AICTE announces PGDM Fee Refund Policy 2024; Last Date, Process, Refund Amount

Many candidates who take admission in MBA colleges and later on get admission in some better MBA college remain worried how to withdraw from the present colleges and get the refund of admission fees which they have already deposited.

Providing relief to such students, AICTE announces every year key guidelines How to withdraw your admission and cancel your MBA Admission and How to cancel PGDM Admission and fixes a timeline for the process, without making a hole in your pocket even after making payment of admission fees. If you are not interested to pursue the respective management programme from a B-school and want to withdraw your admission, AICTE announces full fee refund timelines each year. With the streamlining of academic session 2024-25 after three years of Covid pandemic, the AICTE has announced the last date for admission as well as for admission. Along with this, AICTE has also released the process how to cancel MBA admission and how to cancel PGDM admission 2024. During the last three years AICTE has provided great relief to the MBA students and has allowed them to cancel their MBA seat by extending the last date time and again for full fee refund for PGDM/PGCM courses.

If you wish to withdraw admission 2024-26 from an AICTE approved program with full fee refund, the last date for full fee refund as announced by AICTE is September 11, 2024.This is the last date for PGDM cancellation with full fee refund from an AICTE approved B-school. AICTE Fee Refund Policy offers you the opportunity to apply and get admission in a better MBA/PGDM program without making a hole in your pocket. AICTE revises its Fee Refund Rules in each academic calendar to make it more liberalized to enable the students to explore admission opportunity in a better institute.

According to the revised AICTE instructions, a candidate can apply to the institute for seat cancellation and can claim full Fee refund by the last date and the institute is liable to refund the fee in full within 7 days from the date of submission of the Application at the college. As such, AICTE has become more strict on the Fee Refund Norms and has advised the institutes to adhere to the AICTE schedule for Fee refund. AICTE has further tightened its fee refund rules for the MBA/PGDM B-schools for refund of fee. Clause 6.13 of Chapter 6 of AICTE Approval Process Handbook 2024-25 is amended. AICTE fee refund policy now strictly directs the MBA/PGDM colleges as under:

• In case of applications submitted by admitted students for withdrawal and refund of fee, MBA/ PGDM Institutions shall allow it.
• Fee refund along with the return of Certificates should be completed within 7 days

The time lines on submission of application with guidelines on how to cancel MBA admission, Amount deducted and how to cancel PGDM admission with the last dates for Fee Refund are as under:

The AICTE fee refund policy for MBA or other professional course lets you know how much amount of your deposited fee must be refunded by the MBA/PGDM college at different stages after deducting their charges as per AICTE norms for refund of fee 2024.

Eligibility criteria for full Fee refund include the candidates who have already made the fee payment for admission to MBA and now wish to submit their admission fee refund application as they do not want to study or because they have got a better MBA college.

The B-school should refund fee in all situations. AICTE fee refund policy allows your MBA fee refund in either of the two situations:

• You may withdraw from the MBA-PGDM B-school in which you do not want to study, or
• You may be switching to another B-school from the present B-school

The B-school might hesitate in your MBA fee refund and may misguide you but in your own interest you should refer to the AICTE fee refund policy and should immediately claim the fee refund for your admission fee which you have already paid with the B-school. In case of any problem you can write to AICTE.

Although the top tier MBA colleges try to follow strictly the MBA fee refund norms, the 2^nd tier or 3^rd tier B-schools purposely delay the fee refund as they feel that their MBA programme may not get full intake and try to pressurize the candidate not to push for fee refund

In the Chapter IV of Approval Process Handbook , All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has incorporated all the clauses governing fee refund rules.

• The reference for fee refund is made to AICTE Guidelines No. - AICTE / Legal / 04(01) / 2007, April 2007)
• Tuition fee, Development fee and other fee, charged by the institute will constitute the amount of total fee for refund after cancellation of admission secured through Common/Centralized Admission Process rounds, institute level round(s) and vacancy round(s) of admission
• The candidate, who has been provisionally admitted, may cancel admission by submitting an application for cancellation in duplicate, in the prescribed format as advised by the institute or available on its site and may request for refund of fee.
• The refund of fee as applicable shall be made within the time prescribed/due course by the institute.
• Refund can be applied by the candidates who have confirmed their admission by paying the prescribed tuition fee and other fees in full as demanded by the institute and by submitting the original documents, as desired by the institute.

These guidelines do not apply to the B-schools who have already closed their admission process but with a rider. According to AICTE, “This schedule is not applicable for the institutions who have already completed the admission process and started the classes as per the earlier schedule” and adds further, “However, if such Institutes admit new students against vacancies, then the new schedule of cancellation and fee refund shall be applicable.”

According to the AICTE fee refund rules and rules of different B schools, refund should be made after deduction of only the cancellation/processing charges depending upon the time factor when the request is made

You need to claim the MBA fee refund and should write admission fee refund application on the prescribed format. It can be the token amount/commitment fee or known by something else that you have already deposited with the B-school to secure your admission. AICTE guidelines require only the key information should be included in MBA fee refund claim. The MBA fee refund claim format is broadly the same for almost all the MBA colleges except for a few minor changes specified by the respective B-school. It may include their own prescribed printed format or the one to be downloaded from their site on some payment among others.

The onus to provide the prescribed format of fee refund letter/ application as per AICTE fee refund policy lies on the part of the B schools. The fee refund policy is more or less same in all the institutes but each one may have slightly different fee refund claim format with its name printed on it. 

AICTE has directed the institutes not to put pressure on students who do not want to study in the particular institute and facilitate the fee refund in 7 days from the date of receipt of fee refund application. Students are not supposed to run from pillar to post to get the prescribed AICTE format for fee refund.

While some of the institutes readily provide the prescribed printed formats available with them to help the candidates and to smoothen the process as per mandatory requirement of AICTE fee refund policy, some others refuse to co-operate and others may simply ask for the well written application to claim the refund.

The prescribed format for admission withdrawal and fee refund as per AICTE norms of AICTE for fee refund 2024 is shared below. Please also cross check with the institute whether they have some other format for fee refund.  Application for fee refund/admission withdrawal should be sent to the B-school in 2 sets.

Application for withdrawal of admission: Session 2024-25

To,                                                                                                  Date:

The Director/Dean

____________     

Res Sir,

I secured admission to ___________ (name of the course vis PGDM/MBA) in your institute on ___________(Date of admission). 

I would like to cancel it for the following reasons: _____________________________________________________ (Write the reason)

Name of the candidate: Ms/Mr___________________________________________________( IN BLOCK LETTERS)   Surname      Name

Regn number (Applicable exam like CAT/XAT/CMAT/GMAT/MAT/others) __________________________

Residential Address (As registered)________________________________________________________

Mob number:__________________________ email____________________________________

Fee paid Rs.____________(In words)________________________________________________

I am enclosing the copy of fee receipt no._________ dated_____________ Amount______________

I am returning my I- card in original (If issued by the B school) Number____________________

I am also returning other documents/material provided to me by the institute

1. ____________________
2. ____________________      
3. ____________________    

(Strike out whichever is not applicable)

Kindly direct the concerned to return my original documents and refund the MBA/PGDM fee paid as per the AICTE rules.

Thanking You,

Yours faithfully,

_________________  

(Signature of the candidate)

(Name of the candidate)

15.1 Claim Acknowledgement from the institute
If you are submitting the fee refund request in person, please get the fee refund application acknowledged by the authorized person at the B-school under his signature, date and stamp of the institute so that you have a valid proof that you submitted the request else the B school may also throw it in the dustbin.

In case you have sent the fee refund application by Registered/speed post/courier, please keep the copy of written application and the postal/courier receipt for your record. If you have sent the MBA fee refund claim by courier, instruct the courier service to provide you the Proof of Delivery (PoD) of the fee refund claim letter. No wonder that one day the B school may say you never submitted the request for fee refund.

Please also send the fee refund request on e-mail of the institute and a copy of the request should also be sent to AICTE.

15.2 After receiving the Fee refund
You are supposed to furnish acknowledgement to the institute on receipt of fee refund cheque/DD and original documents. The format is supposed to contain following items, although the acknowledgement slip may differ from one college to other.

Received the following original documents from the ____________________(Name of the B school) along with the cheque towards refund.

1. Cheque no________ date________ amount_________
2. Original document-1 (details)_____________________
3. Original document-2 (details) _____________________
4. Original document-3 (details) _____________________   

15.3 If fee refund not received in 7 days  

• No MBA college can direct or pressurize you to write only the reason of fee refund as it wants. So beware of it and write the correct reason of admission withdrawal.
• Send reminder of fee refund claim to the B-school and to the AICTE if the refund is not received in 7 days. It will help you to retrieve your money faster.
• In case you still do not get the fee refund, do not wait. Immediately write to AICTE & MHRD regarding the undue delay. Ask for the compensation also. The institute has no right to withhold your fee beyond 7 days, once you have withdrawn your admission from there. 
• You can complain to AICTE and MHRD.  They have powers to direct the institutes under AICTE Act
• You may use RTI asking the B school as well as AICTE to clarify the situation as to why the refund is not made.

15.4 Action by AICTE  in case of fee refund failure by B-school
In case of  B school not refunding the fee amount as per the AICTE fee refund rules to the withdrawing student and on receipt of student’s complaint, AICTE can-

• Issue show cause notice to the institute
• Instruct the B school to give back the original documents of the student. (If retained)
• Initiate disciplinary action against the B schools
• Withdraw the approval granted to run the programme or course
• Stop admission in the course for 1 year
• Suspend the approval of supernumerary seats in the B school
• Impose penalty upon the institute upto twice the total fee collected from one student 

AICTE Fee refund policy gives the opportunity to apply for MBA/PGDM admission in a better B-school and improve your admission chances without worrying for refund of already deposited fees.  Below is shared a list of some of the best B-schools offering AICTE approved MBA/PGDM programmes which you may consider for admission 2023.

The application process for admission 2024 is open in these MBA/PGDM colleges which offer value for money. You can apply to these B-schools based on multiple entrance exam scores. Your best score will be considered by them. 

Please note that AICTE Fee refund policy is framed to enable you to get admission in a better programme and a better institute without worrying for the refund of fee already deposited in earlier institute. You should apply for fee refund before course commencement, so that you can get the full fee refund from the institute as per AICTE fee refund rules.  Please note that AICTE fee refund rules are applicable for the AICTE approved colleges. So, while cancelling your seat and withdrawing admission from the existing institute, you should ensure that the MBA/PGDM college where you had applied earlier is AICTE approved. This will help you to get your entire fee back with a nominal deduction of Rs.1000.  

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