This policy outlines the additional limitations and restrictions related to the deposit required of international student applicants for admission or readmission to Douglas College.
1 Relevant deadlines
1.1 Study Permit Confirmation
The Study Permit Confirmation deadline is the deadline to confirm the approval of your study permit application.
| Intake | Deadline (23:59 PST/PDT) |
|---|---|
| Fall (September to December) | August 15 |
| Winter (January to April) | December 8 |
| Summer (May to August) | April 15 |
1.2 Refund and Deferral
The Refund and Deferral deadline is the last day that students may submit requests for a refund or a deferral for their starting academic term.
| Intake | Deadline (23:59 PST/PDT) |
|---|---|
| Fall (September to December) | August 25 |
| Winter (January to April) | December 18 |
| Summer (May to August) | April 25 |
2 Who to contact
A student’s point of contact regarding admissions, including any requests regarding refunds, deferrals, or study permit confirmation, is their admissions coordinator. Email is the preferred contact method.
The admissions coordinator’s contact information is listed in box 15 of the student’s Letter of Acceptance (LOA). In case the admissions coordinator is unavailable, students should contact either the alternate contact listed in box 16 of the LOA, or the general Douglas College International Marketing and Recruitment email address (DCIAdmissions@douglascollege.ca).
Students should not send requests related to this policy to other individuals or units within Douglas College (e.g. Enrolment Services, Faculty, or other departments.) For the purposes of this policy, a request will be considered received when it gets to the Douglas College International Marketing and Recruitment team, even if the request was sent earlier to someone else.
3 Non-refundable deposit
Once an initial Letter of Acceptance (LOA) has been issued, the deposit becomes nonrefundable with the exception of the conditions described in the Refunds section below.
This policy does not overrule the general college Fee Refunds and Penalty Rules. The penalties and refunds mentioned in that policy apply to the deposit amount, with the exception that any refunds mentioned that are part of the deposit will be credited back to the student’s account, rather than refunded.
4 Deferral
Students who are not eligible to study in their accepted semester or those who would prefer to defer for personal reasons may request a Deferral. If the deferral is approved, the student’s deposit would remain secure, and their acceptance would be moved to the next available semester for their program with no penalties.
Deferrals are:
- Subject to approval. (Additional documentation may be requested.)
- For the next available semester for the student’s program.
- Not automatic and must be requested or confirmed in email by the student.
Deferral requests must be received by the Refund and Deferral deadline.
If a deferral request is not approved then the deposit is subject to the conditions of refund described below.
5 Refunds
Refunds of the deposit are permitted under limited circumstances, described below.
Additional documentation, information, and forms to complete may be required for processing a refund request. Refund requests must be received by the Refund and Deferral deadline.
Students may choose to voluntarily withdraw their application and receive a partial refund of their deposit. The refund amount is the deposit amount minus a $5000 penalty.
Students must confirm their decision to voluntarily withdraw by the Refund and Deferral deadline in order to qualify for the partial refund.
Students who choose to withdraw from their courses without confirming their decision to voluntarily withdraw by the Refund and Deferral deadline will not be eligible for a refund of their deposit.
Students whose study permit is refused by the Study Permit Confirmation deadline for their starting semester may choose to:
- Request a Deferral to the next available semester, or
- Withdraw their application and request a refund.
Students whose study permit application is refused may receive a full refund (less the administrative fee) if a refund request is received by the Refund and Deferral deadline. The refund request must include the Study Permit application refusal letter from IRCC.
The student may instead choose to defer to the next available semester if they intend to reapply for a study permit.
The decision to defer or seek a refund must be received by the Refund and Deferral deadline. If no decision is received by the Refund and Deferral deadline, then the whole deposit is forfeited.
Students who do not receive a decision on their study permit application by the Study Permit Confirmation deadline for their starting semester may choose to:
- Request a Deferral to the next available semester, or
- Request to Voluntarily Withdraw their application and seek a partial refund.
Student’s decision must be received by the Refund and Deferral deadline. If no decision is received by the Refund and Deferral deadline, then the whole deposit is forfeited.
Students who are conditionally accepted (e.g. High School graduation, or Language Pathway pending) and do not meet the conditions of their acceptance by the deadlines included in their Offer and LOA, or deadlines communicated by their admissions coordinator, may choose to:
- Request a Deferral to the next available semester, or
- Request to change to a program for which they meet the conditions of acceptance, or
- Request to Voluntarily Withdraw their application and seek a partial refund.
Requests for a change of program for the intended starting semester will be approved pending seat and course availability for the new program and cannot be guaranteed.
This decision must be received by the Refund and Deferral deadline. If no decision is received by the Refund and Deferral Deadline, then the whole deposit is forfeited.
Students who withdraw due to exceptional circumstances may submit a petition for a larger refund. Douglas College retains the right to determine what an exceptional circumstance is and what documentation is required to prove that an exceptional circumstance has occurred.
Petitions will be evaluated by one of the Douglas College International Admissions managers.
Please note: petitions received after the start of classes may also require a formal Request for Exception process (students will be informed if this is required).
6 Penalties
6.1 Dishonesty or fraud
Submission of documents, assessments, or transcripts that are fraudulent or were received through dishonest methods, making false claims during the admissions process (including study permit confirmation), or failure to receive a Study Permit due to fraud, alleged fraud, dishonesty, misrepresentation will result in complete forfeiture of the admissions deposit.
6.2 Failure to study
Students who study during their starting semester and are eligible to study during subsequent semesters, but choose to not study at Douglas College for two consecutive academic semesters without securing an official Authorized Leave from the International Student Advising team will forfeit the balance of their deposit.
7 Rights and responsibilities
7.1 Student
Students are responsible for making sure contact information such as email, local Canadian phone number, and local Canadian (British Colombia) address on record with Douglas College are accurate, up to date, and monitored.
Students are responsible for checking their email regularly and responding promptly to emails from Douglas College.
Students are responsible for updating Douglas College on the outcome of their Study Permit application as soon as possible. This should be done directly via email or through the Study Permit Confirmation form sent out to students as part of our study permit confirmation measures.
Students are responsible for updating Douglas College on a decision to request a refund or deferral by the Refund and Deferral Deadline.
7.2 Douglas College
Douglas College has the responsibility to take reasonable steps to contact the student regarding their application, eligibility to study, and the status of their deposit.
Douglas College reserves the right to approve extensions or exceptions to the restrictions described herein.
Douglas College reserves the right to change tuition and fees without notice. Tuition and fee information provided during the admissions process are estimates for planning purposes only, and do not constitute a binding agreement. The most up to date tuition and fee information can be found on the Douglas College website on the Tuition fee charts page.
Douglas College reserves the right to change the Study Permit Confirmation deadline and the Refund and Deferral deadline to accommodate institutional exigencies. In these circumstances the new dates will be communicated to students via email and the relevant parts of the Douglas College website will be updated.
8 Definitions
The deposit is the funds paid to Douglas College for the purpose of securing admission or readmission to Douglas College. The application fee is not part of the deposit and is entirely non-refundable.
The deposit is a pre-payment towards tuition and fees levied by the college and cannot be used towards other expenses (e.g. food, books, school supplies, rent, or other bills or expenses).
The deposit will be applied towards tuition and fees for study. If the balance of the deposit does not cover the full cost of tuition and fees, then students will be expected to pay the balance.
Each semester any unused deposit will be moved to the next academic semester. Students are expected to register for classes in each non-break semester in their program.
The deposit represents a commitment to attending Douglas College and is subject to restrictions on withdrawal or refund, as detailed herein.
The deposit is associated with the academic semester for which a student is seeking admission or readmission.
For the purposes of this policy, any references to the Refund and Deferral deadline, the starting semester, or accepted semester should be understood to refer to the deadline or semester associated with this academic semester, even in cases where the student has previously studied at Douglas College and has been readmitted.
For the purposes of this policy, a student includes an individual attending classes at Douglas College (i.e. a current student), individuals applying for admissions to Douglas College who have not yet started classes (i.e. applicants), and individuals who have previously studied at Douglas College and have been obligated to reapply for admission with a deposit.
For the purposes of communication and decision making, any reference to the student in this policy is intended to include individuals and organizations designated to represent the individual in their application process (e.g. education agents or designated family members).
For the purposes of this policy, deferral refers to delaying a student's admission to the next available semester. A student who has been accepted to begin studies in one semester and chooses or is obligated to move their start date to a later semester would be considered to have been deferred. (Common reasons for a deferred start include failure to meet admissions requirements or a delay in study permit approval before our study permit confirmation deadline.)
A deferral withdraws the student’s application for the semester they intended to begin and creates a new application in the next available semester. The student’s deposit will be applied to the semester of the new application with no penalty.
Not all programs are available every academic semester and deferral of offers of admission to certain limited programs may depend on seat availability or additional program admission requirements.
Tuition and fees are subject to change.
The administrative fee is a $250 fee that covers the costs incurred by Douglas College while administering your deposit and refund. The fee is only charged in the case of refunds and will be withheld from the refunded deposit amount. This fee is subject to change without notice.