Rights and Responsibilities

You may review all the rights, responsibilities and general information online.

College of the Desert reserves the right to review, adjust or cancel financial aid awards at any time due to changes in federal, state, or COD availability of funds.

You are responsible for paying registration fees if you do not receive financial aid to cover your institutional charges in full. Failure to pay your remaining balance on time may result in being dropped from your courses and/or inability to register for future terms.

You are responsible for being admitted to a degree or certificate program that is eligible for financial aid funds. Certificate programs less-than 16 units and adult basic education are ineligible to receive financial aid.

Your financial aid offer will be void and/or cancelled if it is based on any error in determining eligibility for aid whether you or the Financial Aid Office made the error.

Your award may be adjusted or cancelled due to changes in financial aid need, new aid received after you have been initially awarded, unit enrollment at census, state residency, dependency, marital or academic status, or failure to comply with state, federal and institutional regulations.

Your eligibility for financial aid programs is contingent upon your meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies.

The amount of financial aid you are eligible to receive is based on your unit enrollment.

If your financial aid is greater than your total fees, the Business Office will disburse the excess funds based on the refund method you selected.

If you stop attending a class, you are responsible for withdrawing with the Admissions and Records Office. Withdrawal from one or more courses may result in cancellation or repayment all or part of your aid.

If you withdraw from COD, any fee refund due may be returned to the appropriate financial aid program.

Regulations governing financial aid are subject to change at any time without notice.

If you will not attend COD, you must drop all classes through Self-Service by the last day to drop full-term classes and qualify for a refund (see Class Schedule), or you will be liable for your fees. After the first day of the semester, you must go through the withdrawal process with the Admissions and Records Office. A student who withdraws during the semester and has received financial aid may be required to repay the funds received.

Receipt of federal, state or institutional aid authorizes College of the Desert (COD) to apply your financial aid disbursement(s) to pay for your institutional fees and other educationally related charges. This authorization will remain in effect through your entire period of enrollment at the College. You may rescind this authorization at any time by contacting the Financial Aid Office. Federal regulations allow the college to apply a student’s financial aid automatically to his/her account for allowable institutional charges, such as tuition and fees.


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