5.1. The Inspector of Independent Schools expects start-up schools with interim Group 4 Certification to have access – without recourse to the Group 4 Independent School Bond– to enough cash-on-hand to provide fee refunds in the event that the school fails to open, fails to receive certification after an initial external evaluation inspection, or otherwise closes during its first year of operation. Ministry of Education administration of a Group 4 independent school bond for the purpose of providing partial refunds can be a lengthy process, taking up to 40 months, and parents would not rely on partial refunds derived from this bond for any payment required before this time period (e.g. parents would not rely on the partial refund coming from the bond to pay fees at another school).

 

5.2. Students will be granted a tuition refund or transfer under the following circumstances:

5.2.1. The student’s study permit is not approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, providing the original rejection letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

5.2.2. The student has enrolled and remitted fees but fails to meet Milky Way Academy admission standards and did not misrepresent his or her knowledge or skills when applying for admission.

5.2.3. The normal processing time for tuition refunds is 2 to 4 weeks.

 

5.3. Students will NOT be granted a refund under the following circumstances:

5.3.1. All application fees (including Custodian Application Fee, Homestay Application Fee and an administration fee) are non-refundable if:

The student is expelled from Milky Way Academy.

The student transfers to another school.

The student leaves Milky Way Academy without written notification.

The student does not attend school within 6 months of receiving the school’s Letter of Acceptance and no written contract is received from the student or guardian.

 

5.3.2. All inactive student files will be closed after 6 months without contact from the student or guardian. Tuition will not be held in this case. If one of the tuition refund circumstances is met, the student may request a refund by providing any required documents and submitting a completed Refund Request Form in order to process the refund.