ADDING OR DROPPING A COURSE
Students are entitled to have the opportunity to attend one class session for each registered, for-credit course, without obligation.
For courses which are three weeks in length or longer:
Students are permitted to add and drop courses up to the first five business days of the semester, or one business day after the first class meeting, whichever is later. Students are financially obligated for any classes dropped after the fifth business day of the term, or one business day after the first class session, whichever is later. Courses which are not dropped cannot be removed from a student’s academic record. For purposes of this policy, business days are defined as Monday through Friday (excluding posted holidays). If a student is financially obligated for a dropped class, the student may petition the college or university to apply the amount of the tuition and/or fees for the dropped class to the cost of an added class for the current term.
For courses less than three weeks in length:
Students may add the course to their schedule up to the second business day of class, and drop the course from their schedule no more than one business day after the first class session for each for-credit course. In this situation, students are financially obligated for any classes not dropped one business day after the first class session, and students are not able to have those courses removed from their academic record. For purposes of this policy, business days are defined as Monday through Friday (excluding posted holidays).
NOTE: If a student makes changes to their class schedule, that is adds or drops a class, the changes to the student’s
account are available online. If the student receives financial aid, changes may impact the student’s financial aid award.
INDIVIDUAL COURSE WITHDRAWAL
The final date for official course withdrawal is the last day on which students may officially terminate their enrollment in a course, and 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 of official course withdrawal shall be established as the date on which eighty percent (80%) of the instructional days for the course have elapsed.
When students withdraw from a course, they will receive a “W” grade for the class and will still be responsible for 100% of the tuition and fees for the withdrawn course. Withdrawing from a course will not affect the student’s GPA; however, it could affect his/her probation or suspension status. Students may withdraw online using e-services or via assistance from an Academic Advisor.
TOTAL WITHDRAWAL
Students may totally withdraw from Central Lakes College by utilizing e-Services. The final date for official course withdrawal is the last day on which students may officially terminate their enrollment in a course, and 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 official course withdrawal shall be established as the date on which eighty percent (80%) of the instructional days for the course have elapsed. Students are not allowed to withdraw after the final withdraw date of each semester. Tuition will or will not be refunded according to state or federal policy. All students totally withdrawing from the college will receive “W” grades for registered courses. If a student who receives Federal or State financial aid officially withdraws from all of his/her classes, or merely stops attending classes at CLC before 60% of the term is completed, the student may be required to repay a portion of his/her financial aid. The student’s last date of attendance will be determined as follows:
– If a student completes a withdrawal before leaving CLC, the College will use the date of withdrawal as the last date of
attendance.
– If a student stops attending classes and does not notify CLC of his/her decision, the student will receive grades for all registered courses and the student’s last date of attendance will be reported by the student’s instructors. Before making the decision to totally withdraw from college, it is highly recommended that you visit with the Financial Aid Office and an Academic Advisor.
If the College is not notified and the withdrawal is not properly completed:
– The student may owe the College for tuition and fees, even if no longer attending classes.
– The student will receive a grade from the instructor.
A student will be required to repay all or some of any financial aid received, if:
– Withdrawing from all classes on or before 60% of the completed term,
– No longer attending and fails to notify the college.
REFUNDS
Withdrawing from individual classes after the add/drop period does NOT generate a refund. NOTE: For the purpose of refunds, the term “days” refers to business days.
Amount of Tuition and Fees Refunded if Totally Withdrawing From the College
Fall and Spring Academic Terms
100% days 1-5 of the term
75% days 6-10
50% days 11-15
25% days 16-20
0% after day 20
Summer sessions and other terms at least three weeks, but less than ten weeks in length
100% days 1-5
50% days 6-10
0% after day 10
Class terms less than three weeks in length
100% day 1 of the course
50% day 2-3
0% after day 3
Return of Federal/State/Institutional Financial Aid
The Return of Title IV (Federal) Funds
Title IV (federal aid) funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. Federal regulations require that financial aid recipients return a portion of their federal financial aid if they totally withdraw (officially or unofficially) from all classes and/or instructors report a last date of attendance or academic related activity on or before 60% of the term has been completed. Withdrawal on or before the 60% point means that a student has not earned all of the aid they were paid. If a student meets one or more of the R2T4 exemptions as detailed in the Federal Student Aid Handbook, then this calculation does not apply.
The amount of “unearned aid” is calculated according to this formula:
Step 1: Student’s Title IV Information
The Financial Aid Office will determine:
- The total amount of Title IV (federal) aid disbursed (if any) for the semester the student withdrew. (Federal aid is counted as aid disbursed in the calculation if it has been applied to the student’s account on or before the school’s determined withdrawal date)
- The total amount of federal aid disbursed, plus the aid that could have disbursed (if any) for the semester in which the student withdrew
Step 2: Percentage of Federal Aid Earned
The Financial Aid Office will calculate the percentage of federal aid earned as follows:
The number of calendar days completed by the student divided by the total number of calendar days in the term (weekends included) in which the student withdrew.
Days Attended / Days in Enrollment Period = Percentage Completed
If the calculated percentage exceeds 60%, the student has “earned” all federal aid and federal aid may not need to be returned.
Step 3: Amount of Aid Earned by Student
The Financial Aid Office will calculate the amount of federal aid earned as follows:
The percentage of Title IV (federal) aid earned (step 2) multiplied by the total amount of federal aid disbursed or that could have been disbursed for the semester in which the student withdrew (Step 1).
Total Federal Aid Disbursed x Percentage Completed = Earned Federal Aid
Step 4: Amount of Federal Aid to be Disbursed or Returned
- If the aid already disbursed equals the earned aid, no further action is required
- If the aid already disbursed is greater than the earned aid, the difference must be returned to the appropriate federal aid program. This means that a balance may be created on the student’s CLC account. The student will be responsible for paying the resulting account balance.
Total Disbursed Federal Aid – Earned Federal Aid = Unearned Federal Aid to be Returned
This Return to Title IV (R2T4) policy applies to the following federal programs to which funds must be returned in this order:
Order of funds returned
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
- Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
CLC may have an obligation to return federal/state/outside funds that were credited to the student’s account or released to a student/parent as a cash payment. If this happens, CLC will pay back funds to the required program(s) on the student/parent’s behalf. The student will then owe a balance to the College.
The CLC Financial Aid Office will calculate required aid returns and post-withdrawal disbursement eligibility within 30 days and return unearned financial aid funds no later than 45 days after determining that a student totally withdrew from classes. Any loan funding a student is allowed to keep as a result of the withdrawal calculation must be repaid to the lender under the terms and conditions of the promissory note. Examples of Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations are available in the CLC Financial Aid Office upon request.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Eligibility
A student who has earned more aid than what was disbursed prior to withdrawal could be due a post-withdrawal disbursement.
If the aid already disbursed is less than the earned aid, CLC Financial Aid will calculate a post-withdrawal disbursement and offer the available aid to the student within 30 days of the withdrawal date. A post-withdrawal disbursement of federal grant funding usually does not require acceptance from the student and will be disbursed to the student’s CLC account within 45 days of the student’s withdrawal date. A post-withdrawal disbursement of federal loans funds must be offered to the student, or parent in the case of a Direct PLUS Loan, within 30 days of the withdrawal date. The student will have 14 days from the post-withdrawal disbursement offer of loan funds to provide written notification of acceptance of the loan funds. The student may also elect to decline these loan funds as to not incur additional debt. All post-withdrawal disbursements are applied to the student’s CLC account first, and any resulting credit balance disbursed to the student as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after the post-withdrawal disbursement (grant or loan) is placed on the student’s CLC account.
If students owe a balance to CLC for unpaid tuition/fee charges or for federal/state/outside funds received as cash payments, they must contact the Business Office immediately to discuss repayment after receiving a repayment notice indicating that aid has been returned and that payment is due.
Other Aid
If students who officially withdraw from all classes received State financial aid funding (including State Grant, Child Care Grant, Safety Officer’s Survivor’s Grant, MN Indian Scholarship, etc.), a portion of the unearned funds must be returned to the State if the total withdrawal took place within the first 20 business days of the semester (full semester classes). See “Refunds for Total Withdrawal” section for more information on summer and shorter length classes. Unearned funds are calculated by using the MN Office of Higher Education refund calculator.
If students who officially withdraw from all classes received institutionally controlled funding (including CLC Foundation Scholarships, waivers, etc.), a portion of the unearned funds must be returned if the total withdrawal took place within the first 20 business days of the semester (full semester classes). Aid reduction is based on days completed. Institutional aid reduction for summer and short-term classes will vary.
1st – 5th business day 100% of institutional aid returned
6th – 10th business day 75% of institutional aid returned
11th – 15th business day 50% of institutional aid returned
16th – 20th business day 25% of institutional aid returned
After 20th business day All institutional aid earned