When a Gadsden State student drops a class, a class is deleted or a student completely withdraws, the College system adjusts the student account and processes a check for the refund amount due. Checks are processed weekly. A refund may be issued only if a student has a refundable credit balance on their account.
If a student drops one of their classes before the official first day of classes or during the add/drop period and they are still registered for other classes in the semester, a full refund is due for the class dropped. If a student drops one of their classes after the add/drop period, no refund is due.
If a student officially withdraws from all of their classes before the first official day of classes or during the below given weeks, the following refund of tuition will be made:
- Withdrawal prior to the first official day of classes – 100% refund
- Withdrawal during the first week of classes – 75% net tuition*
- Withdrawal during the second week of classes – 50% net tuition
- Withdrawal during the third week of classes – 25% net tuition
- Withdrawal after the end of the third week of classes – No refund
*Net tuition is tuition minus a 5% administrative fee
This refund policy applies to a 16-week semester. Refunds of tuition for terms of less than 16 weeks, such as the Mini Terms, will reflect a prorated week based on the number of days in the term.
The official first day of classes is indicated on the college calendar as the day that classes begin. This day may not be the first day on which all classes begin.
If a student is participating in a financial aid program and officially or unofficially completely withdraws, the student must repay that program a portion of any refund received from GSCC. The Financial Aid Administrator can be contacted for more information concerning this policy.
Students who officially withdraw from the dormitory after the semester begins are entitled to a refund on the same basis as complete withdrawals.
A student may carry a negative balance on their account during the time they are registered at the college. If the student is not registered for a semester by the end of the add/drop period, and they have a negative balance on their account, a refund will be processed in the amount of the negative balance.
Exceptions to the refund policy are:
- If the College deletes one or more of a student's classes, the student is due a refund of tuition.
- Alabama National Guard and Reservists called to active duty in a time of national crisis shall receive a full-tuition refund.
- The College President has the authority to make exceptions to the refund policy in the event of the death of a student or of a family member or other catastrophic event requiring the student to leave the institution.
REFUND CHECK INFORMATION
If a student paid their fees by check, the College must wait a three-week period of time before issuing a refund check in order to insure that the check has cleared the bank. If a student's fees are paid by scholarship, the scholarship will receive the refund.
Any tuition, fees, fines or penalties owed by the student are deducted from the student's refund amount. Refund checks are mailed to the student's mailing address in OneACCS.
Student refund checks expire after 90 days. If a student refund check expires, the College will attempt to get the funds to the student. If the College is unable to get the funds to the student, the College may forward the funds to State of Alabama Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Property. If the funds are financial aid, the funds may be returned to the financial aid source.