Withdrawal from ALL classes
If you receive financial aid and are thinking about withdrawing from school completely, the following information will provide an overview of how the withdrawal process correlates with Financial Aid.
Read the following very carefully before completing your withdrawal form and returning it to the Registrar's Office. There may be academic consequences if you withdraw from school. Students should consult with the Counseling Office to see what effect the withdrawal will have on their academic career.
Treatment of Federal Financial Aid Funds (Title IV Aid)
Students earn financial aid each time they attend class. For that reason, Federal funds (Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, FSEOG, Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans, and PLUS loans) may need to be returned if you withdraw before the end of the semester. You must complete 60 percent of the semester (usually 11 weeks) or you may be required to repay all or part of the financial aid disbursed for that semester.
Once the Registrar's Office processes the withdrawal, your academic record is updated and the Business Office is notified. The Business Office is responsible for recalculating your semester charges. You will be charged according to the last date of attendance on your withdrawal form. The Financial Aid Office will determine the amount of financial aid you have "earned"and the amount for which you are not eligible ("unearned"). The unearned funds are returned to the Department of Education or the lending institution.
To calculate the completed portion of the semester, divide the number of days you attended by the number of days in the semester. The number of days in each semester begins with the first day of class and ends with the last day of class. Semester breaks of five or more consecutive days are not included in the calculation; however, weekends are counted.
Unearned federal financial aid must be returned to the appropriate funds in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
Examples of common withdrawal/refund situations are available in the Financial Aid Office.
Consequences of Withdrawing from All Classes
If you withdraw from all of your classes:
- All or part of your financial aid may be reduced or canceled.
- You may have a balance due to CFCC because your financial aid award was adjusted.
- A hold will be placed on your academic record and you will not be able to request transcripts, register for classes, etc, until you pay the amount owed to CFCC as a result of your withdrawal.
- Your credit history may be negatively affected when CFCC reports your overdue account to an external credit agency.
- You may not meet the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements for continued financial aid assistance. Future financial aid may be jeopardized.
- You may have to begin repayment on your student loans if you remain out of school longer than your grace period (Student Loan Repayment Section).
- Withdrawing repeatedly may cause you to reach aggregate loan limits faster and could result in your ineligibility to borrow student loans in the future.