Legal basis: Notice of the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance on Several Issues Concerning Further Standardizing the Management of Higher Education Fees Article 1 Tuition fees shall be charged according to the academic year or semester, and shall not be collected in advance across academic years. If students drop out of school or finish their studies ahead of schedule after paying tuition fees, colleges and universities should refund the remaining tuition fees on a monthly basis according to the actual study time of students.