Financial Aid & Scholarships

Impact of Not Completing My Classes

Return of Title IV Federal Financial Aid Funds

When you receive federal financial aid, you agree to complete your classes. If you do not complete any part of the term, you may be required to repay a portion of the financial aid that paid for your classes. If you officially, or unofficially, withdraw from all classes, repayment of the aid will also be required. The process of returning aid due to one of the above circumstances is a federal law called the Return of Title IV Federal Financial Aid.

An official withdrawal is an instance in which you drop or withdraw from all courses, either online or in person. An unofficial withdrawal is when you stop attending courses or drop out of school without officially notifying the institution resulting in all F grades or a combination of F, U, W and AW grades.

As a student, you must successfully complete all courses for the entire length of enrollment to avoid the Return of Title IV Federal Financial Aid. You could pass one or more courses and still be required to return funds that are intended for a course that you do not pass. 

If CCD is required to report an overpayment of financial aid to the U.S. Department of Education, the student will be required to repay the Department directly before receiving any financial aid at any school.  To repay a grant overpayment, call the U.S. Department of Education at 800.621.3115.

Keep attending all classes.

Read all communications from CCD. CCD will calculate the amount that must be repaid, based on how many days you attended. The Financial Aid Office will send communications to the mailing address on your file with the amount you must repay. If CCD is required to report to the federal government any grant overpayment, you must repay the overpayment directly to the U.S. Department of Education within 45 days of being notified by CCD. You will be ineligible to receive financial aid at ANY school until the funds are repaid in full.

Directly to the CCD cashier within 45 days. You are responsible for the entire repayment, which can be made to CCD’s Cashier's Office within 45 days. If the debt is not repaid within the appropriate timeframe, the amount owed will instead need to be repaid directly to the appropriate collection agency. Students are encouraged to speak with the Cashier's Office before the end of the 45 day period to discuss any available payment arrangements. You may email the Cashier's Office or call 303.556.2075.

You are required to repay ALL of the financial aid that paid into your account. If you never attended courses but did not drop or withdraw from your courses, you are considered a "No Show." As such, you are ineligible for financial aid, and 100 percent of the financial aid that paid into your CCD account must be repaid. In addition, if you do not withdraw prior to the published drop date, you are also responsible for 100 percent of your tuition and fee charges (in addition to any repayment of financial aid that paid into your CCD account.

Back to the aid programs that originally paid. Repaid funds are returned back to the U.S. Department of Education. Repayment of direct loan funds will also reduce your overall loan debt with the Department of Education. Federal regulations require CCD to return federal funds in the following order:

  • Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
  • Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
  • Federal PLUS Loan
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

The return of Title IV funds is determined by the following formula:

  • Total award amount divided by the number of days in the semester times the number of days you attended (not including scheduled breaks)

Repayment Example

A student received a Pell Grant for $2,366 for full-time enrollment (12 credit hours). The student's tuition, fees, and book charges for the term totaled $1,390. The student then withdrew from all of his courses on the 38th day of the term. The length of the term totaled 105 days, so the student completed 38 of 105 calendar days.

Percentage of Earned Title IV Aid38 / 105 total days36.2%
Original Pell Grant Awarded $2,366
Amount of Earned Title IV Aid$2,366 x 36.2% =$856.49
Amount of Unearned Title IV Aid (to be returned)$2,366 - $856.49 =$1,509.51
Institutional Charges Incurred by the Student $1,390.00
Percentage of Unearned Title IV Aid100% - 36.2% =63.8%
Institutional Unearned Charges$1,390 x 63.8% =$886.82
Amount of Pell Grant Amount Owed by CCD $886.82
Amount Student Must Repay to CCD $886.82
Unearned Aid - (minus) CCD Unearned Charges$1,509.51 - $886.82 =$622.69
Title IV Grant Protection$2,366 x 50% =$1,183.00
Additional Amount Student Must Repay Dept of Ed.$622.69 - $1183.00 =$0 (negative amount = 0)

The withdrawal date is determined by the date the student officially withdraws or the date of withdrawal notification from the student, whichever is later.  In instances where the student withdraws without providing official notification, the date of determination is the date that the school becomes aware that the student has ceased attendance. In most cases, this determination is made at the end of the term when an F grade is recorded for the class. A school must return unearned funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days from the determination of a student’s withdrawal.

Community College of Denver is not required to take attendance. No consideration is given for students who take a leave of absence.

Students may be eligible for a late or post-withdrawal disbursement if they have accepted aid that did not disburse at the time of withdrawal from Community College of Denver.

The Financial Aid Office will send a notification if a student receives any of the “earned” Federal Student Aid.

All Federal Grant aid will be automatically paid into the student’s account. Post-withdrawal disbursements of Federal Pell Grant cannot be made after 180 days of the date of determination that a student withdrew or ceased attending.

If a student’s post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, CCD must get student’s permission before it can disburse them. The student may choose to accept or decline a portion, or all, of the late disbursement. The student has 14 days to respond instructing the Financial Aid Office to make a post-withdrawal disbursement.