Financial Aid Disbursement Information
After a student receives a Financial Aid Award Notification Email from the COD Financial Aid Office, the student can expect to receive his/her financial aid funds in the form of either a paper check that is mailed to the student’s current address on file with the Admissions and Records Office or via direct deposit which can be setup thru WebAdvisor.
Please note that all disbursement dates listed below are approximate and subject to change. Paper checks will not be mailed until the dates noted below at the earliest.
PELL Grant award amounts are divided in half and will be disbursed with one part being issued at the beginning of the semester and the second half near the halfway point of the semester. If a student adds or drops classes after receiving their first Pell Grant disbursement, the second payment (4/18/12 for Spring 2012) will be adjusted accordingly. Pell Grant disbursements are processed every other week on the dates indicated below.
Cal Grant checks are disbursed in one payment per semester. These checks will be issued on the first disbursement date of each month beginning with the second month of the semester (March 9th for Spring 2012) and afterwards on the dates scheduled below.
SEOG disbursements are processed in one payment per semester. These payments are usually issued with the Pell Grant disbursements and are processed beginning with the 2nd half Pell Grant disbursement listed below on 4/18/12.
Direct Loan (student) disbursements are issued along with Pell Grants on the dates noted below beginning with 2/10/12 for the Spring 2012 semester for returning borrowers. Loan checks are available for pickup in the Bursar's Office. Students will need to first pickup their Loan Release Form from the Financial Aid Office. Proper ID is required prior to picking up loan checks.
First-time borrowers at COD will need to wait 30 days before their Direct Loan disbursement is made. Checks for first-time borrowers at COD will first be available on the 3/8/12 check run for the Spring 2012 semester. Students will need to make sure that all of their paperwork is completed with the Financial Aid Office prior to their Direct Loan being processed. Please contact the Financial Aid Office regarding the steps to apply for a Direct Loan.
Scholarship checks will be available beginning the first day of classes in the Bursar's Office. Students will need to first pickup their Scholarship Check Release Forms from the Financial Aid Office. Proper ID is required prior to picking up scholarship checks.
For students whose financial aid files were incomplete at the beginning of the school year, payments will be issued in accordance with the disbursement schedule listed above and the approximate dates below.
2011 FALL SEMESTER 2012 SPRING SEMESTER
9/6/11 2/6/12
9/9/11 2/10/12
9/23/11 3/9/12
10/7/11 3/23/12
10/21/11
2nd half of Pell Grant disbursement will be issued ð 11/9/11 ð 4/18/12
11/23/11 5/4/12
12/9/11 5/18/12
12/16/11 5/25/12
Repayment of Funds
If you are thinking of withdrawing from all of your classes or just leaving school… please, think again!
Federal law states that if you completely withdraw from all of your classes before completing 60% of the semester (before November 4, 2011 for the Fall semester and before April 12, 2012 for the Spring semester) you may be required to pay back financial aid monies that you received. Based on the date you withdraw from all of your classes, the college must calculate the amount of financial aid you received that you “actually” earned and the amount you must pay back. Please note that all money received in the form of Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity (SEOG) Grants and/or Direct Loans will be subject to repayment requirements.
Immediately see a COD counselor or an academic advisor and discuss your reasons for completely withdrawing from college. Perhaps you can stay, but take fewer courses. Maybe there are services (like tutoring or personal support) that will help you remain in school. Talk to your professors; see what advice they can offer you. But, if you must leave school, take care of business before you go!
Before you begin the withdrawal process, go to the Financial Aid Office immediately in order to determine if you will owe money and if so, how much you will owe and how you will have to repay the amount that you owe. If you do owe money, work with the Business Office. You can arrange for regular payments to be made with either the college or federal government without losing your student aid eligibility. As such, it is important to take care of the details before you permanently leave school. If you owe money and leave college without taking care of this business, the Financial Aid Office will have to put a national HOLD on your student financial aid eligibility. This means that ALL colleges that administer federal student financial aid will have information about your grant overpayment and that you owe money back to the federal government. You cannot receive any additional financial aid until this debt is repaid.
