2019 Survey Results for Common Practices for Managing Student Withdrawals & Refunds

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Learn how other schools are addressing the reported growth in student withdrawals and what steps are being taken to reduce the cost of refunds. 

The 2019 study reveals a new benchmark for the following:

• 70% of schools surveyed report a growth in student medical withdrawals - up from just 42% in 2015.
• 98% of schools surveyed agree or strongly agree that they are required to disclose the institutions refund policy to students - up from 62% in 2015.
• 49% of schools surveyed actively disclose their refund policies to students - up from only 20% in 2015.
• The number of schools surveyed that report to provide 100% refunds to students for tuition and fees who complete a medical withdrawal declined to 6% - down from 23% in 2015.

For this year's study, GradGuard engaged HigherEdStudy to complete the research report. This survey builds on similar research conducted in 2015 and 2017 and is timely due to the reported growth in student medical and mental health conditions.