6-8-1 Refunds

LEGAL AUTHORITY: South Carolina Cod of State Regulations 90-113

BASED ON POLICY NUMBER AND TITLE: 6-8-0 REFUNDS

PURPOSE: To establish guidelines for ensuring that Trident Technical College students receive a refund of tuition.

1. 1. 1. CURRICULUM REFUNDS
         1. It is the policy of Trident Technical College that students or appropriate sponsoring agencies receive a refund of tuition upon the student's withdrawal from the College.
         2. Students file a completed course withdrawal form with the Registrar’s Office or withdraw themselves from class online. The Finance Department also processes student refunds from credits on the student’s account that are a result of canceled course(s) and suspension reports processed in the Registrar's Office. Refunds are calculated according to the schedule below and deposited electronically to the bank account provided by the student.
            
            
            
            
            

            DROP/WITHDRAWAL	REFUND %
            BEFORE THE FIRST DATE IN THE FULL TERM THAT CLASSES ARE OFFERED (Start of Term)	100%
            1st DAY OF THE FULL TERM THROUGH THE ADD PERIOD, PLUS THE NUMBER OF BUSINESS DAYS BELOW:	100%
            Fall/Spring Full Term	Add Period + 2 Business Days
            Fall/Spring Term 1	Add Period + 4 Business Days
            Fall/Spring Term 2	Add Period + 4 Business Days
            Summer Full Term	Add Period + 4 Business Days
            Summer Term 1	Add Period + 5 Business Days
            Summer Term 2	Add Period + 5 Business Days
            Fall Bridge	Add Period + 2 Business Days
            Spring Wintermester	Add Period + 1 Business Day
            Summer Maymester	Add Period + 1 Business Day
            3 Week Classes Fall and Spring	Add Period + 1 Business Day
            AFTER BUSINESS DAY(S) OF THE TERM LISTED ABOVE	0%

            
            
            
            
         3. Cancellation and refund amounts for commercial truck driving courses will be calculated in accordance with the South Carolina Code of Regulations for Truck Driving Schools.
         4. The College will retain credit balances less than $50.00 if the student cannot be located.  It is the student's responsibility to update address changes. Undeliverable Federal Student Aid credit balances will be refunded to the U.S. Department of Education as required by applicable law.
         5. The College establishes a student's official withdrawal date as the student's last date of attendance.  Tuition payments by check are subject to a fourteen-day waiting period. The Finance Department deducts from the refund any fees due to the College, or aid that must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education.
         6. Refer to TTC Policies and Procedures Manual Section 13 for non-credit course refund procedure.
      2. STUDENT AID REFUNDS
         Every full term, the College will review accounts of all Title IV sponsored students who totally withdraw to ensure consistent application of all federal rules and regulations.  After tuition and fees are deducted, the Finance Department processes refunds to students whose tuition is paid through Federal Direct Student Loans, Federal or State grants, and/or scholarships in accordance with the Federal and State regulations. The Finance Department begins processing student aid refunds after Financial Aid posts the award to student accounts. Refunds are deposited electronically to the bank account provided by the College’s student refund management vendor.
         
         Students must meet all of the following conditions to receive financial aid checks:
         1. Students must attend classes for which they register. Any classes not attended will be deleted from student's schedule and aid reduced accordingly. 
         2. Financial aid awards will be prorated depending on the number of hours attempted during the current term.
         3. Students may not have withdrawn from the college for the current term.
         4. Students must have no outstanding debt owed to the College.
            
            If a refund check is not cashed or presented for payment during the award year, the Financial Aid office may subsequently adjust the student's award. The College may be required to return the credit balance to the applicable student aid program once the award period has ended.
            
            
      3. UNCLAIMED REFUNDS
         The South Carolina Uniform Unclaimed Property Act requires that the College review its records each year to determine whether it is in possession of any unclaimed property, to file an annual report, and to submit unclaimed property to the State Treasurer's Office Unclaimed Property Program.  Unclaimed property includes refund checks, deposits and credit balances, which have remained unclaimed by the rightful owner for a dormancy period.  The dormancy period is five years for all of the above. The state requires an annual filing before November 1 of each year as of the preceding June 30.  The Director of Finance is responsible for ensuring these responsibilities are fulfilled.
         
         The College is prohibited from submitting unclaimed refunds from Federal Title IV funds to the state.  The College will not submit these funds to the South Carolina Treasurer's Office.  As of the 2006-2007 financial aid year, the College's process has been to reimburse these funds back to the originating federal program.
         
         
      4. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TUITION ASSISTANCE (TA) PROGRAM (SPONSORED EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE SERVICE MEMBERS)
         The College will issue a refund of tuition to the student or appropriate sponsoring agency upon the student’s withdrawal from the College, or reduction in enrolled hours. The College will return unearned Tuition Assistance (TA) funds to the appropriate Department of Defense agency.  Every semester the College will review accounts of all tuition assistance sponsored students who totally withdraw to ensure consistent application of all federal rules and regulations. The College returns any unearned TA funds on a proportional basis through at least the 60 percent portion of the period for which the funds were provided.  In some cases, the service member may be responsible for paying the appropriate agency directly.  In instances when a service member stops attending due to a military service obligation, the College will work with the affected service member or agency to identify solutions that will not result in student debt for the returned portion.

 

 

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