How to Cancel US Career Institute: Refund Window, Fees, and Transcripts

To cancel your enrollment at U.S. Career Institute, call USCI at 866-250-6851. If you call within five days of receiving your first lesson materials, the school cancels with no questions asked and refunds everything you’ve paid.¹ After that window closes, you can still cancel, but what you owe depends on how much coursework you’ve submitted.

The Five-Day Full-Refund Window

USCI calls it a “money-back commitment.” Once you enroll and receive your first lesson, the clock starts, and you have five days to change your mind. Call the toll-free number in that window and USCI cancels the enrollment and refunds your first payment in full.¹

High school program students get longer: ten days instead of five.¹ This is the cleanest exit. No fee, no balance, no math. If you’re uncertain about the program, don’t let those days slip past while you deliberate.

How to Cancel

USCI’s own money-back page tells students to call the toll-free number to cancel.¹ That’s 866-250-6851 for enrollment and general inquiries. If you’re already active in a program, Student Services handles cancellations at 1-800-347-7899.²

Call first because it’s the fastest, but follow up in writing. Send a cancellation letter by certified mail with return receipt to:

U.S. Career Institute
2001 Lowe Street
Fort Collins, CO 80525

Include your full name as it appears on the enrollment agreement, the program title, and your student ID number. The certified mail receipt fixes the date you sent notice, and that date drives the refund calculation. Keep copies of everything.

You can also email Student Services at stuserv@uscareerinstitute.edu.³ Email works for initial contact; certified mail gives you the stronger proof if a dispute comes up later.

What You Get Back After the Five Days

Once the money-back window closes, the math changes. USCI keeps a $150 cancellation fee (the catalog calls it a “registration charge”), which by policy cannot exceed 20 percent of the total program cost.⁴ Everything past that fee depends on whether you’ve submitted any assignments.

If You Haven’t Submitted Any Coursework

Cancel after the five-day window without turning in any assignments and the adjusted tuition charge drops to zero. You owe the $150 fee and nothing else. If you’ve paid more than $150 already, the excess is refunded to you.⁵

If You’ve Submitted Coursework

Once you’ve turned in assignments, USCI calculates the refund from the percentage of coursework completed in each course. The $150 fee stays, and tuition is reduced on this sliding scale:⁴

Up to 10% of assignments completed: 90% tuition reduction (you owe 10% of tuition plus the $150 fee).
Up to 25% completed: 75% reduction.
Up to 50% completed: 50% reduction.
Up to 75% completed: 25% reduction.
76% or more completed: no reduction. You owe the full tuition.

The refund is based on assignments submitted, not calendar time. You could be enrolled for six months and still qualify for the 90 percent reduction if you never submitted more than 10 percent of the work.⁵ Books, tools, and supplies you’ve received are not refundable.

Colorado law sets this same sliding scale as a floor for private occupational schools in the state and requires refunds to be paid within 30 days of the withdrawal date.⁶

When You End Up Owing Money

The calculation runs both ways. If you’ve paid less than the adjusted tuition plus the $150 fee, USCI bills you for the difference.⁴ An unpaid balance doesn’t just sit quietly. Accounts more than 30 days delinquent with a balance over $5.00 trigger a financial hold, which blocks transcript requests.³

If you used federal financial aid, a second calculation applies. Title IV rules require the school to work out how much aid you “earned” based on how far into the payment period you got. Withdraw before completing 60 percent of the payment period and the school must return a prorated share of unearned aid to the federal government. After the 60 percent mark, the aid is considered fully earned. This return-of-funds calculation is separate from USCI’s own refund policy and can leave you owing the school, the federal government, or both.

Confirming the Cancellation and the Refund

Look for written confirmation from USCI acknowledging the cancellation. If nothing arrives within two weeks, call Student Services at 1-800-347-7899 and note the date, time, and name of the person you spoke with. Try logging into the student portal; if you still have access, the cancellation may not have been processed.

Refunds go back to the original payment method. Colorado law requires the refund within 30 days of the official termination date.⁶ Save the bank or credit card statement showing the refund alongside your cancellation letter and any certified mail receipts.

Getting Transcripts After You Cancel

If you completed some coursework and want a record of it, USCI issues transcripts for $28.00 each through a third-party service called Parchment, with additional processing and shipping fees on top.³ A financial hold from an unpaid balance blocks transcript release.

Colorado law carves out an exception. Students under a financial hold can request a temporary transcript release when the transcript is needed for a job application, transfer to another school, financial aid, or a military opportunity. Email stuserv@uscareerinstitute.edu to request the exception. The release doesn’t cancel the debt, but it keeps the hold from blocking a time-sensitive opportunity.³

If USCI Won’t Honor the Policy

If USCI ignores your cancellation, refuses a refund you’re owed, or misses the 30-day deadline, the oversight body is the Division of Private Occupational Schools (DPOS) within the Colorado Department of Higher Education.⁷ DPOS accepts complaints from current students, former students, and applicants denied enrollment.

Complaints must be filed in writing or electronically within two years of your last date of attendance. Reach DPOS at 303-862-3001 or file through the Colorado Department of Higher Education complaint portal.⁸ Try to resolve the issue with USCI first; regulators generally ask whether you’ve done that. Bring your cancellation confirmation, certified mail receipts, billing statements, and any emails when you file.

1
U.S. Career Institute. Money-Back Commitment – Tuition and Financing
2
U.S. Career Institute. Student Life – U.S. Career Institute
3
U.S. Career Institute. Transcript Policy
4
U.S. Career Institute. USCI School Catalog 2025
5
U.S. Career Institute. USCI Degree Catalog 2025
6
Justia Law. Colorado Code 23-64-120 – Refund Policy
7
Colorado Department of Higher Education. Division of Private Occupational Schools
8
Colorado Department of Higher Education. Complaint Procedures