Prior to financial aid disbursement, students must meet all eligibility requirements for their disbursement fund type.

Per US Department of Education regulations, federal financial aid will be disbursed to students based on Course Program of Study (CPOS) current attending hours.

Once your financial aid is disbursed, it will first be applied to any balance on your YC student account. If your aid is more than what you owe, the remaining amount will be sent to you as a refund and may be used for other education-related expenses.

Disbursements vs Refund

Disbursements

Your financial aid may be disbursed in more than one payment as your eligible classes begin.

The amount and timing of your financial aid disbursement will be determined by the types of federal aid you are awarded, the number of CPOS credits you are enrolled in, and the start date of the class. Some types of financial aid may also be subject to proration based on your enrollment or program requirements.

For Pell Grant recipients, enrollment intensity affects the amount of Pell Grant a student is eligible to receive and can also affect when Pell is disbursed. Enrollment intensity is the percentage of full-time enrollment in which a student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent. For example, if full-time enrollment is 12 CPOS credit hours and a student is enrolled in 7 CPOS credit hours, the enrollment intensity would be 7 ÷ 12 × 100% = 58%. We often refer to this process as “proration”.

Students enrolled at less than full-time may receive a prorated financial aid based on their enrollment intensity.

Federal Direct Loans may also be subject to proration in certain circumstances. Loan proration requirements can affect the amount of loan a student is eligible to receive based on factors such as the student's program and remaining period of enrollment.

Because financial aid is tied to Course Program of Study (CPOS) enrollment intensity, a student's financial aid disbursement may be delayed or adjusted when additional eligible classes begin later in the semester.

• Taking ONLY full-semester length courses: If all of your eligible CPOS classes begin on the first day of the semester, your financial aid will be disbursed in full on the first disbursement date. If you have no remaining balance, the additional aid will be sent to you as a refund. See the disbursement dates and refund dates listed on the Academic Calendar.
• Taking ONLY second part of term/late start classes: If all of your eligible part of term/late-start CPOS classes begin in the second 8-week session, your financial aid will be disbursed after these classes begin. If you have no remaining balance, the additional aid will be sent to you as a refund. See the disbursement dates and refund dates listed on the Academic Calendar.
• Taking a combination of full-semester and part of term/late start classes: If your eligible CPOS classes begin at different times, you may receive only part of your financial aid on the first disbursement date. The amount you receive will be based on the classes you are enrolled in that have started at that time. When your late-start classes begin, the remaining eligible financial aid will be released and applied to your account. If you have no balance due, the remaining funds will be sent to you as a refund. See the disbursement dates and refund dates listed on the Academic Calendar.
• Direct Loans may be disbursed on different schedules based on loan type and borrower status. Please contact the financial aid department for more information.

Financial Aid Refunds

If you have financial aid funds that exceed the charges on your student account at the time of disbursement, you will receive a refund, which may be used to pay other educationally related expenses.