As COVID-19 has made many aspects of life uncertain, Queen’s is helping students by making tuition and fee payments, award disbursements, and course registration processes more flexible. These changes include extended payment deadlines and fall course drop dates.

“We know the ongoing pandemic has caused a lot of anxiety for our students; we hope these steps will make their transition a bit easier as they settle into their studies, which will include remote learning for most of our students,” says Stuart Pinchin, University Registrar (Interim).

Several policies on tuition and fee payments have been adjusted for the fall semester. The tuition and fee payment date has been extended a month, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30. The university is also currently withholding monthly interest fees on unpaid balances, as well as waiving late fees on overdue accounts.

Adjustments to enrolment processes

Students will also have more time to drop courses without penalty. Queen’s has extended the drop date for fall courses to week eight to give students additional time to settle into the term and to adjust to the remote delivery of most courses.

Withdrawal and readmission processes for graduate students are also being temporarily revised. These changes will help those who were unable to work on degree requirements over the summer term due to the pandemic. More information can be found on the School of Graduate Studies website.

Student awards and bursaries

Queen’s will be maintaining all entrance bursaries and in-program awards that take living expenses into account. Students will be able to receive these funds even if they are living at home. The university will also distribute all financial awards per term, instead of annually, which aims to smooth the flow of funding support to student accounts each semester.

Students with demonstrated financial need are encouraged to apply now for OSAP and other government student financial assistance. More information can be found on the Student Awards website.

Students with demonstrated need of financial assistance are also encouraged to apply to the Queen’s General Bursary, which provides a non-repayable grant.

For more information on all the process changes and adjustments, see the Office of the University Registrar’s website.