If a programme is cancelled or you withdraw: refunds and student protections in the national texts

If you withdraw or transfer, what the national texts give you is a right to a published refund rule, not a fixed sum: Order No. 42, Article 14 requires a university to publish its fee items, fee standards and its refund rules for withdrawal from the university and for transfer to another institution, and to denominate both fees and refunds in renminbi, while Article 14 itself sets no percentage and no deadline. If the university cancels or suspends the programme instead, section 17.5 of the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) requires it to work on the principles of respecting the student's wishes, fairness and reasonableness, and appropriate compensation, and to settle the refund of fees, compensation for losses, transfer placement and the necessary stay or residence formalities. Both documents are published in Chinese; the English wording on this page is this site's own translation.

What Article 14 of Order No. 42 requires

Article 14 has two parts. The first states that the fee items and fee standards applied to international students shall follow the relevant provisions of the state; Article 14 does not name those provisions. The second states that a university shall publish, for international students, its fee items, its fee standards, and its refund rules for withdrawal and for transfer, and that the charging of fees and the making of refunds shall be denominated in renminbi.

Two limits matter for planning. Article 14 sets no percentage of the tuition that must be returned, and it sets no deadline by which a refund must be paid. The figure, the timing and the procedure therefore come from the rule that the university itself publishes, not from Article 14.

Where the refund policy has to appear

Section 2.1 of the Quality standards requires a university to give foreign students admission information that is truthful and complete and suited to the characteristics of international students, using information technology such as the internet, and to provide good admissions advisory services. Section 2.1 states that the admission information shall include at least:

• basic information about the university, such as an overview of the city where it is located and its conditions for running the school;
• information about the education programme, such as the level of the degree, the training objectives, the length of study, the degree awarded, and the provisions on transfer of school and transfer of major;
• the admission procedure and admission requirements, such as the application deadline and method, entry standards, examination and assessment methods, financial guarantee requirements, handling of breaches of rules, and the admission schedule;
• financial provisions and policies, such as fee standards, payment methods and the refund policy;
• campus culture and life, such as the conditions of dormitories or apartments and how to apply for them, food, medical care, insurance, transport, cultural and sports activities, and student organisations;
• advisory contact details and channels for complaints and reports.

The refund policy is therefore one of the listed items of admission information, together with fee standards and payment methods. Section 2.1 states no amount for any fee and no amount or percentage for any refund. Section 17.1 adds that the information on admission and enrolment, teaching and training, management and services shall be published in electronic or paper written form and in a way that is convenient to consult.

If the university cancels or suspends the programme

Section 17.5 covers the cancellation and suspension of education programmes. When a university cancels or suspends an education programme for international students in China, it shall act on the principles of respecting the student's wishes, fairness and reasonableness, and appropriate compensation, safeguard and protect the lawful rights and interests of the international students, properly resolve the follow-up matters of refunding fees, compensating losses and arranging transfer placement, and handle the necessary stay or residence formalities.

Section 17.5 names no amount for the compensation, no formula for calculating it, and no deadline for settling any of these matters. It also does not state how transfer placement is arranged or where a student would be placed.

The two situations, side by side

Situation	What the national text requires	What it leaves to the university
You withdraw from the university, or transfer to another institution	Publication of fee items, fee standards and refund rules for withdrawal and transfer, with fees and refunds denominated in renminbi (Order No. 42, Article 14); the refund policy is one of the items of published admission information (Quality Standards, section 2.1)	Article 14 sets no percentage of tuition and no deadline for payment of the refund. Section 2.1 states no amount or percentage
The university cancels or suspends the programme	Respect for the student's wishes, fairness and reasonableness, and appropriate compensation; proper settlement of refund of fees, compensation for losses and transfer placement; handling of the necessary stay or residence formalities (Quality Standards, section 17.5)	Section 17.5 names no amount, no formula and no deadline, and states no procedure or destination for the transfer placement

Complaint and appeal channels

Section 17.2 requires a university to publicly notify international students, in a way that is convenient to consult, of the channels and methods for reporting and complaining about unlawful acts and acts in breach of rules within the university, and to handle such reports and complaints in a standardized manner. Section 17.3 requires it to clearly inform an international student who has been subject to handling or to disciplinary action of the channels and methods for appealing, and to handle appeals in a standardized manner. Section 17.2 names no office and no time limit for handling a complaint; section 17.3 names no office and no time limit for an appeal. Section 2.1 separately lists advisory contact details and complaint and reporting channels among the admission information a university shall publish.

A suggestion, not a rule: read the refund clause before you pay

The following is a planning suggestion, not a requirement from any of the provisions above. Read the refund policy in the admissions brochure, together with the fee standards and payment methods required by section 2.1, before you transfer any money, and keep a copy of what you read. Check whether the policy distinguishes withdrawal from the university, transfer to another institution, and cancellation or suspension of the programme, and note the complaint and reporting channels published under section 17.2 at the same time, so that you already know where to go if the money is not handled as the published rule says. See also the site's /funding/ page for the wider cost picture.

Questions people ask

Who decides how much of my tuition is refunded?

Order No. 42, Article 14 requires the university to publish its refund rules rather than to apply a figure set nationally. Article 14 sets no percentage, so the amount you are refunded is the amount stated in the rule the university publishes, in renminbi.

Is the refund paid in renminbi?

Yes. Article 14 states that the charging of fees and the making of refunds shall be denominated in renminbi.

Does any national provision give a deadline for the refund?

Order No. 42, Article 14 sets no deadline for a refund on withdrawal or transfer, and section 17.5 of the Quality Standards names no deadline for settling the refund, the compensation or the transfer placement when a programme is cancelled or suspended.

If the programme is cancelled, must the university move me to another programme?

Section 17.5 lists transfer placement among the follow-up matters the university shall properly resolve, and requires respect for the student's wishes as a principle. Section 17.5 states no procedure for that placement, names no destination, and sets out no guarantee of a place.

Where do I go if the refund is not handled as published?

Section 17.2 requires the university to publicise its channels and methods for reports and complaints about unlawful acts and acts in breach of rules within the university, and section 2.1 lists complaint and reporting channels among the admission information. If you have been subject to handling or to disciplinary action, section 17.3 requires the university to inform you clearly of the channels and methods for appeal.

Sources

• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued by Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号 — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council, CHSI or any university, and is not legal advice; the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case prevail if they differ.