South College

Refund Policies

REFUND OF TUITION

Tuition charges are based on the student’s declared major and the total number of credit hours in which a student is enrolled on the first day of classes (as listed in the college calendar). Refunds or tuition adjustments will be awarded according to the following guidelines:

  1. If circumstances prevent matriculation before a student begins attending the college, all monies above the $50.00 application fee will be refunded. The $50.00 application fee will be refunded only if requested within three days of application.
  2. A tuition adjustment will be made when a student officially drops below 10 hours (9 hours or less) during the drop/add period. Official withdrawal is achieved by submitting a completed drop/add form to the Registrar. No adjustments will be made for students dropping individual classes after the drop/add period. The quarterly technology fee is non-refundable.
  3. A full tuition adjustment will be made when a student cancels or drops all classes before the drop/add deadline in any full quarter term. For students whose initial enrollment occurs on a mid-quarter term, a full tuition adjustment will be made when a student cancels or withdraws from all classes in that initial term of enrollment. In both situations, any term or course related fees associated with classes canceled or dropped prior to the drop/add date will also be adjusted from the account. If a student used a book allowance to purchase text books and receives the textbooks, the charge for books will remain on the account.

Online students outside of the states of Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana or California are subject to the policy of the main campus (Tennessee).

STATE REFUND POLICY (TENNESSEE, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, AND INDIANA)

For a student who withdraws from the college, the state refund policy will apply as follows:

  1. If after classes have commenced and before expiration of ten percent (10%) of the period of enrollment for which he or she has been charged, a student officially withdraws, the refund shall equal seventy-five percent (75%) of all amounts paid to or to be paid by or on behalf of the student for the period, less administrative fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
  2. If after expiration of the ten percent (10%) of the period of enrollment for which he or she has been charged, and before expiration of twenty-five percent (25%) of the period, a student officially withdraws, the refund shall equal twenty-five percent (25%) of all amounts paid or to be paid by or on behalf of the student for the period, less administrative fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
  3. If after expiration of twenty-five percent (25%) of the period of enrollment for which he or she was charged, a student officially withdraws, the student is deemed obligated for one hundred percent (100%) of the tuition, fees, and other charges assessed by the institution.

STATE REFUND POLICY (NORTH CAROLINA)

For a student who withdraws from the college, the state refund policy will apply as follows:

  1. A 100% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws prior to the first day of class(es) of the academic quarter as noted in the college calendar. Also, a student is eligible for a 100% refund if the class(es) in which the student is officially registered fail to “make” due to insufficient enrollment.
  2. A 75% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from all classes prior to the official 25% point in the quarter. No refunds shall be made after this point.
  3. If a student who has paid the required tuition for a quarter dies during that quarter (prior to the last day of examinations of the college), all tuition and fees for that quarter may be refunded to the estate of the deceased.

STATE REFUND POLICY (CALIFORNIA)

For a student who withdraws from the college, the state refund policy will apply as follows:

  1. A 100% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws prior to the first day of class(es) of the academic quarter as noted in the college calendar. Also, a student is eligible for a 100% refund if the class(es) in which the student is officially registered fail to “make” due to insufficient enrollment.
  2. A 75% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from all classes after the official 10% point in the quarter and prior to the official 25% point in the quarter.
  3. A 50% refund shall be made if the student officially withdraws from all classes after the official 25% point of the quarter and prior to the official 50% point of the quarter. No funds shall be made after this point.
  4. All prepaid, but unearned fees and other charges paid by a student to the institution shall be refunded to the student if the institution discontinues the class or course for which the student has enrolled.

OFFICIAL WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURE

A withdrawal is considered to be official when a student notifies the office of the Registrar or the Dean of Academic and Student Services. No other college official has the authority to accept official withdrawals. Students who do not officially withdraw will be considered enrolled in courses until an appropriate academic participation verification point. If it is determined a student is no longer academically participating at the regular check points, the student will be officially withdrawn by the college. Students are strongly encouraged to first speak with the School/Department Advisor in order to gain full understanding of the affects that the withdrawal has on their standing and options for future enrollment.

RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS

For Title IV (federal financial aid) recipients who withdraw from enrollment, the college is mandated by federal regulation to determine the amount of Title IV funds the student has earned at the time the student ceases enrollment. The amount earned is based on the amount of calendar days in the term completed by the student divided by the number of calendar days in the same term, excluding any scheduled breaks of at least five (5) consecutive days. The amount earned is based on the amount of time the student has spent enrolled and is not related to the student’s institutional charges. The amount of Title IV funds earned is based upon a proportional calculation through sixty percent (60%) of the term enrolled. The college will utilize the following steps in order to determine the amount of Title IV a student who withdraws has earned:

  1. Determine the date of withdrawal and determine the percentage of payment period (term) in which the student was enrolled.
  2. Determine the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student by multiplying the total Title IV aid for which the student was eligible by the percentage of time enrolled.
  3. Compare the amount earned to the amount disbursed. If the amount earned is greater than the amount disbursed, then a post-withdrawal disbursement must be made if the student is eligible for a “late disbursement.” If the amount disbursed exceeds the amount earned, the excess of Title IV aid must be returned.
  4. Allocate the responsibility for returning unearned aid between the college and the student according to the portion of disbursed aid that could have been used to cover institutional charges and the portion that could have been disbursed directly to the student once institutional charges were covered.
  5. Distribute the unearned Title IV aid back to the Title IV programs. Examples of Return to Title IV and refund calculations may be obtained through the office of financial aid.

ORDER OF REFUNDS

Should a student withdraw from the institution, any amount of refund will be returned to the Title IV, HEA program funds, including the Pell Grant program, and then to other sources of aid up to the full amount received from the programs.

South College is required to return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student receives aid during the payment period, up to the net amount disbursed from each source, in the following order:

  1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
  2. Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans
  3. Federal Perkins Loans
  4. Federal Direct PLUS Loans
  5. Federal Pell Grants
  6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
  7. Teach Grant
  8. Other assistance awarded to the student under programs authorized by Title IV
  9. Required refunds to other federal, state, private, or institutional student financial assistance awarded to the student
  10. To the student

*An exception to this order may be made based on Return to Title IV guidelines issued by the Department of Education in the Federal Student Aid Handbook based on the Last Date of Attendance (LDA) and Date of Disbursement (DOD) of federal fund sources.

The current refund policy applies to all causes of withdrawal including injury, prolonged illness, or other circumstances that prohibit completion of the course or program of study.

RETURN OF MILITARY TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FUNDS

For students participating in the Military Tuition Assistance Program, the College will use the state refund policy for the designated campus to determine the amount of Tuition Assistance Program funds a student has earned when he or she ceases attendance based on the period the student was in attendance. For students in online programs, the refund policy will be based on that of the State of Tennessee, not by the state of residence of the student. The only exclusion will be for military students who are deployed during a payment period, and then the Student Deployment Policy will be used.

STUDENT DEPLOYMENT

Military students and their spouses called to active duty or deployed from their home station will be allowed to withdraw from the currently enrolled term/payment period by providing a copy of military orders. Military service means service, whether voluntary or involuntary, in the Armed Forces (including National Guard or Reserve) on active duty, active duty for training, or full-time National Guard duty, or order to active duty. The length of the absence (including all prior absences for military), including only the time the student actually served in the military, cannot exceed five years.

Students who have completed 75 percent of the current term/payment period may earn a grade at the discretion of their instructors. Students without sufficient completion of course work will be withdrawn without grade penalty. Withdrawn courses must be repeated in their entirety. All tuition charges/payments related to the term/payment period that is interrupted will be refunded.

Reentering students should contact the Admissions department for the designated campus of enrollment, who will then guide the student through the re-enrollment process, including meeting with Financial Aid. Current tuition and policies (or policy revisions) for military students will apply to all returning students upon re-entry. Reentry fees will be waived for all returning students.

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