Refund Policy

Portland Community College (College) will comply with all applicable state and federal regulations governing the delivery of refunds on student accounts. The refund guidelines that follow are established to insure the ethical, professional, and timely delivery of student account refunds resulting from:

  • A direct payment by cash, check or credit card which exceeds the total charges on that account;
  • A financial aid disbursement that exceeds the allowable or authorized charges; or,
  • An overpayment of charges by a third party sponsor or scholarship donor.

I Scope

This policy is applicable to all College personnel, students, scholarship donors and third party sponsors.

II Issuance of Refunds

A. Processing Deadline and Amounts

Unless prohibited by law, any credit applied to a student account resulting from a removal of charges or overpayment will first be applied to any unpaid charges on that student account, even if payment of those charges is not yet due.

  • Automatic Refunds: Except as stated elsewhere in this policy (see Section VI A), refunds of credit balances that exceed the deminimus amount, as defined by the college, will be automatically processed and mailed within sixty (60) days of the date the credit occurs.
  • Requested Refunds: A student of record may also request the refund be issued in person, by mail or by phone.
    1. Mail Requests: Refunds will be sent to the most recent address on file.
    2. Phone Requests: The College will exercise due diligence in verifying that the requestor is the student of record.
  • Non-Standard Delivery Requests: A student of record may request to have his/her refund delivered to another person or location. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be approved only if the student provides a written request, and the identity of the individual submitting the request is verified as the student of record.
  • Change of Payee Prohibited: Except as otherwise provided in sections III C. and III D. of this policy, under no circumstance will a refund check be issued to anyone other than the student of record.

III Overpayment

A. Cash or Check

A credit balance resulting from a direct payment on a student account that exceeds the total of charges on that account will be refunded by check. If a credit balance on a student account is the result of an overpayment by check, the refund will be processed no sooner than two (2) weeks from the date the check was processed, except when there is independent bank verification the check has cleared.

B. Credit Card

A credit balance resulting from a direct payment on a student account which exceeds the total of charges on that account will be refunded directly to the credit card number used in payment.

C. Scholarship Donor

A credit balance resulting from a scholarship payment on a student account that exceeds the authorized charges on that account will be transferred to an account in the donor's name. The donor may provide specific written instructions to:

  • Refund the credit balance directly to the student; or,
  • Refund the overpayment to the donor immediately after the term. If no written instructions are received, the credit balance will be made available to the student for payment of authorized college expenses for two additional terms. If the funds are not used during that period, a refund check will be mailed directly to the donor.

D. Third Party Sponsor

A credit balance resulting from a third party sponsor payment on a student account which exceeds the authorized charges on that account will be immediately credited to an account in the third party's name. The credit balance will be first applied to any unpaid balance due on the third party's account; any excess will be refunded to the third party sponsor.

IV Acceptable Identification

To claim a refund check in person, the student must provide valid photo identification that has not expired. The College will accept a passport, Oregon Driver's License, Military Identification card, Alien Registration Receipt Card (with photograph) and photo identification cards issued by state or government agencies.

V Financial Aid Check Delivery

A. Delivery Requirements and Restrictions

In accordance with Title IV HEA Cash Management Regulations, delivery of financial aid awards of $1 or more must be made within fourteen (14) days of disbursement on a student account. The student may pick up his/her check in person at any campus business office for approximately one week following disbursement. If the student does not pick up the check, it will be mailed to his/her most recent address on file. The following guidelines apply to delivery of all financial aid checks.

  • Allowable charges as defined in the Federal Register 668.165(a)(3) for current or past terms within the same financial aid year, may be deducted from a student's award.
  • Non-allowable charges as defined in the Federal Register 668.165(a)(3) for current or past terms within the same financial aid year may be deducted from the award if the student has provided written authorization.
  • Financial aid awarded in a current financial aid year may be used to pay charges in a prior financial aid year if the charges are considered to be minor ($100 or less) and the student has given his/her verbal or written consent.
  • Financial aid awarded for a prior term may not be used to pay for charges incurred in a later term.

B. Additional Payments

In any given term, when a student account reflects payments from both financial aid and other sources

  • Those payments received from the other sources will be considered to be apply first to any non-allowable charges, and;
  • Any overpayment made by credit card will be first credited to the card used in payment before issuing a financial aid refund check.

C. Rescinding Authorizations and Disputes

A student may rescind the authorization to apply his/her financial aid award to charges defined as non-allowable by Title IV Cash Management Regulations at any time. The decision to rescind must be provided by the student in writing, and will be in effect from the date the notice is received forward. If the student files a written dispute with the Financial Aid office concerning the payment of non-allowable charges from his/her financial aid award for a given term, and there is no record of written authorization or consent on file, a refund will be issued within 14 days for the amount of funds that were applied to non-allowable charges.

VI Unclaimed Checks

It is the responsibility of the student to notify the College of any address change. If the check is returned undeliverable by the post office, reasonable effort will be made to locate a new address for the student. A notation that the check has been mail-returned will be made on the student account.

A. Unclaimed Financial Aid Refunds

Any financial aid refund check that remains uncashed following the term in which it is disbursed to a student’s account is an unclaimed award.

  • Accounts Receivable Process: A stop payment will be placed on the check one week from the end of the term and a notation will be made on the student's account. The check will be canceled with the original forwarded to Accounting and a copy to Financial Aid.
  • Financial Aid Process: The process to recoup the unclaimed award is determined by the type of award:
    1. Bank Loans: The full amount of the loan will be returned to the originating lender.
    2. State or Federal Grants: The Grant award will be credited back to the appropriate fund. A financial aid award is considered to be unclaimed if it is mailed and returned, or if it was delivered but not cashed during the term in which the aid was posted to a student's account.
    3. Institutional Loans: The full amount of the PCC loan will be credited back to the appropriate fund.

B. Unclaimed Student Refunds

In accordance with ORS 098.352 and OAR 141-045-0061, any check that has not been cashed after a period of two (2) years is an unclaimed check. Unclaimed checks will be reported and paid to the Oregon Division of State Lands (ODSL) each year between October 1 and November 1. The college will exercise due diligence prescribed by the ODSL as follows:

  • Refunds over $100: Not less than 90 days prior to filing the report, a written notice will be mailed to the student of record.
  • Refunds less than $50: The College may report checks of less than $50 in aggregate.
  • Deminimus Refunds: No reporting or payment is required on unclaimed checks that fall below the deminimus amount (see Addendum A).
  • Confidentiality: The College will keep records of unclaimed property confidential beginning 12 months before the reporting period and for 24 months after reporting.
  • Records Maintenance: The College will maintain records and documentation related to unclaimed property reports and location efforts (due diligence) for five years after reporting.

C. Claims

A student may claim a refund, which has not been turned over to ODSL or recouped by the Financial Aid office, by presenting acceptable identification (see Section V) to the Accounts Receivable office.

VII Certification

By endorsing a refund check, the student certifies that he/she is entitled to the funds and agrees to return any amount remitted in error which is not rightfully his/hers.

VIII Refunds Issued in Error

The College has the right to reclaim refunds issued in error. Should this occur, a stop payment will be placed on the check and the student of record will be notified of the reason. In the event that the check has already been cashed, a written request for return of the funds will be provided to the student. Students will have thirty (30) days to repay the College before collection effort is initiated.