Withdrawing and Financial Aid

If a Federal Student Aid recipient withdraws from a school after beginning attendance, the amount of financial aid earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, he or she is eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement.    

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Funds include:   

1. Federal Supplemental Educational Grant
2. Federal Pell Grant
3. Subsidized Direct Loan
4. Unsubsidized Direct Loan
5. Federal PLUS Loan

After beginning attendance in a term, if a student withdraws from all classes and does not confirm attendance in a class beginning later in the same term, the Return of Title IV funds (R2T4) requirements apply.   

If a student withdraws from all classes during a term, but at the time of withdrawal provides confirmation that they will attend a course that begins later in the same term, the student is not considered to have withdrawn and no R2T4 calculation will be performed.   

If a student withdraws from all classes during a term, and at the time of withdrawal provides confirmation that they will attend a course that begins later in the same term, but fails to attend the later class, then the student is considered to have withdrawn and an R2T4 calculation will be performed.   

Unearned financial aid funds are returned to the federal government by the school and/or the student.   

Withdrawal Date   

An official withdrawal occurs when a student provides notification of intent to withdraw, or follows the withdrawal procedures.  The withdrawal date for an official withdrawal is the date that the student begins the official withdrawal process or the date the student provides notification of their intention to withdraw.    

An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student ceases to attend classes, but does not follow the official withdrawal process. Students who are Administratively Withdrawn from all courses will also be considered unofficial withdrawals. CCC schools are not institutions required to take attendance, so the withdrawal date for an unofficial withdrawal is the midpoint of the semester (payment period.)    

Return of FSA Funds Calculation   

 For withdrawals from all classes, an R2T4 funds calculation must be performed, and the student notified of any overpayment within 30 days of the date the institution determined the student withdrew. In many cases, students will owe money to the FSA program(s) and to CCC.   

Number of Days in Semester    

The percentage of time the student completed for the semester determines the "earned percentage". The earned percentage is based on calendar days in the semester, including weekends. Only scheduled breaks of at least 5 days will be excluded. The length of the break is determined by counting from the first day of the break up to the next day on which classes are offered. The weekends preceding and following the break are counted as part of the break, unless Saturday classes are scheduled. If Saturday classes are scheduled in the weekend preceding the break, only the Sunday would be counted as part of the break. If Saturday classes are scheduled in the weekend following the break, neither Saturday nor Sunday is counted as part of the break.  

 Institutional Charges    

Institutional charges are part of the R2T4 calculation. CCC defines institutional charges as tuition, fees, books, and course-related supplies.    

Refunds due to CCC's institutional refund policy   

If a student is due a refund, that refund will be applied first to the student's portion of R2T4 funds. Any remaining portion will be applied toward the school's portion of R2T4 funds.   

Financial Obligations for CCC’s R2T4 Funds   

If CCC is required to use institutional funds to pay the school's portion of R2T4 funds, CCC will set up an "accounts receivable" for the student's account. The student will then owe a debt to CCC to reimburse for the amount that was returned to the FSA programs. The student's account will have a delinquency hold on it until the debt is satisfied. CCC will send a letter to the student to notify him/her of this debt and how to resolve it.   

FSA Funds to be Returned to FSA Programs    

The school and the student may be required to return unearned FSA funds to the appropriate programs. FSA funds to be returned by the school and student must be credited to outstanding balances in the following order:   

1. Fedreal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
2. Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant​ 

CCC returns funds as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date the institution determines the student withdrew. Amounts to be returned to loan programs will be repaid in accordance with the terms of the loan. Amounts to be returned to grant programs are limited to the amount by which the original grant overpayment exceeds half of the total FSA grant funds disbursed or could have been disbursed to the student.   

CCC notifies students of repayment obligations within 30 days of the date that CCC determines that the student withdrew.  Students must repay grant overpayments to CCC within 45 days of notification of the overpayment. Grant overpayments not paid to CCC within 45 days will be reported to the Department of Education and the student will be ineligible for future FSA funds until the overpayment is resolved or repayment arrangements are made with the Department of Education.    

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements    

If a student is due a post-withdrawal disbursement, the disbursement must be made from available grant funds before available loan funds. The disbursement must be made within 90 days of CCC’s determination that the student withdrew. After post-withdrawal disbursements are credited to the student's current semester charges, CCC offers the remaining balance to the student.​