plan helps students and their families overcome the financial losses that may result from events which force students to withdraw from the semester due to a covered medical reason. Helping families get the most out of their SVA experience is always our top priority.
This coverage expands the scope of our existing refund policy by ensuring reimbursement for tuition, housing and other payments if a student withdraws for any covered medical reason at any time during the semester.
The deadline to enroll is the day before classes begin each semester.
Learn more about selecting this optional tuition insurance from GradGuard by calling 1.866.724.4384 or visiting www.gradguard.com/tuition/sva.