Survey Reveals Growing Cost of Student Withdrawals for Colleges

PHOENIX, Oct. 08, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- GradGuard, a company dedicated to helping schools educate and protect students from the risks of college life, has released findings from a new national survey conducted in partnership with Higher Ed Dive’s Studio ID. The survey, based on a comprehensive analysis of 151 higher education finance executives, highlights the growing challenge of student withdrawals and their financial impact on colleges.

According to the survey, 85% of institutions report that between 5% and 20% of their student population withdraws each year. For a mid-sized institution enrolling 10,000 students, this translates to 500 to 2,000 withdrawals annually. The financial burden of these withdrawals is significant, with 41% of institutions reporting individual refund costs of $7,500 or more per withdrawal. This means that a single student withdrawal can cost an institution up to $15,000 in refunds.

Moreover, the survey reveals that 73% of withdrawals occur during a student’s first year, indicating a critical period for institutions to address student retention. Additionally, 71% of institutions say managing refund appeals has become a growing administrative burden, requiring more effort than it did three years ago. This suggests that the process of handling student withdrawals is not only costly but also time-consuming for higher education institutions.

The report highlights how institutions that embed tuition protection directly into the enrollment and billing processes are seeing measurable results. For instance, St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has shifted to an embedded tuition protection model, retaining over $1 million annually that previously went out the door to refunds. This shift has also dramatically reduced the volume of refund appeals the university handles each year.

GradGuard works with more than 700 partner institutions nationwide to embed tuition insurance and renters insurance directly into the enrollment process, helping schools protect both students and institutional revenue from unexpected financial losses. The full report is available at hub.gradguard.com/studentwithdrawals2026.