Your financial aid will be electronically applied to any unpaid Windward Community College (WCC) registration charges approximately 10 days prior to the start of instruction, UNLESS your aid was finalized after the start of school or if you have any outstanding requirements. Financial aid disbursement date(s) can be viewed via your MyUH Services Account (Financial Aid Section under Disbursement Schedule).

ENROLLMENT/CHANGES IN ENROLLMENT

Your initial financial aid offer is based on full-time enrollment (12 or more credits), unless you are set to graduate at the end of the Fall semester, are entering in the Spring semester, or are nearing your maximum timeframe (Satisfactory Academic Progress or SAP). If you register less than full-time in either the Fall or Spring semester, please notify the WCC Financial Aid Office as soon as possible and your financial aid disbursement will be prorated based on your new enrollment status.

If you are changing your enrollment level (adding or dropping classes) after your aid has been disbursed, you may be required to pay back a portion of the funds already disbursed, or pay back the entire amount disbursed to you and have an outstanding obligation (financial obligation hold on your account) to the institution.

If you do not begin attendance, or complete courses for which you received aid, you will be subject to a federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation and may be required to repay a portion or all of the aid received for the semester. You are responsible for informing the Financial Aid Office if you completely withdraw or stop attending classes. Click Return of Title IV Funds Policy to view the policy.

CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT

Generally, most of the funds that are administered by the Financial Aid Office will be applied to WCC charges only. If you are enrolled for courses at another UH campus, you are responsible for making payment for any tuition and fee charges due to the other campus, even if a Concurrent Enrollment Form has been approved and you are entitled to a refund.

REFUND

There are two ways to receive a refund:

  • Direct Deposit (Electronically/eRefund)
    Your refund will be processed within 3 to 5 business days from the date of your disbursement. To get any refunds processed to you electronically, you must sign up for eRefund here via your MyUH Services account. Please note that it can take up to two weeks for the University of Hawai’i to verify your bank account information (from the time you set up eRefund) and for your eRefund to be active and ready.
  • Paper check
    Your refund will be processed within 7 to 10 business days from the date of your disbursement. The paper check will be mailed to the mailing address that is current on your MyUH Services account. You are responsible for maintaining a correct and current mailing address on your MyUH Services account

DISBURSEMENT INFORMATION BY PROGRAM

Federal Pell Grant Recipients

The Federal Pell Grant will disburse according to your enrollment status at the time of disbursement. A prorated or reduced amount will disburse for enrollment statuses less than full-time (less than 12 credits), unless you are not eligible at that particular enrollment status. Please inform the Financial Aid Office right away if you are not at the enrollment level you were awarded at.

Institutional Grant/Scholarships/Waiver Recipients

Institutional grants/scholarships/waivers will be disbursed based on the required enrollment status of the fund. If the institutional grant/scholarships/waiver does not have a requirement of full-time enrollment, the disbursement will be prorated and/or reduced for all enrollment statuses that are less than full-time (less than 12 credits). No disbursement for enrollment statuses less than half-time (5 credits or less).

Federal Work Study Recipients

Must be enrolled at least half-time (6 or more credits) to be eligible. Federal Work Study (FWS) does not represent money in-hand at the beginning of the semester. You are required to work, generally on-campus, to earn the award. Federal Work Study at WCC is based on availability of funds as well as meeting the criteria for Federal Student Aid eligibility. Please visit the WCC Financial Aid Office to inquire about on-campus or community service Federal Work Study opportunities. Once you are placed in a position, you will receive your work study monies in the form of a paycheck for the hours worked. You may view FWS job openings at https://www.hawaii.edu/sece/.

Federal Direct Student Loans

If you have completed all of the Loan Requirements, funds will be disbursed 10 days prior to the start of instruction, unless your loan funds were finalized after the start of school or you have any outstanding requirements. In general, students need to be registered for a minimum of 6 credits for student loan funds to disburse. However, if your enrollment at the time of disbursement is not the same level as it was at the time your award was prepared, please notify the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. An adjustment to your financial aid package may be needed, which could also delay the disbursement of your loan fund(s).

  • First-time, first-year borrowers’ loan funds will be disbursed approximately 30 days after the start of the semester, per federal regulations, unless your loan funds were finalized after that time frame.
  • One-semester loan borrowers’ loan funds will be split into two disbursements, per federal regulations. The first disbursement will be 10 days before the first day of instruction, unless your loan funds were finalized after that time frame. The second disbursement will be at the mid-point of the semester (mid-October for Fall only loans and mid-March for Spring only loans).

External Scholarship Recipients

WCC receives external scholarship funds via the following methods: electronically (ACH), master check or by individual paper check. Funds that are sent directly to the Financial Aid Office will be processed on the first day of instruction, providing we have received the monies. We will verify your enrollment at the time your scholarship is processed. If you are enrolled at a status that is less than full-time (less than 12 credits), we will need authorization from the donor to release the funds. All external scholarship funds will be applied to your student account, whether or not you have any outstanding tuition/fee charges, and any applicable refund monies will be processed by the WCC Cashier’s Office within a two-week time frame. Please keep in mind that not all external scholarship money is sent to the Financial Aid Office. It is always good practice to check with the donor (the organization that awarded you the scholarship) to find out what their disbursement method will be.