Title IV financial aid funds are awarded to students with the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire semester or payment period. However, if a student withdraws or is dropped from all classes, there is a unique refund schedule for financial aid disbursements on top of CCSF's tuition & fee refund process. 

CCSF Tuition & Fee Refund Process

The enrollment fee may be refundable, in full or in part, depending on total registered units at the end of the second calendar week of instruction for full length courses or 10% of the course length for short term courses. You can view more information about enrollment fee refunds online or by contacting Admissions & Records. 

Financial Aid Disbursement Return Process

Students who completely withdraw from classes or student who began attendance and failed to earn a passing grade in at least one course offered over an entire term or payment period (known as an Unofficial Withdrawal) are subject to the Return of Title IV financial aid refund calculation as required by federal regulations. This calculation uses the date of withdrawal/drop to determine how much of the financial aid disbursement received is "earned." 

Any federal financial aid recipient who receives financial aid and withdraws or is dropped from all classes prior to completing 60% of the semester will be required to repay a portion of all federal financial aid received. If you withdraw all classes after completing 60% of the semester, you do not owe any repayment.

If a student received more financial aid funds that the student was entitled to receive, the student will be billed for any institutional portion that is required to be returned to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). Failure to return funds will cause a registration and official transcript hold on the student account, and eventual referral to the DOE for collection and loss of federal financial aid eligibility. 

Refund of Tuition & Fees vs. Return of Financial Aid Disbursement

Both calculations are done when a student withdraws from CCSF. If a student needs to return the financial aid disbursement to the DOE, the student may also need to pay for any tuition & fees, should the student not be eligible for a refund of tuition & fees. In this case, the student will owe a balance to CCSF. Failure to return funds will cause a registration and official transcript hold on the student account. All past due accounts are submitted to Chancellor's Office Tax Offset Program (COTOP) for collection