5.12 Financial Due Dates, Refunds, Withdrawals, and Waivers

Responsible Position

Chief Financial Officer

RELATED ITEMS

Minnesota State Board Policy

Minnesota State System Procedure

Minnesota State Statutes 136F.06, Powers and Duties
Minnesota State Statutes 136F.70, Tuition; Fees; Activities Fund
Minnesota State Statutes 192.502, Protections
Minnesota State Statutes 197.447, Veteran, Defined
Minnesota State Statutes 197.775, Higher Education Fairness

POLICY STATEMENT

Minnesota State Policy 5.12 outlines the requirements for tuition and fee due dates, refunds, withdrawals, and waivers. Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC) will extend payment of tuition and fees as billed by the Business Office for students who have been accepted for an approved financial aid award. Payment of these costs will be extended until financial aid is applied to the student account.

Students who have applied for financial aid, but have not received approval, will be allowed to extend the payment of tuition until financial aid has been accepted and applied to the student account. Once financial aid has been applied to the student’s account, any remaining balance is due immediately. For purposes of this policy, "applied for financial aid" means that an Instructional Student Information Record (ISIR), which is the result of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in electronic format, must be loaded into ATCC's financial aid processing module by the end of business day five (5) of the current term.

Students receiving Veteran's Administration Benefits will be allowed to extend payment of tuition until benefits are disbursed. Students must provide proof of application (VA Form 22-1990) for Veteran’s Administration benefits by the end of the fifth (5th) business day of the term.

The president or designee may grant short-term tuition and fee payment deferrals in cases where, due to exceptional circumstances, a student needs additional time to arrange third-party financing or otherwise satisfy a tuition and fee balance due. Deferrals must document the reason for and time duration of the deferral and must be signed by the president or designee.

Tuition & Fees Due Dates

Tuition and fees are due 25 business days into each fall and spring academic term. For summer term, tuition and fees are due on the last day of the summer academic term.

Late Fees

Late fees apply 26 or more business days after the start of fall and spring academic terms. For the summer academic term, late fees will apply after the last day of the summer academic term. See 5.12.3 Payment Related Dates and Registration Cancellation for more information.

Drop/Add Period

If a student wishes to change their schedule, they may do so online until midnight on the fifth (5th) business day of the term.

The drop/add period begins when registration opens, and ends five (5) business days from the first day of the term, not the day the class meets for the first time. A 100% refund of tuition, health services fees, course fees, laboratory supply costs, student activity fees, and state student association fees shall be provided to a student who drops the course on or before midnight on the fifth (5th) business day in a term.

The first class for a limited number of courses is not scheduled during the drop/add period. Students have one business day after the first class meets in which to drop these classes without obligation. If the dropped credits were used to determine the student's status for payment of financial aid, the student's status will be recalculated which could result in the repayment of financial aid.

If a student registers for a class and does not have any course-related activity, the student's status for financial aid must be recalculated which could result in repayment of financial aid. The student will receive a grade of "FN" on their transcript. The "FN" does not impact satisfactory progress.

Withdrawal after the Drop/Add Period

Any student who withdraws from a course or all courses after the drop/add period, but before the last day to withdraw, will receive a grade of 'W' (Withdrawal). After the last date to receive a "W" is passed, students will receive an earned grade assigned by the instructor.

The withdrawal date shall be the date on which eighty percent (80%) of the days in the academic semester have elapsed. For courses not on a standard academic semester schedule, the final date for the official course withdrawal shall be established as the date on which eighty percent (80%) of the instructional days for the course have elapsed. The last day to withdraw from each course is located on the online semester course schedule and on the student's printed schedule.

Waivers

The President or designee may waive amounts due to the college for the following reasons:

  1. College error;
  2. Course conditions (A course condition exists when the location or timing of the course results in the student not being able to use the services intended by the fee.);
  3. Death of a student;
  4. Employee benefit provided by collective bargaining agreement;
  5. Employment-related condition;
  6. Medical reasons;
  7. Natural disasters or other situations beyond the control of the campus;
  8. Significant personal circumstances; or
  9. Student leader stipends.

The President or designee may waive amounts due to the college for individual institutional waivers as approved by the Minnesota State Board.

ATCC shall define the terms under which any authorized waiver will be granted. The college must document the reason for all waivers.

The college cannot waive the MSUSA or MSCSA student association fee.

ATCC shall, in consultation with students, develop guidelines to implement this policy. These guidelines must be available to students.

Refunds for Total Withdrawal

A refund of tuition, health services fees, course fees, personal property and service charge (course fee), student activity fees, and state student association fees shall be provided to a student who totally withdraws from all classes. The refund will be based on the date of total withdrawal. No refund is given when a student withdraws from individual classes and is still attending other classes.

Subject to the refund schedule below, students are obligated for any classes withdrawn after the fifth (5th) business day of the term, or one business day after the first class session, whichever is later.

Students who are expelled due to conduct violations will be responsible for any outstanding tuition and fees through the end of the semester in which they are removed.

The following applies to Fall and Spring academic terms:

Withdrawal PeriodRefund Percentage (%)
1st through the 5th business day of the term100%
6th through the 10th business day of the term75%
11th through the 15th business day of the term50%
16th through the 20th business day of the term25%
After the 20th business day of the term0%

The following applies to the Summer session and other terms at least three weeks, but less than ten weeks in length:

Withdrawal PeriodRefund Percentage (%)
1st through the 5th business day of the term100%
6th through the 10th business day of the term50%
After the 10th business day of the term0%

The following applies to any class terms less than three weeks in length:

Withdrawal PeriodRefund Percentage (%)
1st business day of the term100%
2nd and 3rd business day of the term50%
After the 3rd business day of the term0%

In certain contractual partnerships or agreements, the college reserves the right to make tuition adjustments or provide refunds for individual, non-standard term courses.

Credit Balance Policy

If a student has a credit balance due to any Title IV disbursement, a refund will be made to the student within fourteen (14) days.

Return of Funds for Federal Financial Aid Recipients

The Federal Return of Title IV Aid formula derived from the October 7, 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is applicable to any student receiving federal aid who withdraws from all classes on or before the 60th percentage point-in-time of the term for which aid was paid. Since financial aid is usually disbursed early in the term, withdrawal before the 60th percentage point-in-time means that a student has not earned 100% of the aid the student was paid. Therefore, the student has unearned aid which must be returned to the federal programs in the order prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education, who oversees all Title IV financial aid programs. The percentage of unearned aid is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the term divided by the total number of calendar days in the term.

Days remaining/ Days in the term = Unearned amount of Title IV paid to student. If this percentage is less than 40%, no return of funds is necessary.

The return policy applies to Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Stafford Loans, and Federal Parent Loans. The college may have an obligation to return funds that were applied to the student's account. The student may have an obligation to return funds that were paid to the student. When the college returns funds that were applied to the student's account, a balance due may result. The student will owe that balance to the college. A refund of tuition and fees could be used to reduce the balance or pay it in full.

Withdrawal from Programs or Courses Offered in Modules

Effective July 1, 2012, when a course or courses in a program do not span the entire length of the semester (or payment period), it is classified as a course offered in modules. A student is withdrawn for financial aid purposes if the student ceases attendance at any point prior to completing the semester or scheduled period of enrollment, unless the school obtains written confirmation from the student at the time of the withdrawal that he or she will attend a module that begins later in the same semester or period of enrollment.

Refund and Repayment of non-Federal (non-Title IV) Financial Aid

The Minnesota Higher Education Services Office (MHESO) Refund Calculation Worksheet will be used to determine refunds for Minnesota State Grant, SELF, institutional grants, and other non-Federal financial aid programs that require a refund. The non-Federal refunds are pro-rated between the Minnesota financial aid programs and other non-Federal financial aid programs that require a refund. When a student's enrollment status changes or a student withdraws completely, all or a portion of any non-Federal refund may be required to be returned to the program from which the refund was originally paid. If you have questions, contact the Director of Financial Aid.

More Information

Examples of the calculation of refund, repayment, and return of Federal funds are available upon request from the Director of Financial Aid.