Financial Aid Enrollment Requirements
Requirement to attend classes
You must be currently attending classes to receive financial aid and any refund. If
you do not attend your classes or if you drop all of your classes during the add/drop
period, you will not receive a refund for any remaining balance on your account. These
funds will be returned to the appropriate financial aid programs. |
Requirement to retain at least 6 credit hours per semester
If you are receiving Subsidized or Unsubsidized Direct Loans, you must retain at least
half-time student status. This means at least 6 credit hours per semester. You will
lose your financial aid eligibility and will not receive any funds if your attendance
drops below half-time status during the add/drop period or before funds are disbursed
to your student account. |
Right to cancel your loan within 14 days
If you are receiving a Direct Loan(s), you have the right to cancel all or a portion
of your loan(s) within 14 days of receiving the funding. If you are interested in
canceling all or a portion of your Direct Loan(s), please put your specific request
in writing and contact the Office of Financial Aid. You will need to return any funds
received. |
Your financial aid award, minus your semester charges, is your refund
Financial aid will post financial aid funds to your account after the start date for
each course. Courses taught in modules/less than 15 weeks will have aid disbursed
according to the start date of the courses. |
30-Day student loan borrower delay
If you are a student loan borrower, you will have a 30-day delay, and loan funds will
not be posted to your account until that time. (see refund schedule). Students must
be enrolled for at least six credits to receive a loan.
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Review your student account information
If you have questions about how your charges or refund were calculated or would like
to review all of your student account information, login to the MyOCC Self-Service Account Summary
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Financial Aid for Tuition and Fees
When you receive a financial aid award offer from OCC, the amount is for the whole
school year. You get half for fall semester and half for winter semester. Each semester,
we start by applying your financial aid toward your tuition and fees. This happens
automatically. You can figure out how much financial aid remains with simple math.
Let’s say you:
Financial Aid for Books and Supplies
If you have financial aid remaining after paying your tuition and fees, as in the
example, you receive an electronic book voucher for the OCC Bookstore. It’s an online, real-time account that you can use to buy books and supplies. You
can spend up to $1,200 in financial aid money at the bookstore each semester. Besides
using the money to buy books and supplies, you can buy one laptop computer or other
electronic device each academic year.
Your Financial Aid Refund
In our example, you have $554 in financial aid left after you pay for tuition, fees,
books, and supplies. You get this money to spend on other educational expenses: gas
for your car, rent for your apartment, and so forth.
You receive this money – called a financial aid refund – about three weeks after the
semester begins. To get it fastest, sign up for direct deposit in MyOCC. After you log in, click on Banking Information and enter details for your checking or savings account. Otherwise, we send a paper
check to the address we have for you. An exception occurs if you take courses that
start after the semester begins and last less than 15 weeks. Since refunds are based
on course start dates, if you take a full-semester course and one that lasts less
than 15 weeks, your refund may be divided into two payments that you receive at different
times.
To get your refund fastest, sign up for direct deposit in MyOCC. After you log in, click on Banking Information and enter details for your checking or savings account. Otherwise, we send a paper
check to the address we have for you.
Return of Federal (Title IV) Funds
Financial assistance recipients MUST notify Student Financial Resources and Scholarships
immediately when there is a change in enrollment status.
If you are receiving Title IV aid and you withdraw from all classes before completing
60% of the term, OCC's Office of Student Financial Resources and Scholarships is required
to determine how much financial aid has been earned up to the date of withdrawal.
Unearned Title IV funds must be returned by OCC and you (depending on the calculation)
to the federal government.
Once you are enrolled for more than 60% of the semester, you have earned federal financial
assistance. If you withdraw from all of your classes prior to 60% of the semester,
your financial assistance will be recalculated based on the percentage of the term
completed. |
Order of Return of Federal Funds
Funds must be returned to the following federal programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loans (other than PLUS loans)
- Subsidized Direct Stafford loans
- Federal Perkins Loans
- Federal PLUS loans
- Direct PLUS loans
- Federal Pell Grants for which a Return is required
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) for which a return of
funds is required
- Federal TEACH Grants for which a Return is required
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant for which a Return is required
A financial assistance award may be reduced or cancelled if you receive an "N" mark
for a class or classes, and you will be responsible for any outstanding balance owed
to the federal government and to OCC. If you don’t pay the amount owed, you will be
ineligible for further financial assistance from any postsecondary institution that
participates in the Title IV (federal) financial aid programs.
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