Fees & Refunds

Questions? Call 415.405.7700.

For Open University fees & refund information, see Open University.

Late Fees

Students enrolling in academic or CEU courses will be charged a late fee if registration does not occur prior to the deadlines listed below. The late fee is $25 per course per semester. Since there is an additional $25 charge per term elapsed (spring, summer, and fall), we strongly encourage students to enroll prior to the start of the course.

Academic Courses

Students enrolling in Academic credit classes must register by January 2 to avoid paying a $25 late fee.

CEU Courses

Students enrolling in CEU courses meeting 2 or more times must register prior to the second course meeting to avoid a $25 late fee. Students enrolling in CEU courses that meet 1 day only must register the business day before the class begins to avoid a $25 fee. For one day classes held on Saturday or Sunday, students must register and pay by 5pm the Friday before the class meets.

Course Fees

Fees are listed after each course description. Some course fees, when indicated, include a non-refundable materials fee. All course fees include a non-refundable processing fee per course. See the "Refunds/Drop Deadlines" for details.

For independent study and other individually arranged course fees, see "Special/Independent Study."

For refunds for canceled courses/changes in time or dates, see "Canceled Courses/Changes in Time or Dates."

Miscellaneous Fees

See course description for material or travel fees.

• Late fee when registration is accepted after deadline: $25 (per term elapsed)
• One card fee: $2
• Internet access fee: $15 per month (plus a non-refundable $5 first time set-up fee)
• University official transcripts for the first copy: $4
• Each additional transcript copy prepared at the same time (up to 10): $2
• Check returned for any cause (insufficient funds, closed account or stop payment): $20

The amount of any dishonored check plus the $20 fee becomes a financial obligation to SF State.

Fees are subject to change by the Trustees of the California State Universities and Colleges.

Drop Deadlines

Students must officially request refunds by the drop deadline by completing and signing a College of Extended Learning refund/add/drop request form. The effective date of a refund is the day the request is received by the College of Extended Learning. To drop by phone, call 415.405.7700 [press 5]. Students may drop classes they have not yet paid for via the Online Registration system.

Refund Deadlines

If a student drops a course which has not been canceled and applies for a refund, a portion of the course fee, excluding miscellaneous fees, is refunded according to the refund chart below:

Drop Deadlines for Refund Calculations - Spring or Fall Session

CEL Lecture/Lab Classes (not including Open University)

CEL Online Classes (not including Open University)

Open University Classes (including online classes)

Drop Deadlines for Refund Calculations - Summer Session

CEL Lecture/Lab Classes (not including Open University)

CEL Online Classes (not including Open University)

Open University Classes (including online classes)

Drop Deadlines for Refund Calculations - Winter Session

CEL Lecture/Lab Classes

*This is Friday for a course that begins Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

Refund checks are mailed to students approximately six to eight weeks after the date the add/drop form is received by the College of Extended Learning. According to CSU regulations, credit card accounts cannot be credited.

A student's program is not officially changed until the add/drop form is received and processed by the College of Extended Learning. Failure to attend does not cause a student to be dropped from a course. Do not put a stop payment on a check or credit card charge to drop or withdraw from a course. This results in a financial obligation to SF State for the course fee, plus an additional $20 charge. Eligibility for partial refunds ends when the add/drop period ends.

Financial Obligations: 415.338.1281

The College of Extended Learning does not accept registrations from students with financial obligations to SF State. Please call the SF State Cashier's Office at 415.338.1281 for information.

Students with financial obligations have holds placed on their records. They are not allowed to register through the College of Extended Learning and cannot receive transcripts or SF State registration packets. If the obligation continues to appear on SF State reports, the student’s name is submitted to the Franchise Tax Board. The state then has the authority to withhold amounts owed to SF State from any tax refund.

Transfer of Fees

Students dropping from a paid class, may transfer the fees to another course of their choice, if the add and drop requests occur on the same add/drop form. To add a course once it has begun, complete a College of Extended Learning registration form, obtain the instructor’s signature and submit the form to the College of Extended Learning by January 7. Drops are accepted in person or by phone without approval signatures until the add/drop deadline.

Withdrawal

Students may withdraw from courses that earn academic credit after the refund deadlines and receive grades of “W” by securing the approval signatures of the instructor and the Department Chair or College Dean. Failure to withdraw officially from a course generates a grade of “F” or “WU”. There is no refund during the withdrawal period.

Questions? Call 415.405.7700 [press 5].

Payment by Employer/Agency

Subsidy Process

Please follow the steps below if your subsidizing agency is paying for classes.

1. Subsidizer should send a letter of authorization to bill to the CEL Subsidy Specialist Sara Ferracone at SF State-CEL. The letter can be faxed to 415.338.7290 or mailed to:
   
   SF State-CEL Attn: Subsidy Specialist
   1600 Holloway Avenue, HSS 124
   San Francisco, CA 94132
   
   If the subsidy paperwork is a contract, please allow 4 weeks for approval.
   
   
2. Students should register for classes.
   (See How to Register.)
   
   
3. Immediately following registration, students should contact the CEL Subsidy Specialist Sara Ferracone, at 415.338.1190 to ensure that they will not be dropped from courses.

Authorization to Bill must include:

• Student Name
• University ID/Social Security Number
• Semester(s) to be covered
• Program/classes to be covered
• Amount of money that can be billed
• Billing address
• Contact person and phone number
• Official signature
• Letter must be on letterhead stationery

Payment is due five business days after the date of registration, or the day before the earliest course begins, whichever is sooner. To avoid being dropped from courses, students should call the CEL Subsidy Specialist the same day they register for classes, indicating that they have a subsidy letter/contract on file. For subsequently added courses, follow this same process.

Students who register on the first day of class must bring a copy of the letter of authorization to bill in order to be enrolled, even if the College of Extended Learning already has subsidy paperwork on file. This is especially true for courses which begin after 5:00pm or on Saturday or Sunday.

Please Note: If the subsidizing/contracting employer or agency does not submit payment for course fees, the student becomes responsible for payment of all course fees.

Contracts

Contracts take 4-6 weeks to be completed and signed by both SF State and the contracting agency. Signed contracts should be on file with CEL prior to registration. Students whose contracts are not complete at the time of enrollment may be dropped from classes for non-payment.

If the contract has not been completed and signed, we are only able to hold course seats with an additional promise to pay letter from the agency which will act as a placeholder until the final contract is completed and signed. The contract must be signed and completed by both agency and SF State by January 5, or students will be dropped for non-payment. After this deadline, all students need to petition to add late with appropriate signatures and late fees.

Refunds to Agency

To be eligible for a full refund, a course must be dropped the business day (Mon.-Fri., 9:00am–5:00pm) prior to the first class meeting, and according to all rules and regulations of the College of Extended Learning. Refunds will be processed back to the subsidizing agency based on regular refund guidelines (see Calendar & Deadlines).

We cannot transfer funds from one course to another. Because payment is authorized by a third party, adds and drops must be separate transactions, handled strictly as described above. Adds and drops need to be approved by the subsidizing/contracting agency since each student's academic plan and course tuition is binding to the contract and/or subsidy agreement.

If a course is cancelled, a refund to the subsidizing agency will be processed automatically.