Refunds & Disbursements

Financial Aid Refund Policies

A refund is money due a student or financial aid source when a student has withdrawn or dropped a class. Two refund policies are in effect at Southeastern Technical College. The refund policy used varies depending on the type of financial aid a student is scheduled to receive or if the student has completely withdrawn from school or has been administratively dropped.

STC Refund Policy

This refund policy applies when a student has totally withdrawn from school and paid cash or received a HOPE Scholarship/Grant payment. This policy states that pre-registered students may receive a full refund of all tuition and fees paid if they cancel prior to the scheduled enrollment date. Students who withdraw/drop during the first three (3) school days of each term will receive 100 percent of tuition charges refunded for each course dropped. Students who withdraw/drop after the third (3rd) consecutive school day will receive no refund of tuition and fees.

Federal Refund Policy

Students receiving assistance from Title IV programs (Federal Pell Grant or FSEOG) will be awarded aid depending upon the amount of aid earned. If the student completed more than 60 percent of the term, he or she will have earned 100 percent of the aid for that period. If the student completed 60 percent or less of the term, the percentage of the period completed is equal to the percentage of aid earned.

The percentage completed will be calculated by counting the number of days completed up to the point of withdrawal divided by the total number of days in the term. This percentage will be applied to Title IV funds for which the student established eligibility prior to the withdrawal date.

The Title IV aid earned is first used to pay the tuition, fees, and bookstore charges the student has deferred to their Title IV aid account. If any funds remain after deducting these charges, the student will receive the balance due in the form of a refund check prior to the end of the term. If the amount of Title IV aid earned is insufficient to cover these charges and any payments already made to the student, the student is liable for these charges and they must be repaid before the student will be allowed to enroll in another term of study at Southeastern Technical College. Examples are available in the Office of Financial Aid.

Refund of Books & Supplies

Students will receive a full refund if:

• Books are returned with proof of purchase (receipt); and
• Books are returned in new, resalable condition (no marks, writing, or soiling; plastic packaging or boxes unopened).

No refunds will be made for:

• Expendable supplies and equipment (i.e. cosmetology kits, tools, uniforms, diskettes, etc.);
• Books that have been written in.

NOTE: Refund requests for books and supplies must be made within two (2) weeks of the term in which they were purchased and intended for use. This deadline is enforced in all cases.

Overawards

An overpayment is any amount paid directly to the student greater than a student is entitled to receive. This may occur when:

• Awards or disbursements are made incorrectly;
• A student reports incorrect information on his/her financial aid application; or
• A student withdraws from school.

Any information which the Director of Financial Aid discovers as incorrect must be corrected according to procedures outlined in the federal regulations. The student will be notified, collections of these funds will be attempted, and the collected funds will be repaid to the appropriate source of funding. If the student refuses, the appropriate agencies will be notified.

The maximum amount of Federal Work-Study wages that a student may receive above the student’s need is $300. If the student’s earning in excess of need is more than $300, the College may not use Federal Work-Study funds to cover the overage. Non-need-based earnings are not counted in determining the $300 over-award limit. If FWS is awarded in conjunction with other campus-based aid, the $300 over-award limit is in effect for total aid from all campus-based programs

Disbursements

If funds are remaining after tuition and fees are deducted from earned Title IV funds, the Business Office will issue payment to the student for the remaining balance after the fourth week of the semester. Any student who is issued a Title IV refund and then found to have dropped or withdrawn from classes prior to completion of the 60 percent attendance point in the semester must return the unearned funds back to the College. Students who have amounts due will not be allowed to receive grades, transcripts, or register for classes until the amount owed is paid in full.

Pell Disbursements

Pell disbursements are credited to student accounts by the 28^th calendar day of each term. Charges for tuition and fees will automatically be deducted from the student’s Financial Aid Award each term. The balance of the award will be paid directly to the student by the 42^nd day of the term. Students whose financial aid is not awarded at the time of the initial disbursement will have their funds disbursed within 14 days of the date of award. Notices will be posted on the Academic Calendar in MySTC and emailed to students stating the date checks will be mailed to students. Should these dates occur during student breaks or holidays, the disbursement date will be the last business day prior to such break.

Pell Recalculation Policy

Each term, the financial aid office will set a Pell Recalculation Date to coincide with the end of that term’s initial drop/add period. This is typically after all course registrations have been finalized and all No Show’s have been processed. Any changes to enrollment after this date will not change a student’s calculated Pell award. Exceptions to this policy include when a student adds a class for the first time that semester (i.e. adds a mini-session class that starts later in the term as their initial enrollment), when a student fails to begin attendance in a class, or when the college receives an initial FAFSA for the student. In these cases, Pell must be recalculated.

For example, if a student enrolls in six (6) credit hours fall term in August and in October decides to add a class for the mini-session that begins in October, the student will not receive additional Pell funds for the October class. The student is only eligible for the Pell funds calculated on the initial six (6) hours of enrollment.

This only applies to Pell funds. The Pell Recalculation Date is published on STC’s Academic Calendar.

Loan Disbursements

SAL and Private Loan disbursements are credited to student accounts by the 21^st day of each term. Loan funds will be paid directly to students by the 35^th day of the term. Notices will be posted on the Academic Calendar in MySTC and emailed to students stating the date checks will be mailed to students. Should these dates occur during student breaks or holidays, the disbursement date will be the last business day prior to such break.

To determine the actual date of loan disbursements, students should:

1. Log into BannerWeb*
2. Choose Student Services and Financial Aid
3. Click on Financial Aid and Authorizations
4. Click on My Financial Aid Award Information
5. Click on Award Payment Schedule
6. Choose the current Aid Year
7. Submit
8. Scroll down to the current term
9. Add 14 days to the Expected Date next to your loan amount. This is the date your check will be issued. First loan check runs each semester will be handed out to students on both the Swainsboro and Vidalia campuses determined by the home campus of the program in which the student is enrolled.

*Note: You must use your Student ID and PIN to access your BannerWeb account. If you have problems logging into your BannerWeb account, contact the Registrar’s Office to verify your PIN.