College Refund Policy

Tuition Refunds: If a student withdraws or drops a class(es), tuition refunds may be granted. Requests for tuition refunds must be made to Student Services.

  1. A tuition refund shall be made only under the following circumstances:
    1. A 100% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws prior to the first day of class(es) of the academic term as noted in the college calendar. Also, a student is eligible for a 100% refund if the class in which the student is officially registered fails to materialize due to insufficient enrollment.
    2. A 75% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from the class(es) prior to or on the official 10% point of the term.
    3. For classes beginning at times other than the first week (seven calendar days) of the term, a 100% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from the class prior to the first class meeting. A 75% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from the class prior to or on the 10% point of the class.
    4. For contact hour classes, apply as (c) above except use 6 calendar days from the first day of the classes as the determination date.
    5. In addition, beginning with the first day of classes, students wishing to drop and add classes must do so at the same time or incur a 25% penalty.
  2. To comply with applicable federal regulations regarding refunds, federal regulations shall supersede the state refund regulations stated in this rule.
  3. Where a student, having paid the required tuition for a term, dies during that term (prior to or on the last day of examinations of the college the student was attending), all tuition and fees for that term may be refunded to the estate of the deceased.
  4. The college shall follow the described in Item (1) above for classes in which the college collects receipts that are not required to be deposited in the State Treasury account.
  5. All optional fees (lab fee, activity fee, technology fee or other fees as approved by the MCC Board of Trustees) will be refunded only in the event of a 100% withdrawal by the student prior to the beginning of the semester/term or in the event that a student’s class is canceled due to insufficient enrollment.
  6. All student refunds shall be disbursed within two weeks from receipt in the Business Office.

Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Federal law specifies how the Financial Aid Office must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw or cease enrollment at Montgomery Community College. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law, listed in order in which Title IV program funds must be returned, are:

  • Federal Pell Grants
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs)
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Drops and Withdrawals

Montgomery Community College is an institution that takes attendance. For students who completely withdraw or cease enrollment (unofficially withdraw), the withdrawal date is the student’s last day of attendance of a documented academically related activity. Students can officially or unofficially withdraw from the College, which both lead to a recalculation of the student’s aid.

Official Withdrawal:  

When a student initiates the withdrawal process by notifying the Registration Office of his/her intent to cease enrollment by completing an official withdrawal form. The last date of active participation submitted by faculty is used for the R2t4 calculation. 

Unofficial Withdrawal: 

A student who stops attending classes or ceases enrollment at the College without following MCC’s official withdrawal procedure. When a student receives all FA’s, W’s, or a combination of these grades for a semester, he or she may be defined as ‘unofficially withdrawn’ for Title IV purposes. The last date of active participation submitted by faculty is used for the R2t4 calculation. 

A student who attends and completes at least one course that spans the entire term will have earned the aid for that term (as adjusted for dropped classes or classes not attended).

Recalculation Of Aid

Though your aid is posted to your account at the start of each term, you earn the funds as you complete the payment period. Financial Aid students who completely withdraw from all courses, officially, by unofficial instructor drop, or by administrative drop, on or prior to the sixty percent (60%) point of the term will be subject to the Return of Title IV Funds Policy. If a student completely withdraws from Montgomery Community College, unearned student aid must be returned.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For credit hour programs/standard and non-standard terms, Title IV aid is earned in a direct proportion to the length of the time a student is enrolled. The period of time during which a student is enrolled is the percentage of aid earned by the student. The withdrawal date determines the calculation of the percentage of aid earned. Students wishing to officially withdraw should complete the official withdrawal form in Student Services. The percentage of Title IV aid earned will be calculated as follows:

Number of active days completed by student = Percent of term completed

Total number of days in term (minus any breaks of 5 days or more, including weekends)

Students who remain enrolled past the 60% point earn all aid for the term. The unearned percentage of Title IV aid (100% -percent of term completed) must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education by the college and/or the student. See example:

John withdraws on September 18 (33 days completed)/ (115 days in term – 5 day Fall Break) = 30% of term completed):

For clock-hour programs, scheduled hours to complete in the period are used in determination of percentages. They are divided by total number of clock hours in the period. 

Post Withdrawal Disbursement

Return of Title IV – Post Withdrawal Disbursement Example

If a student has ‘earned’ funds, according to the Return of Title IV Funds calculation, that have not yet been disbursed, the student may be due a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement.

(Ex):Student was enrolled full-time for courses that spanned the full 16 weeks. The original charges for tuition, fees, and books for the term were $2,200. The student began attendance in each course, but officially withdrew on the 3rd day and received a 75% refund of tuition charges. The funds disbursed (credited) to the student account were: $0 Pell. However, the student could have received $2960 from the Pell grant should he have continued to be enrolled.

  • There are 113 days in the payment period.
  • 3 divided by 113 = .0265 or 2.65%.
  • Apply the percentage completed (earned), 2.65% to:
    • Title IV (federal) that could have been disbursed: $2960 times 2.65% = $78.44 earned aid
    • Total charges for the term: The business office determines if the student has a current balance remaining. If so, the earned aid is subtracted from the amount owed and the student is notified by mail of any balance owed.
    • If not, the student earned more federal financial aid than was disbursed. The post-withdrawal disbursement for Title IV funds will be processed for the student and a refund will be issued within 14 days of being posted to the student’s account.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of Grant Funds

A post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds will be applied towards outstanding semester charges on the student’s account and may pay up to the amount of the allowable charges (i.e., tuition and fees).

Any remainder of grant aid will be paid to the student. The student will be notified within 30 days of the date of determination of withdrawal of the post-withdrawal disbursement. A refund will be sent within 45 days of the date that the college determined that the student withdrew, if applicable.

MCC’s responsibilities in regard to the return of Title IV funds include:

  • Provide students with the Return of Title IV Funds Policy
  • Notify students of unearned aid to be returned to Title IV programs (including student and college portions to be returned). Notifications will be sent to the student’s home address on file in Student Services
  • College portion of unearned aid will be returned by the college within 30 days of notification of student withdrawal to Title IV programs and student will be billed for repayment 
  • College will notify the U.S. Department of Education of student’s portion of unearned aid to be returned within 30 days of becoming aware of the student’s complete withdrawal

The Student’s responsibilities in regard to the return of Title IV funds include:

  • Becoming familiar with the Return of Title IV Funds policy
  • Returning to the U.S. Department of Education all unearned aid as determined by the Return of Title IV Funds calculation
  • Contacting the college if unable to return unearned portion within 45 days of notification. The college will then contact NSLDS and Ed Collections to notify of student’s situation. 10 days after the college has contacted NSLDS and Ed Collections, the student may contact Ed Collections to arrange a repayment plan of the student portion of unearned aid satisfactory to the U.S. Department of Education by calling 1-800-621-3115
  • Repay MCC any unearned aid portion of Title IV funds returned by the College to the U.S. Department of Education

Module/Mini Semester Courses

To determine whether a student enrolled in a module/mini-mester course has withdrawn and a calculation is needed the following five questions are used.

  1. Did the student cease to attend, or fail to begin attendance in a scheduled course that was included in the institution’s calculation of the student’s Title IV awards for the payment period or period of enrollment? • If yes, go to question 2 • If no, student is not a withdrawal
  2. When the student ceased to attend or failed to begin attendance in a scheduled course, was the student attending other courses in the period? • If yes, student is not a withdrawal, but Pell recalculations may apply • If no, go to question 3
  3. When the student ceased to attend or failed to begin attendance in a scheduled course, did the student complete all the requirements for graduation? • If yes, student is not a withdrawal, but Pell recalculations may apply • If no, go to question 4
  4. When the student ceased to attend or failed to begin attendance in a scheduled course, did the student successfully complete: • a module or combination of modules that contain 49% or more of the number of days of the payment period (excluding scheduled breaks of 5 consecutive days or more and all days between modules); OR • coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution’s definition of a half-time student for the payment period? • If yes to either question, student not a withdrawal, but Pell recalculations may apply • If no, go to question 5
  5. Did the student confirm attendance in a later module in the payment/enrollment period (45-day rule for standard or nonstandard programs) • If yes, not a withdrawal, but Pell recalculations may apply • If no, student is a withdrawal

Please be advised, the Satisfactory Academic Policy calculation of financial aid students who completely withdraw could be negatively affected.

Any student debt owed to MCC will preclude the student from future registration until debt is satisfied.

These policies and procedures supersede those previously published and are subject to change according to U.S. Department of Education regulations and MCC policy revision.

State Aid

Students receiving State aid (North Carolina Community College Grant/North Carolina Education Lottery Grant) may be subject to a withdrawal calculation in addition to the Return of Title IV. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) along with College Foundation Incorporated (CFI) have established a return policy for state funded grants. State grant recipients who withdraw from class or cease enrollment prior to or at the 35% point of the semester will owe a repayment.

  • Student attended more than 35% of term = full grant amount earned.  
  • Student attended 5% -35% of the term= percentage of grant earned is equal to percentage attended.
  • Student attended less than 5% of term = no eligibility.