Refunds
Tuition and Fee Refunds
Students must be signed up for a class the day prior to the course start date. To receive a full refund for a dropped course, it must be dropped prior to the start of the term. Students who drop a class within the first week of the term will be refunded 90 percent of their tuition. The refund can be applied to a new course added to their schedule as long as the new class has not met yet. No refund is available after the 90-percent refund window closes.
If a class is canceled by the college, students will receive a full refund for all tuition and fees. Refunds are issued within three weeks after the end of registration. Students may enroll in another class and apply the tuition and fees from the canceled class to the new class.
All refunds for tuition, fees and deposits due to a student will first be applied to any amounts owed to the college. Sufficient time must be allowed for final clearance of fee payment checks before refunds are made.
Residence Hall Refunds
Students are eligible for a 50-percent refund of room fees if leaving residence within 21 days of the first day of classes for each semester or within 21 days of the start date of a specific program in which they are enrolled. Room fees will not be reimbursed after the 21st day as specified above.
Students withdrawing from the college may be eligible for a meal plan refund, prorated on a weekly basis, up to four weeks after the start of the 17-week term. Students who are enrolled in only a first or second eight-week term will be charged a prorated meal plan rate of 50 percent of a full 17-week meal plan. Departing eight-week-only students are eligible for refunds, prorated on a weekly basis, up to two weeks after the eight-week term begins. Any refund exceptions to this policy must be made in writing to the dean of Student Services and must contain the rationale for the request along with any documentation requested by the dean. Requests for exceptions to this policy will not be accepted by the dean after 15 working days from the departure of the student.
Federal Title IV Financial Aid Refunds
Students who receive federal financial aid funds are subject to the federal refund policy. Students who completely withdraw before completing 60 percent of the term are subject to this policy and may owe a repayment of the unearned portion of their grant funds. Students have 45 days to return the funds to Cochise College. If repayment is not made during the 45 days, the repayment owed will be turned over to the Department of Education for collection. Once a repayment is turned over to the Department of Education, eligibility for additional federal aid is suspended until satisfactory payment arrangements are made.
The federal Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) programs are subject to this repayment provision. Students who have received student loan funds are responsible for completing an exit interview and for notifying their lender of the withdrawal. The federal work-study program is not subject to the refund policy.
The withdrawal date is the date:
- The student began the withdrawal process prescribed by the institution;
- The student otherwise provided the school with official notification of the intent to withdraw; or
- For the student who does not begin the school’s withdrawal process or notify the school of the intent to withdraw, the midpoint of the payment period or period of enrollment for which Title IV assistance was disbursed (unless the institution can document a later date).
The percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment completed for which assistance was awarded is calculated by dividing the total number of calendar days comprising the payment period or period of enrollment for which the assistance is awarded into the number of calendar days completed in that period as of the day the student withdrew.
Additional policy and regulatory information is available from the Financial Aid Office.