Refunds/Fee Adjustments of all fees and charges must be in accordance with the following provisions except where previously stated, or where required by federal law or regulation to be otherwise. Refunds for Title IV aid recipients that withdraw will be calculated according to applicable federal guidelines.
A. Maintenance Fee Refunds/Fee Adjustments
- Refunds are 100% for courses canceled by the institution.
- There is no refund or additional fee assessment for adding and dropping (swapping) equal numbers of credit hours for the sessions (parts-of-term) within a term with the exception of Regents Online Degree Program (RODP) courses. RODP courses cannot be swapped for VSCC courses, or vice versa without additional fee assessment.
- The basic fee adjustment for withdrawals or drops during regular terms (fall and spring) is 75% from the official first day of classes for the term (not determined separately for each individual class) through the fourteenth calendar day of classes and then reduced to 25% for a period of time which extends 25% of the length of the term. There is no fee adjustment after the 25% period ends.
- For summer sessions, the 75% fee adjustment period and the 25% fee adjustment period will extend a length of time, which is the same proportion of the term as the 75% and 25% periods are of the regular term.
- All refund/fee adjustment periods will be rounded to whole days and the date on which each refund period ends will be included in publications. In calculating the 75% period for other than the fall and spring and in calculating the 25% length of term in all cases, the number of calendar days during the term will be considered. When the calculation produces a fractional day, rounding will be up or down to the nearest whole day.
- A full refund (100%) is provided on behalf of a student whose death occurs during the term. Any indebtedness should be offset against the refund.
- A 100% refund will be provided for students who enroll under an advance registration system but who drops a course or courses prior to the beginning of the first day of class for the term (not determined separately for each individual class).
- A 100% refund will be provided to students who are compelled by the institution to withdraw when it is determined that, through institutional error, they were academically ineligible for enrollment or were not properly admitted to enroll for course(s) being dropped. An appropriate official must certify in writing that this provision is applicable in each case.
- When courses are included in a regular term’s registration process for administrative convenience, but the course does not begin until later in the term, the 75%/25% fee adjustment will be based on the particular course’s beginning and ending dates. This provision does not apply to classes during the fall and spring terms which may meet only once per week. Those courses will follow the same refund/fee adjustment dates as other regular courses for the term.
- The refund/fee adjustment is calculated as the difference between (1) the per credit hour cost of the hours originally enrolled and (2) the per credit hour cost of the hours at final enrollment after adjustments have been applied for all courses dropped. Adjustments are calculated at the full per credit hour rate less the fee adjustment credit at the applicable fee adjustment percentage (regardless of the original number of hours enrolled). Not all drops/withdrawals will result in a fee adjustment.
B. Out-of-State Tuition Refunds/Fee Adjustments
The refund/fee adjustment provision for out-of-state tuition is the same as that for maintenance fees. A 75% fee adjustment is made for the same period and a 25% fee adjustment is made for the same period. When 100% of maintenance fees are refunded, 100% of out-of-state tuition also is refunded. Calculation procedures are the same as those specified for maintenance fees.
C. Refunds/Fee Adjustments for Title IV Students
Refunds/Fee Adjustments for students who totally withdraw and who receive assistance under Title IV will be based on applicable federal guidelines and will be calculated through 60% of the semester.
D. Refunds/Fee Adjustments
Refunds/fee adjustments will be applied to federal accounts according to federal regulations as determined by the financial aid office. Any remaining refund/fee adjustment will be applied to any outstanding debt to the college before a check is prepared for the student.
For students participating in the deferred payment plan, withdrawal from classes does not forgive any remaining balance due except to the extent that any refund/fee adjustment, as determined by the College’s refund/fee adjustment policy, will be applied to the balance due. Refunds/fee adjustments for students on deferred payment contracts are calculated based on the total fees assessed student (not just the portion of the fees actually paid). Then total fees assessed are reduced by the amount the student has paid and the refund/fee adjustment credit. If the student has an overall credit balance, that amount will be refunded to the student. The refund/fee adjustment is not calculated on the amount actually paid.
Processing of refund/fee requests normally takes at least two weeks for consideration and approval. Check or direct deposit processing will take place following the submission of an approved request.
E. Appeals Procedures
Appeals concerning refunds/fee adjustments may be made to the Vice President of Student Services. The Vice President of Student Services will hear the appeal and make a recommendation to the Vice President of Business and Finance. The Vice President of Business and Finance will either uphold or deny the recommendation. Final appeal may be made to the President or a designee. For additional information, refer to VSCC Policy III:00:03, Appeal Process for Refund of Registration Fees.
TBR Source: December 2, 1977 TBR meeting. Revised March 14, 1980 TBR meeting; November 13, 1991 presidents meeting; November 8, 1982 presidents meeting; July 1, 1984; November 1, 1988; May 15, 1990 presidents meeting; August 14, 1990 presidents meeting; November 10, 1992 presidents meeting; August 10, 1993 presidents meeting; November 9, 1993 presidents meeting; August 9, 1994 presidents meeting; May 8, 1995 presidents meeting, August 8, 1995 presidents meeting, November 8, 1995 presidents meeting, February 6, 1996 presidents meeting, May 14, 1996 presidents meeting, November 12, 1996 presidents meeting, May 6, 1997 presidents meeting, July 16, 1997 called Board meeting, November 5, 1997 presidents meeting, February 17, 1998 presidents meeting via conference call, August 25, 1998 presidents meeting, May 9, 2000 presidents meeting, August 8, 2000 presidents meeting, November 8, 2000 presidents meeting, February 13, 2001 presidents meeting, August 21, 2001 presidents meeting, May 21, 2002 presidents meeting, February 11, 2003 presidents meeting, May 20, 2003 presidents meeting, February 10, 2004 presidents meeting, August 17, 2004 presidents meeting, February 8, 2005 presidents meeting, May 17, 2005 presidents meeting, February 8, 2006; presidents meeting, May 16, 2006 presidents meeting, August 16, 2006 presidents meeting, May 15, 2007 presidents meeting, August 21, 2007 presidents meeting, November 6, 2007 presidents meeting, February 17, 2009 presidents meeting, May 12, 2009 presidents meeting; August 11, 2009 presidents meeting; November 10, 2009 presidents meeting.
VSCC Source: March 11, 1997, President; March 22, 1999, President; November 15, 2000, President; November 19, 2007, President; May 18, 2009, President; July 24, 2009, President; January 19, 2010, President’s Cabinet
