Refund of Tuition and Fees

Student will receive a full refund of tuition and fees if the College cancels a course.

Refund of Tuition Only

Please refer to the Academic Calendar or the website for refund deadlines. Requests for refunds of tuition must be directed to the Registrar’s Office by mail, e-mail (registrar@trcc.commnet.edu) or fax (860-886-6670). Students should retain a confirmation receipt for their records.

Withdrawal and reduced course load requests may also be made in person at the Registrar’s office during normal business hours.

Note: College Service and Student Activity fees are not refundable unless the college cancels the course.

Fall and Spring Full Semester Courses

• Students who drop courses prior to the term or up until the 7th day of the term having elapsed (i.e. 10% of the term) will be entitled to a 100% refund of tuition and fees.

• Students who drop subsequently to the 7th day of the term but prior to the 21st day of the term having elapsed will be entitled to a 100% refund of tuition and fees less a “late drop” fee assessed at $50 per dropped course.

• Students who withdraw subsequently to the 21st day of the term having elapsed will be charged 100% of all tuition and fees.

Fall and Spring Module Courses

Students wishing to drop from modular courses with beginning and ending dates which do not correspond to the full semester schedule are required to direct their request to the Registrar’s Office. This must be done prior to the first scheduled class meeting in order to receive a 100% refund of tuition. A 50% refund of tuition will be granted if written notice is received according to the following schedule:

1 week module – within the first day of the module
5 week module – within the first 5 calendar days of the module
6 week module – within the first 6 calendar days of the module
7 week module – within the first 7 calendar days of the module
8 week module – within the first 8 calendar days of the module

Reduction in Course Load

For a reduction in course load which occurs on the first day of classes and through the fourteenth calendar day of that semester, 50% of the difference of the tuition applicable to the original and revised schedule will be refunded.

Reduction in Course Load for Financial Aid Students

Financial Aid students who reduce their course load will incur the same costs as non-financial aid students, but these costs and credits are not included in determining their financial aid amount. Awards are based on the number of credits the student is registered for at the conclusion of the add/drop period. Please contact the Financial Aid office if you have any questions.

Note: financial aid students who withdraw from summer courses subsequently to 20% of the abbreviated term having elapsed but prior to the summer financial aid census date may be charged 100% of tuition and fees for those courses with no corresponding/offsetting summer financial aid disbursement.

Summer and Winter Session Courses Supported by the Educational Extension Fund

Students who wish to drop all registered summer or winter session courses shall direct their written requests for course drops and refunds to the Registrar’s Office. One hundred percent of tuition will be refunded if notice is received prior to 4:00 p.m. on the day preceding the first scheduled class meeting (requests must be received by 4:00 p.m. Friday for courses that meet first on Monday). No refund of tuition will be granted if the notice is received on or after the first day of class.

Refund Exceptions

A 100% refund of tuition and fees is granted to students who enter the armed services before earning degree credit for that semester. In this case, notice and a certified copy of enlistment papers must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

Exceptions to the tuition refund policy due to extenuating or extraordinary circumstances will be considered by submitting a Refund Appeal Form. The form includes instructions for submitting the appeal.

Timeframe to Appeal

Appeals are expected to be submitted within the term for which the appeal is being made.

Appeals Committee

To provide consistency in decision-making, a Refund Appeals Committee from Connecticut State Community College (a subdivision of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities System Office) will make all appeal decisions in a timely manner upon review of the appeal form and any applicable documentation.

The Committee will respond to the student within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the request. A written response will notify the student of the outcome.

Repayment Policy for all Federal Aid Recipients

Effective October 2000, regulations governing the administration of Federal Title IV Financial Aid Funds (i.e. Perkins Loan, Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Family Educational Loan Program) have changed significantly. All students receiving this federal student aid who withdraw or stop attending all classes prior to the 60% point of the semester will be required to return and repay a portion of this funding.

In case of early withdrawal, the college is required to recalculate that student’s financial aid eligibility and determine what percentage of federal aid has been earned based on the date of the student’s withdrawal. (This percentage is directly proportional to the number of calendar days attended by the student divided by the number of calendar days in the semester.) Any “unearned” federal aid must be returned as follows:

• Any “unearned” federal aid collected by the college for student tuition and fees: These funds must be returned in total to the Federal Government. The student will then become liable to the college for this amount and will be billed accordingly.
• Any “unearned” federal aid paid directly to the student or on the student’s behalf (bookstore charges, daycare, transportation, etc.): 50% of this debt will be forgiven, but the remaining 50% must be repaid to the Federal Government by the student within 45 days.

Since these Federal Title IV Regulations must be strictly enforced, all participating students are urged to take the following action to prevent potential problems in this area:

• Work closely with the Financial Aid Office to understand their rights and responsibilities under the new regulations.
• Work closely with their academic advisor in selecting courses and determining reasonable academic loads for each semester.
• Consider the demands of work and family when deciding how many courses to take.
• Attend classes and maintain satisfactory academic progress as required. Failure to attend classes and to comply with these financial aid regulations will permanently jeopardize future eligibility for federal assistance.

Non-Participation (Academic Engagement)

The community colleges are required to verify the academic engagement of each student in each registered course by demonstrating “academic attendance” or an “academically-related activity” for Title IV purposes. This must be completed prior to the predetermined census date of each traditional semester, as well as during periods of enrollment shorter than the traditional 15-week semester (i.e., summer terms and other abbreviated terms).

Students who are determined to have not academically engaged in a period of enrollment leading up to census shall be assigned a registration status of “Never Participated (NP)” for each affected course. Students with the NP designation will be dropped from the course(s) they have not participated in and will be assessed a Late Drop Fee of $50 for each affected course as outlined in BOR policy 3.7.

Residency Requirement

To be entitled to the in-state tuition rates, established for Connecticut residents, a student must have resided in Connecticut for the past 12 months.

A student may also be eligible for in-state or New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) tuition rates if they meet one or more of the guidelines described on the Declaration of Eligibility for In-State or NEBHE Tuition Rate form. Contact the Admissions Office for a copy of the form and determination of eligibility.

Detailed information about qualifying as an in-state or out-of-state student for tuition purposes, can also be found at  http://www.ct.edu/admission/tuition.