Disbursement and Refunds: Understanding the Difference
It is important to understand the difference between a disbursement and a refund.
What is a Disbursement?
A disbursement occurs when your eligible financial aid funds are applied to your student account as payment for tuition and fees. You can view these payments in your myLC portal.
What is a Refund?
A refund is any remaining financial aid money left after your tuition and fees have been paid. Refunds are typically issued after the official Date of Record (Census Day) and are generally received within two weeks of that date.
Refund Process
Financial aid refunds cannot be released until after the official Date of Record (Census Day), which occurs 12 class days after the start of a standard semester. This is the point at which students begin earning their financial aid by attending classes.
Please note that Late-Start courses have different Date of Record (DOR) deadlines than standard semester courses.
All students must complete their student permissions. https://www.lee.edu/financialaid/files/how-to-grant-student-permissions.pdf
Disbursement and Refund Timeline
Grants and Scholarships
- Pell Grant awards are disbursed based on your enrolled credit hours.*
- Financial aid funds are first applied to your tuition and fees.
- If your financial aid covers your tuition and fees in full, your classes will not be dropped.
If your grants and scholarships do not cover your entire balance, you may need to:
- Set up a payment plan, or
- Explore additional funding options, such as student loans.
If you have accepted student loans and are enrolled in at least 6 credit hours, your classes will not be dropped.**
When Will I Receive My Refund?
The refund process for grants and scholarships begins the day after the Date of Record (Census Day). Please allow up to two weeks for your refund to be delivered.
Several factors may affect the amount of aid you receive and the timing of your disbursement or refund, including:
- Enrollment in courses with different start dates
- Schedule changes
- Adding or dropping classes
- Withdrawing from classes
- Resigning from the semester after classes begin
Multiple Start Dates
If you are enrolled in courses with different start dates, your financial aid disbursement and refund eligibility will be determined based on the applicable Date of Record for each course and your enrollment status at that time.
*Pell Grant eligibility and award amounts are based on enrollment status and other federal aid requirements.
**Loan eligibility and enrollment requirements must be met for funds to protect your courses from being dropped.
Loans
Student loan processing will begin after the Date of Record (Census Day) and after all federal eligibility requirements have been confirmed. Please allow up to two to four weeks after the Date of Record/Census Day for funds to be processed and any eligible refund to be issued.
Beginning with OB3 implementation, loan eligibility and disbursement are based on enrollment and attendance verification. Students must be enrolled and actively attending eligible coursework required for their program of study before loans can be disbursed. The final loan amount applied to your account must be reviewed and adjusted based on the number of credit hours you are registered for. Loan processing and refunds from loans may take longer due to the updated federal requirements mandated by the OB3 Bill.
www.lee.edu/financialaid/obbba-faq/
Registering for classes with different start dates may delay loan disbursement and refunds. For example, if you are enrolled in six credit hours consisting of one regular-term class and one late-start class, your loans cannot be disbursed until attendance is verified in the late-start class.
All loan requirements must be completed before loan funds can be disbursed.
- Accept your loan offer in myLC Campus under Accept/Decline Award.
- Be enrolled and actively attending at least six eligible credit hours required for your degree or certificate program.
- Complete the following:
Factors That May Affect Your Loan Disbursement
- SCHEDULE CHANGES: Adding or changing to later-start classes may change your loan disbursement date. Contact the Financial Aid Office for details.
- WITHDRAWALS: Withdrawing from classes may affect your eligibility for financial aid. All aid will be reviewed, and eligibility may need to be recalculated before funds can be released.
- ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION: Under OB3 requirements, attendance must be verified in all applicable courses before loan funds can be disbursed.
- LOAN REQUIREMENTS: All federal loan requirements listed above must be completed before disbursement can occur.