Financial Aid Repayment Policies & Procedures
Applied to Title IV Aid
Students who formally or informally withdraw from all of their classes of the quarter, and students who complete zero credits, and students who didn’t complete I grade within 30 days after the grades posted may owe a repayment of a portion of the Title IV Funds they received for the quarter.
Students who withdraw from any classes on or before the Census Date of a perspective quarter will have their Title IV Aids adjusted to students’ enrollment level (no exceptions can be made). For example: if a student enrolls full-time and receives full-time financial aid, and then withdraws to less than full time on or before the Census Date of the quarter, they may owe a repayment of Title IV Funds.
This policy does not apply to work-study earnings and WA State Aids.
How the Date of Withdrawal is Determined
The date of withdrawal used to determine whether or not a student owes a repayment of financial aid funds, and the amount of the repayment, is determined by:
For students in programs in which an outside entity requires attendance to be taken:
- The last day the student attended a class
For all other students:
- The date the student notified the Registrar’s Office of the intent to withdraw
or
- If the student did not notify the Registrar’s Office of the intent to withdraw, the last date of attendance is determined as followed:
- If all instructors reported a last day of attendance to the Registrar’s Office, the latest date a student attended a class will be used as the last date of attendance.
- If one or more, but not all, instructors reported a last day of attendance to the Registrar’s Office, the latest date of attendance reported will be used if that date is past the 50% point of the quarter. For federal funds only, if the latest date is not past the 50% point of the quarter, the 50% point will be used as the last date of attendance.
- If no instructors reported a last day of attendance to the Registrar’s Office, for federal and state financial aid funds, it will be assumed that the student did not attend any classes. Students will owe the whole amount of financial aid funds, including tuition.
How the Repayment Amount is Determined for Federal Financial Aid
Under the federal government’s “Return of Title IV Funds” policy, students are considered to have “earned” the percentage of their Title IV aid (e.g., Federal Direct Loan, Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant) that equals the percentage of the quarter completed in calendar days. For example, if a student completely withdraws from classes after completing 10% of the quarter, that student has “earned” 10% of their Title IV aid. The other 90% of the Title IV aid is considered “unearned.”
Students who complete more than 60% of the quarter prior to withdrawing are considered to have earned 100% of their Title IV aid, and therefore no repayment amount is calculated.
Students who owe a “student’s share of the repayment” will receive a bill from the Financial Aid Office and must make their payment to the Financial Aid Office. Until the bill is paid or satisfactory payment arrangements are made, the student will not be allowed to register for classes. After 45 days without either a full repayment or a satisfactory repayment agreement, the debt will be reported to a federal financial aid data base.
Students May Owe a Balance Owing at Cashiering
If students received Title IV aid and the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of the institutional refund, the student will owe a balance at Cashiering. For purposes of repayment of financial aid, the institutional refund is calculated by multiplying the amount of “refundable” tuition and fee charges paid by Title IV funds by the institutional refund percentage.
School’s share of the repayment - Intitutional refund = balance owed at Cashiering
If students received Title IV aid and the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of the institutional refund, the student will owe a balance at Cashiering. For purposes of repayment of financial aid, the institutional refund is calculated by multiplying the amount of “refundable” tuition and fee charges paid by Title IV funds by the institutional refund percentage.
Students who owe a balance to Cashiering for their tuition and fees will be billed by the Business Office. Until the bill is paid, students will not be able to register for classes or obtain copies of their academic transcripts. Students will be responsible for all collection costs and fees and may be referred to a collection agency.
If Title IV aid paid all or a portion of tuition and fees and the school’s share of the repayment is less than or equal to the amount of the institutional refund, the remainder of the institutional refund will be used to repay other financial aid funds in the following order: Tuition Waiver Grant, Washington State Grant, SCCC Grant.
Exception to the “Return of Title IV Funds” Policy
If a student whose tuition and fees are paid in full withdraws from all of his/her classes after 60% of the quarter (in calendar days) has passed, the “Return of Title IV Funds” policy does not apply. The student will not owe a repayment to the Financial Aid Office, nor will he/she owe Cashiering for a portion of tuition and fees.
For the 2024-2025, financial aid recipients can make a complete withdrawal and not owe a repayment of financial aid funds from:
- Fall 2025: 11/10/2024
- Winter 2025: 02/23/2025
- Spring 2025: 05/24/2025
- Summer 2025: TBD
Post-Withdrawal Disbursements
Students who are eligible to receive Federal financial aid funds, but who did not receive their aid prior to making a complete withdrawal, may be eligible to receive a disbursement of financial aid funds, even though they have withdrawn. This is referred to as a “post-withdrawal disbursement.” To be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement, students must have a complete financial aid file in the Financial Aid Office and meet all eligibility requirements. Students who are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement will be notified in writing by the Financial Aid Office and will have 14 days to respond to the notice.
Repayment for State Grants
Students who did not attend one or all classes may have to pay back part or the whole amount of WA College Grant, and/or College Bound Scholarship, and/or Washington Bridge Grant, and/or Passport to Careers.
Examples Of Repayment Calculations
Examples of Repayment Calculations are available in the Financial Aid Office.