General Refund Policy - Northeast State will refund a portion of the maintenance and out-of-state tuition to any student who officially drops, withdraws, or is dismissed from a course(s) within the drop/withdrawal deadline. The official withdrawal date for calculating refunds will be based on the date the withdrawal form is recorded electronically in the student registration history. Refer to the Academic Calendar for specific refund periods. Refund amounts and adjustments will be calculated per the following provisions. Adjustments to all fees and charges must be in accordance with the following provisions or when required by federal law or regulation to be otherwise.

Note: Refunds are calculated on maintenance fees and tuition fees only. All other fees, including TN eCampus online fees, are non-refundable.

Student must be completely withdrawn from the course(s) before an appeal can be considered. If the student is still enrolled the late withdrawal process should be completed before an appeal is submitted to the Business office. To appeal for late withdrawal please contact the Advising Resource Center at 423.323.0214.

Refund Appeals Process - Students may appeal a refund by submitting a refund appeal form to the Business Office. The following procedures shall be followed:

1. Students may appeal for a refund by submitting a Refund Appeal Form along with appropriate documentation to the Business Office. Students must file a refund appeal request two (2) years from the last date of attendance. The student will be notified in writing of the decision within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written appeal request.
2. Students must officially drop/withdraw from the term or courses that are being appealed before the appeal can be considered.
3. The student may appeal the decision of the Business Office by submitting a written request to the Vice President for Finance and Information Technology. The student will be notified in writing of the decision within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written appeal request.
4. Withdrawals for other reasons will be subject to the standard 75%/25% refund policy of the college.

Refund appeals will be considered in the following exceptions to the normal refund policies:

1. The student is forced to withdraw from school because of a change in work schedule confirmed in writing by the student’s employer on the employer’s letterhead.
2. The student is forced to withdraw from school because of personal medical reasons. Withdrawals or reductions in course load due to personal illness/injury require a statement from a licensed medical physician stating withdrawal was necessary due to the health of the student. Copies of medical records are not necessary.
3. The student is forced to withdraw from school because of serious and lengthy illness of a member of the student’s family when the student is the primary caregiver. The family medical reason must be confirmed in writing by a licensed physician to include a statement that the family member needs a caregiver. Copies of medical records are not necessary.
4. The student is forced to withdraw from school because of the death of an immediate family member and will need to be verified with a copy of the obituary.

Return of Title IV Funds - Refund of fees for students who receive assistance from Title IV financial aid programs are returned to each fund in accordance with applicable federal regulations when students totally withdraw or stop attending all classes at Northeast State. Return of Title IV Funds policies that apply to students who receive assistance under Title IV financial aid programs can be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid.

Eligibility for Deferment of Payment of Tuition and Fees by certain eligible students - Certain eligible students receiving U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or other governmentally funded educational assistance benefits may be eligible for a deferment of payment of tuition and fees. Service members, veterans, and dependents of veterans who are eligible beneficiaries of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits or other governmentally funded educational assistance, subject to the conditions and guidelines set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated 49-7-104 as amended, may elect, upon formal application, to defer payment of required tuition and fees until the final day of the term for which the deferment has been requested. Application for the deferment must be made no later than 14 days after the beginning of the term, and the amount of the deferment shall not exceed the total monetary benefits to be received for the term. Students who have been granted deferments are expected to make timely payments on their outstanding tuition and fees balance once education benefits are being delivered, and eligibility for such deferment shall terminate if the student fails to abide by any applicable rule or regulation or to act in good faith in making timely payments. This notice is published pursuant to Public Chapter 279, Acts of 2003, effective July 1, 2003.

Policy 03:11:00 Covered Military-Affiliated Students’ Right to Attend

Section 103 of Public Law 115-407, the Veterans Benefits Transition Act of 2018, prohibits denial of access and/or other penalties against recipients of Post 9/11 GI Bill^® benefits or Veterans Readiness and Employment benefits. Effective August 1, 2019, any individual who is entitled to educational assistance under Chapter 31, Veterans Readiness and Employment, or Chapter 33, Post 9/11 GI Bill^® benefits, must be permitted to attend or participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to Northeast State Community College a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under the aforementioned and ending on the earlier of the following dates:

The date on which payment from Veterans Affairs (VA) is made to the College, or

90 days after the date Northeast State certified tuition and fees following the receipt of the certificate of eligibility.

Northeast State will not impose any penalty (including the assessment of late fees; the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities; or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds) on any covered individual because of the individual’s inability to meet his or her financial obligations to Northeast State due to the delayed disbursement funding from VA under Chapter 31 or 33. Penalties can be imposed after the first of the two above-mentioned dates passes.

Covered individuals may also be required to provide additional information to Northeast State’s School Certifying Official(s) such as a Certificate of Eligibility, DD Form 214, or proof of the Transfer of Entitlement request and/or other related documents.