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Refunds and Withdrawals

To qualify for a refund, a student must formally withdraw or be granted an emergency leave of absence from the College by the Dean of Students (see Leave of Absence). A student withdrawing or on an approved leave of absence from Cornell, after having been approved by the Dean of Students, may be allowed a tuition credit. If a student withdraws or is given an approved leave of absence from the College after the first three (3) days of the block, the student is charged for the entire block. The exit date will be the last day of that particular block and not necessarily the last date the student went to class or the day the student initiated the withdrawal or leave of absence process.



Cornell College Refund and Repayment Policy
Cornell College has adopted a Refund and Repayment Policy that conforms to Section 668.22 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1988.

A student who withdraws before the 60% point in the semester will receive a tuition refund. The amount of the refund is based on the percentage of the semester that has not been completed (the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester). Financial assistance will be refunded to the respective sources (federal, state, and institutional) using these same percentages. Stated simply, a student who withdraws after completing 20% of the semester will be charged 20% of tuition charges and would retain 20% of his or her financial assistance. Examples of the application of the Repayment Policy are available upon request at the Financial Assistance Office.

If funds have been released to the student because of a credit balance on the student's account at Cornell College, the student may be required to repay some or all of the federal, state, or institutional aid released to the student.

Refunds follow the federally mandated refund hierarchy as follows: Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Subsidized Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, other Title IV assistance, other federal assistance, state-funded assistance, Cornell College financial assistance, other assistance, and the student.

A non-refundable enrollment deposit is paid when a student is admitted and decides to attend Cornell. Once a student enrolls, the College retains the deposit until graduation or until the student officially withdraws from the College. At the time of graduation or withdrawal during the academic year, the deposit, less any amount owed to the College, is refunded to the student. An enrolled student, who finishes the academic year but chooses not to return the following fall, must notify the Dean of Students Office by June 15, or the deposit will be forfeited.

For refund purposes a semester is defined here as Terms 1-4 (September-December) and Terms 5-8 (January-April). Semesters consist of 16 weeks each.

Full settlement of accounts is due before an academic transcript will be released.

This policy is subject to federal regulations administered by the Department of Education. Contact the Financial Assistance Office for details and to learn of any changes to this policy. Changes in enrollment status from full-time to part-time will affect your financial assistance; financial assistance is proportional to institutional charges. Please contact the Financial Assistance Office to discuss individual circumstances.



Residence, Dining, and Activity Fee
Residence refunds are calculated based upon the date that the student checks out with the Residence Life staff and the room is vacated. Percentages of residence charges refunded are as follows:

During the Percentage of
Following Weeks Residence Charges
of the Semester Refunded

Through the third    
day of class   100%
1-2   50
3-4   40
5-6   30
7-8   20
9 or greater   0

Dining charges will be refunded on a pro-rated basis from the Monday following the date the student checks out with the Residence Life staff. After the semester begins, there is no refund of the Student Activity Fee.

Those students on a deferred payment plan may have additional payments to make. The College reserves the right to exclude, at any time, students whose conduct makes them undesirable members of the Cornell community.

A student whose account is credited with more funds than are owed to Cornell will receive a check for the amount of the credit balance, once the check has been requested from the Business Office. Refunds are not available until the term begins.



Meal Refunds for Approved Off-Campus Courses
The College will refund a portion of the amount charged for meals in a particular term to any student who completes a Cornell-sponsored off-campus internship, field course, independent or Special Study, etc., provided that the student (1) petitions for this refund through the Registrar's Office at least seven class days before the start of the off-campus course, and (2) does not eat any meals on campus (except those for which the student pays directly) during the three and one-half weeks of the term. Students may begin taking meals again Wednesday evening of the fourth week. A student who obtains a meal at Cornell without paying for it during the period for which he or she is requesting a refund will be charged for the full term and will forfeit the refund. The off-campus program requires the student to be away from campus during the time meals are served.

For short field trips, box meals can be obtained from the College Food Service if the instructor notifies the Director of Food Service in writing at least four days in advance. Students with special schedules should consult the Food Service Director for possible assistance in arranging their meals.

Please confer with the appropriate faculty member for policies related to off-campus charges, meal refunds, etc., (also available from the Business or Registrar's Office).



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