Refunds
Any debt owed to the college is deducted before issuing a refund. LSC adheres to Federal regulations regarding refunds of federal financial aid funds for prior aid years.
LONE STAR COLLEGE'S PAYMENT SYSTEM HAS CHANGED!
To avoid delays in financial aid and payment refunds, students must re-enter their Direct Deposit information again. For additional information on the transition, go to LoneStar.edu/Payments-Transition.
- Am I Eligible to Receive a Refund?
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- Continuing Education
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Refunds are not provided after the class begins.
A full refund is provided if a drop/add form is completed and submitted to the continuing education registration office before the course starts.
- Credit Courses
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Students who drop a course or who totally withdraw before the first class day have their tuition and fees refunded except for the registration fee, the payment plan service fee, or the late fee, if applicable.
Students who drop a course or withdraw after the first calendar day of the semester will receive a partial tuition and fees refund except for the registration fee, the payment plan service fee, or the late fee, if applicable, in accordance with “Refund Amounts and Cut-Off Dates” below.
Note: Title IV (Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, Direct Loans) aid recipients are subject to a different policy upon complete withdrawal of classes. Please see “If Receiving Financial Aid” below.
- If Receiving Financial Aid
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Current Financial Aid Refunds Affected by Prior Year Delinquencies
The current term financial aid refunds may be reduced by up to $200 to recover a delinquent balance owed to Lone Star College in a prior financial aid award year. This recovery will post to your student account prior to the refunding of excess financial aid, and it will reduce the amount of the refund for the current term.
Financial Aid Refunds and Federal Return to Title IV (R2T4) Requirements
The issuance and acceptance of Title IV financial aid are contingent upon strict federal regulations, including how aid must be returned to the Department of Education if a student withdraws from classes. Once classes start, it is important that you carefully consider the consequences of withdrawing from your classes. Withdrawal may result in a partial or total loss of your financial aid. If this occurs, the amount of financial aid returned will post to your student account as a pull back, and you may owe Lone Star College the corresponding amount.The percentage of the term you complete will equal to the percentage of the Title IV assistance you are permitted to keep. The remaining award amount must be returned as prescribed by law.
LSC's financial aid office will notify you of the amount owed to the Department of Education (ED). You will be allowed 45 days to pay Lone Star College the full debt owed to ED. After the 45-day period, if the debt is not paid in full, it will be referred to the Department of Education for collection. Payment arrangements must be made with ED in order to maintain eligibility for Title IV funds. Once your Title IV refund amounts are determined, they will be refunded to the Title IV programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Stafford student loans
- Subsidized Stafford student loans
- Plus Loan program
- Pell Grant program
- Federal SEOG grant program
For more information, please click this link
- If Enrolled in a Payment Plan
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Students enrolled in a payment plan that drop after classes begin may be required to continue making payments to cover the costs of the remaining balance.
Students will not be refunded more than the amount paid towards their payment plans.
Please note payment plan administration fees are nonrefundable.
- Canceled or Discontinued Courses
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If the college cancels or discontinues a scheduled course, a 100% refund is granted.
- Refund Amounts and Cut-Off Dates(if eligible)
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Flex Entry and Non-Semester Length Courses
Prior to the first scheduled calendar session
100%
After classes begin, see drops and withdrawals chart.
Drops and Withdrawals
Length of Class Session in Weeks Last Day for 70% Refund Last Day for 25% Refund 2 Weeks or less
2nd day of session
N/A
3 weeks
3rd day of session
4th day of session
4 weeks
4th day of session
5th day of session
5 weeks
5th day of session
6th day of session
6 weeks
5th day of session
7th day of session
7 weeks
7th day of session
9th day of session
8 weeks
8th day of session
10th day of session
9 weeks
9th day of session
11th day of session
10 weeks
9th day of session
12th day of session
11 weeks
10th day of session
14th day of session
12 weeks
12th day of session
15th day of session
13 weeks
13h day of session
16th day of session
14 weeks
13th day of session
17th day of session
15 weeks
14th day of session
19th day of session
16 weeks or longer
15th day of session
20th day of session
- How Will I Get My Refund (if eligible)?
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If you originally paid using:
- Cash or Check
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If you have set up an eRefund account: Your refund will be electronically deposited.
If you have not set up an eRefund account: A check will be sent to your mailing address. Please allow an additional two weeks for delivery.
- Credit Card, Debit Card, Pre-Paid Card or Gift Card
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If you paid online: The refund will be applied towards the card(s) used for the original payment.
If you paid at a campus business office: A check may also be issued if you had paid with a credit card at a campus business office. Please allow an additional two weeks for delivery.
You are responsible for the interest charged to the credit card account while the refund is processed.
- Third-Party or Sponsor Payments
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Refunds are sent back to third-party sponsors.
Set up an electronic refund profile!
We highly recommend for all students to create an electronic refund profile. Steps to create an electronic refund profile can be found here as well as the tutorial video posted down below. Refund profiles should be created 24 hours prior to the refund date to ensure refunds are processed electronically. - When are Refunds Processed?
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- Continuing Education Refunds
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Processed two weeks after the Official Day of Record for the term.
- Financial Aid Refunds
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Fall & Spring
Two weeks after the Official Day of Record (ODR) and continuing weekly through the end of the term, distributed no later than each Friday afternoon.
Winter Mini
Follows the Spring semester refund schedule.
May-Mini
Follows the Summer semester refund schedule.
Summer
Two weeks after Official Day of Record (ODR) and continuing weekly through the end of the term, distributed no later than each Thursday afternoon.
For questions regarding the disbursement of your financial aid award, please contact Financial Aid at FACC@lonestar.ed. Additional contact information can be found here.
For questions regarding refunds, please contact your business office.
- Non-Financial Aid Refunds
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Fall & Spring
Approximately 18 days after the Official Day of Record (ODR) and continue weekly after that to the end of the current term.
Summer
Two weeks after ODR for the Summer I session and continues weekly thereafter to the end of the summer term.
- Return of Unearned Military Tuition Assistance (TA) Policy
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Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of TA funds originally awarded.
To comply with the new Department of Defense (DoD) policy, Lone Star College will return any unearned TA funds on a prorated basis through at least the 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided. TA funds are earned proportionally during an enrollment period, with unearned funds returned based upon when a student stops attending. These funds are returned to the military service branch. Instances when a service member stops attending due to a military service obligation, the educational institution will work with the affected service member to identify solutions that will not result in student debt for the returned portion.
After 60% of the semester has passed, TA will not be evaluated for a return to the DoD.
As an institution, the DoD will be billed after 60% of the semester has passed to reduce the amount of incorrect TA funds being disbursed by the DoD to Lone Star College. We will only bill for the amount the student earned given their enrollment.
The amount of unearned TA that is returned to the military service branch is based on the date of withdrawal from the course based on the following formula:
Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term.
For courses that have durations differing from those listed below:
Unearned TA funds will be returned on a prorated basis, depending on the length of the course. To determine the amount of TA funds that need to be returned, the institution will determine the date the withdrawal was submitted, and then divide that by the number of days in the term to determine the percentage of TA that was earned by the student.
Example: The student enrolled in a course with a duration of 30 days. The withdrawal was submitted on the 14th day. The institution would perform the calculation to determine how much TA was earned by the student’s attendance: (14 divided by 30 equals 46.6%. 47% of the TA authorized was earned by the student, which means 53% of what was authorized will be returned to the DOD).
Regular 16-Week Course (TA only)
Regular 16-Week Course Amount to Return Week 1 (Days 1-7) 94% Week 2 (Days 8-14) 87% Week 3 (Days 15-21) 81% Week 4 (Days 22-28) 75% Week 5 (Days 29-35) 69% Week 6 (Days 36-42) 62% Week 7 (Days 43-49) 56% Week 8 (Days 50-56) 50% Week 9 (Days 57-63) 44% Week 10 (Days 64-67) 60% of Course is Complete 40% 8-Week Course (TA Only)
8-Week Course Amount to Return Days 1-5 81% Days 6-10 82% Days 11-15 73% Days 16-20 50% Days 21-25 55% Days 26-30 46% Days 31-34 (60% of Course is Completed) 40% 6-Week Course (TA Only)
6-Week Course Amount to Return Days 1-4 90% Days 5-8 81% Days 9-12 71% Days 13-16 62% Days 17-20 52% Days 21-24 43% Days 25 (60% of Course is Completed) 40%