AICTE Revises PGDM Admission 2025 Calendar; Last Date for Fee Refund Extended to August 21– Check Notification, Background, Impact
AICTE has revised the PGDM/PGCM Admission 2025 calendar, extending the last date for full fee refund to August 21 and the final admission deadline to August 31, 2025. The academic session for the 2025–27 batch will now begin on September 1, a month later than earlier planned, prompting concerns from some PGDM B-schools about the impact on their schedules.
Read this MBAUniverse.com article to know the revised last dates as per the AICTE notification, the background and its impact.
What is AICTE Fee Refund Policy?
Before we discuss the revised academic calendar for PGDM institutions, it is important to understand AICTE Fee Refund Policy. The AICTE Fee Refund Policy allows a full fee refund (minus Rs 1,000) if a student withdraws before the PGDM course start date – which is given by AICTE. If withdrawal happens after classes begin, the refund depends on whether the seat is filled. However, institutions must complete the fees refund within 7 days. Excerpts from the Clause 6.45 of Chapter VI of the AICTE’s Approval Process Handbook (2024-27) states the AICTE Fee Refund Policy as follows:
Scenario 1: Student Withdraws Admission Before Start of PGDM Course
If the student withdraws admission before start of PGDM Course, then the institute has to give a full fee refund to students. The AICTE handbook states: “In the event of a student withdrawing before the start of the Course, the entire Fee collected from the student, after a deduction of the processing Fee of not more than Rs. 1000/- (Rupees One Thousand only) shall be refunded by the Institution. It would not be permissible for Institutions to retain the School/ Institution Leaving Certificates in original.”
Scenario 2: Student Withdraws Admission After Start of PGDM Course and Seat is Filled
If the student withdraws admission after the start of PGDM Course, and the seat is filled up by the institution, then the institute has to give a fee refund to students after deduction of monthly fees and hostel charges. The AICTE handbook states: “In case, if a student leaves after joining the Course and if the vacated seat is consequently filled by another student by the last date of admission, the Institution must refund the Fee collected after a deduction of the processing Fee of not more than Rs. 1000/- (Rupees One Thousand only) and proportionate deductions of monthly Fee and hostel rent, where applicable.”
Scenario 3: Student Withdraws Admission After Start of PGDM Course and Seat is Not Filled
If the student withdraws admission after the start of PGDM Course, and the seat is not filled up, then the institute has to return only the security deposit (not the fees) and documents to students. The AICTE handbook states: “In case the vacated seat is not filled, the Institution should refund the Security Deposit and return the original documents. The Institution should not demand Fee for the subsequent years from the students cancelling their admission at any point of time.”
Last date for Withdrawal of PGDM Admission for Refund of Fee
ACITE handbook and notifications releases the official start date of PGDM program, before which the students can withdraw. “The last date for withdrawal of PGDM admission for the purpose of refund of fee shall be as per the last date mentioned in the Academic Calendar,” says the AICTE handbook. It further adds: “Fee refund along with the return of Certificates should be completed within 7 days.”
Old Timelines for PGDM Admission – A Legacy of Covid-19
While the regular admission cycle of IIMs and other top PGDM B-school was to start session by middle of June or early July, during COVID, AICTE and UGC had decided to relax the last date of admission withdrawal from mid-July to mid-September. While COVID-19 ended in 2022, still the same rules continued for many years. The earlier guidelines required PGDM institutions to refund fee for student admission cancellations till September 11, 2024. Check details in table 1 below:
Table 1: PGDM Admission 2024 and Fee Refund Callender by AICTE
| Component related to Fee Refund | Key Dates |
| Application Submission Last date for cancellation of PGDM/PGCM 2024-25 seat with full fee refund subject to deduction of Rs.1000/- only | September 11, 2024 |
| Last date for Class Commencement in the AICTE approved PGDM/PGCM college | September 11, 2024 |
| Last Date to Get the Fee Refund from the Institute | 7 Days from the Submission of Application |
| Last date for Admission in PGDM/PGCM courses | September 15, 2024 |
Earlier Timelines for PGDM Admission 2025
Earlier, AICTE had released new ‘Academic Calendar 2025-26’ that streamlined the PGDM admissions with those of IIMs, which has been the demand of progressive B-schools. As per these guidelines, the last date for cancellation of admission and full fees refund for courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions was preponed to July 31, 2025. Check revised dates in table 2 below.
Table 2: Earlier PGDM Admission 2025 and Fee Refund Callender by AICTE
| Component related to Fee Refund | Key Dates as per AICTE Norms |
| Last Date for Granting Approval by AICTE | June 30, 2025 |
| Last date for Cancellation of Admission for Courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions including Full Fee Refund | July 31, 2025 |
| Last date for Admission to courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions including Full Fee Refund | July 31, 2025 |
| The academic session for the PGDM/PGCM courses for the newly admitted students | August 1, 2025 |
New Revised Timelines for PGDM Admission 2025 & Fee Refund
B-schools welcomed the early admission deadline. However, AICTE has now released a revised PGDM Admission 2025 and Fee Refund Calendar. The updated schedule, signed by Dr. More Ramulu, Member Secretary (I/C), extends the admission start date by a month.
As per the revised calendar, the last date for cancellation of admission by students with full fee refund for PGDM/PGCM courses is now August 21, 2025. The last date for admissions by B-schools is August 31, 2025. So, they will have about 10 days to fill the seats vacated by last minute cancelations. As a result of these delays, the academic session for newly admitted students will commence on September 1, 2025. Check table 3 from AICTE’s New Academic Calendar 2025–26 below.
Table 3: New AICTE Academic Calendar 2025–26
| Sl No. | For PGDM / PGCM Institutions | Key Dates as per AICTE Norms |
| 1 | Last Date of Granting approval by AICTE | 11th August, 2025* |
| 2 | Last Date for Cancellation of Admission for Courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions including FULL Fee Refund | 21st August, 2025 |
| 3 | Last Date for Admission to courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions | 31st August, 2025 |
| 4 | The academic session for the PGDM/PGCM Courses for newly admitted students | 1st September, 2025 |
AICTE Fee Refund Policy 2025: Impact on Admissions 2025
The revised AICTE admission calendar will delay the start of the 2025–27 PGDM/PGCM academic session. The new start date is September 1, 2025, marking a 30-day shift from the earlier start date of August 1, 2025. This change is likely to have some negative impact on progressive PGDM B-schools who compete with IIMs and other University B-schools, who enjoy more autonomy. Key areas of impact are as below.
- Admission Timelines – Some delay in finalizing admissions may affect the onboarding and orientation of new students.
- Academic Schedule – Shortened time for completing the syllabus could increase academic pressure.
- Placement Preparation – Reduced lead time for internships and placement readiness activities.
- Student Engagement – Less time for extracurricular and co-curricular activities in the first term.
- Faculty Planning – Some disruption in faculty workload planning and course scheduling.
PGDM Business Schools Submit Representation to AICTE in February 2025
Earlier, on behalf of PGDM B-Schools, Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) had submitted a request to the AICTE on February 6, 2025, requesting for early admission 2025 calendar. Dr Harivansh Chaturvedi, Alternate President, EPSI & Director General, IILM Delhi had told MBAUniverse.com, “EPSI has represented to the AICTE that rules regarding the refund of fees are hurting the smooth running of academic session.” Shri Shreevats Jaipuria, Vice Chairman, Jaipuria Institute of Management, who co-drafted the EPSI representation, told MBAUniverse.com: “Classes in PGDM institutions generally commence from the 2nd/3rd week of July. The current deadline for withdrawal and admission of students is mid-September. However, institutions are not able to give admissions to deserving students against the withdrawals that happen in August/September.” Dr Ajit Parulekar, Director, GIM Goa had said, “AICTE Calendar is promoting mediocrity as well as inefficiency. In most good B-schools, the academic year commences in early July. Now, if students are allowed to withdraw with a full refund in early September, they have completed an entire trimester without paying anything!”
It is understood that in last few months various bodies representing PGDM B-schools met with AICTE to make their representations regarding the academic calendar. While some supported adhering to the early calendar, others preferred a delay to align with their delayed admission cycles.
The decision to delay the PGDM Academic Calendar 2025 may present challenges for some institutions. It is important for regulatory body to consider ground realities and frame policies that ensure a level playing field for PGDM B-schools competing with IIMs and other university-affiliated B-schools.
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