Withdrawal and Leave of Absence
Each student must officially withdraw by completing a Leave of Absence/Withdrawal form with the Enrollment Services Office. Financial aid is NOT available for non-credit internship terms or other terms during which you are not considered enrolled at ArtCenter. Withdrawals done after the term begins will result in tuition charges and adjustments to your financial aid, which could result in a tuition balance owed.
Withdrawing During the Term
The federal government mandates that students who withdraw from the term after beginning classes but before completing 60 percent of the term will have their eligibility for federal aid recalculated based on the percentage of the term completed. For example, a student who withdraws after completing 30 percent (at ArtCenter, 30 days) of the term will keep 30 percent of his federal aid (Pell Grant, SEOG, Direct Loans, Perkins Loans). The remainder will be returned to the financial aid programs. Please note that this policy is different from the tuition forgiveness policy; depending on the date of withdrawal and type of aid received, the student may owe a substantial balance to the College. Cal Grants and ArtCenter Scholarships will be refunded to the programs based on the institutional Tuition Forgiveness policy. For example, if the school refunds 60 percent of tuition, 60 percent of scholarship will be returned to the scholarship fund and 60 percent of the Cal Grant will be returned to the California Student Aid Commission.
Withdrawal & Leave of Absence
All students who wish to take a term off or withdraw from ArtCenter need to file a Withdrawal Form in the Enrollment Services Office. Once the Financial Aid Office receives the information, the student's offer letter will be revised. Financial aid is not available during a term when you are not enrolled at ArtCenter; all loans will be canceled and/or returned to the lender. All other aid will be returned to the appropriate programs.
Tuition Forgiveness
When a student withdraws from all classes during the first five weeks of the term, the Accounting Office will issue a tuition refund. During week 1, a full refund of tuition will be Issued and a fee of $500 will be charged. For weeks 2 through 5, the Accounting Office will issue a partial refund ranging from 80 percent in week 2 to 20 percent in week 5. After the end of week 5, no tuition refunds will be processed. For further information, please check with the Accounting Office. Please see Tuition Forgiveness for more information about deadlines and tuition forgiveness.
Unofficial Withdrawal
If official notification is not provided by the student because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, the date the school determines is related to the circumstance beyond the student’s control will be used.
In all other instances where a student withdraws without providing official notification, the midpoint of the payment period (enrollment period) will be used, unless Enrollment Services has determined that the student never attended.
If the student has an “N” for all courses, Enrollment Services has determined that the student did not attend any classes. The student will be required to return all financial aid funds that have been disbursed.
Important Reminders
Cal Grant
The Financial Aid Office will notify CSAC (Cal Grant) of your enrollment status automatically.
Leaves of absence may not exceed a total of three (3) terms. This includes any terms you may have been on leave before using your grant. It is your responsibility to keep track of your Leave of Absence and Academic terms.
Loans
You are not eligible to receive Federal Loan funds when you are not enrolled (taking an entire term off). Funds will be canceled and/or returned to your lender.
If you have completed a Master Promissory Note, subsequent loans will be processed automatically upon your return/enrollment as offered on your most current offer letter.
Part-time students (ACL) MUST BE enrolled at least half-time (at least 6 units) to both be eligible for loans and to be considered as in-school status.
If you take 2 terms off consecutively, you will be reported as out of school as of your last date of attendance. Federal regulations allow for only a 6-month grace period before repayment starts. There is no grace period for Consolidation loans.
Scholarship
You may take terms off after being offered a scholarship but may not take three consecutive terms. A non-credit Internship is considered a term off.
You may apply for Continuing Scholarship Review while you are off. It is your responsibility to submit your portfolio on the date of your review, and make sure your financial aid paperwork is current.