Withdrawals

Dropping a class, withdrawing or stopped attending (unofficial withdrawal)

There are four important factors to consider before dropping one or more classes or withdrawing from college:

1. Satisfactory academic progress
2. Return of aid money
3.  Loan repayment
4.  Lifetime limits on Pell Grant, PA State Grant and loans

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Financial aid is for educational purposes. Federal regulations and the College’s Academic Standards and Progress Policy require that you make progress toward your program of study. Progress is measured in terms of course completion rate and maintaining minimum GPA requirements. See the Academic Standards and Progress Policy and the Financial Aid User Guide for specifics.

Return of Aid Money

If you withdraw from all classes or from your last enrolled class before the 60 percent point in the semester, federal regulations require that the College calculate the amount of aid you earned and compare that to the amount of aid that has been paid to your student account. As an example, for the 15-week term, this would be after the ninth week. You may owe the College and/or the U.S. Department of Education based on the federal formula.

Loan Repayment

A borrower will enter the loan repayment grace period upon dropping below half-time status (less than 6 credits). This means that your first payment for your student loan is due six months from the day you dropped below half-time unless you re-enrolled for at least half time the following semester.

Lifetime limits on Pell Grant, PA State Grant and loans

It is important that you be attentive to all rules regarding aid. If you make excessive course withdrawals, your eligibility for Pell Grant, PA State Grant and loans may be exhausted before you graduate. You may also lose all your future aid eligibility earlier than you expect because of poor completion rate.

Refund Policy

If you withdraw, drop out, are dismissed or take a leave of absence from Community College of Philadelphia prior to completing 60 percent of a payment period or term, the Office of Financial Aid recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:

Percentage of payment period or term completed equals the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term. This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula: Aid to be returned equals (100 percent of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If you earned less aid than was disbursed, the College would be required to return a portion of the funds, and you would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, you may owe the College.

If you earned more aid than was disbursed to you, the College would owe you a post-withdrawal disbursement, which must be paid within 120 days of your withdrawal.

Refunds are allocated in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Direct Loans
• Subsidized Direct Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required
• Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a return of funds is required
• Other assistance under this title for which a return of funds is required.

Direct Deposit

Go green to receive and have refunds processed 70% faster (than by paper check) by signing up for direct deposit. To provide you with a more efficient refund process, the College has implemented the student refund direct deposit option. This service gives you the convenience of receiving a refund from financial aid and/or another source of funds on your student account deposited directly into your bank account.