Census Date, Refunds, Repayments and Return of Title IV Policy

Census Date 

The Census Date is a specific date in the quarter when the Financial Aid Office is required to recalculate your Federal Pell Grant and/or Washington College Grant eligibility, based on your current enrollment level status (see chart below).  If the Pell Grant and/or Washington College Grant you were offered does not match with your  enrollment status as of the this date, your financial aid offer must be recalculated. 

EvCC Pell Grant and Washington College Grant Recalculation Dates:

2023-24 Academic Year Census Dates: ​​​​

• Summer 2023: July 17th, 2023 11:59 p.m.
• Fall 2023: September 29th, 2023 11:59 p.m.
• Winter 2024: January 16th, 2024 11:59 p.m.
• Spring 2024: April 12th, 2024 11:59 p.m.

2024-25 Academic Year Census Dates: ​​​​

• Summer 2024: July 15h, 2024 11:59 p.m.
• Fall 2024: October 4th, 2024 11:59 p.m.
• Winter 2025: January 17th, 2025 11:59 p.m.
• Spring 2025: April 18th, 2025 11:59 p.m.

Enrollment Changes After the Census Recalculation Date

Financial Aid “locks” enrollment on the 10th day of the quarter and reviews enrollment levels for all students who have had financial aid disbursed to pay tuition or refunded. Please Note:

• If you add classes (including wait-listed classes) after the 10th day, there will be no adjustment to your quarterly financial aid award for Federal aid, however, the State Aid will continue to be adjusted for added enrollment. 
• You will be required to repay a portion of your financial aid if credits are dropped after aid is disbursed to your student account, but within the census period (first 10 days). If repayment is required, you will be notified and billed by the Cashier's Office.

Financial aid award amounts are initially calculated assuming a full-time enrollment level (12+ credits). Financial aid is available at levels below full-time. Students must notify the Financial Aid Office in writing, using the online Enrollment Change Form, at least 10 days prior to the start of the quarter to avoid any delays in receiving a refund disbursement.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 aid year, the Pell Grant, Washington College Grant and College Bound Scholarship will no longer be based on enrollment status. Instead, disbursement amounts will be calculated using Enrollment Intensity – which is a percentage value based on the number of credits a student is enrolled in (rounded to the nearest whole percent) at Census. The chart below illustrates how enrollment intensity is determined based on credit load:

Enrollment Level - Enrollment Intensity Chart

Eligibility for some federal and state grant aid is based on the type of aid and the number of credits enrolled in as of the end of the last day to add/drop classes for the quarter, or the number of credits a student is registered in when a financial aid award is made, if after the add/drop deadline for the quarter. The last day to add/drop classes can be found online at Important Dates.

Enrollment levels will be checked at the end of the last day to add/drop class(es) deadline for the quarter, referred to as the Census Date. Award amounts will be adjusted to reflect the correct enrollment level as of this deadline. Changes to a student’s schedule after this date can result in an increase of financial aid with the exception of Pell Grant. If a student’s aid was disbursed at an incorrect enrollment level, paid toward classes that were not required to complete the student’s degree with Everett Community College or the student did not attend classes, they will owe a repayment of financial aid to the college and will be billed accordingly. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the Financial Aid Office to verify how schedule changes may affect their financial aid. Faculty and staff other than financial aid staff are not required to know financial aid policies.

If you receive Federal Pell Grant and/or Washington College Grant funds, you must finalize or "lock" your enrollment by the 10th day of the quarter Census Date. This is also referred to as the Pell Recalculation Date. Please refer to EvCC’s Important Dates for the exact date each quarter. Up until the census date, we adjust your Pell Grant and Washington College Grant amount  to match your enrollment level. Federal rules do not allow us to adjust your Pell Grant after the census date.

If you add classes after the census date:

• We cannot increase your Pell Grant reflect your actual enrollment level. Washington College Grant may be increased if eligible. 

If you add classes (that increase your enrollment level) before the census date:

• We may be required to increase your Pell Grant and/or Washington College Grant to reflect your actual enrollment level.

If you drop classes on or before the census date:

• We may be required reduce your Pell Grant and/or Washington College Grant to reflect your actual enrollment level.
• You may owe a repayment if Pell Grant funds and/or Washington College Grant funds were already disbursed to you, and we will notify you by email and through ctcLink student account (usually by the fourth week of the quarter). A bill will be sent to you from the Cashiers Office if we determine you owe a repayment. 

If dropping a class/es results in a refund, the refund is returned to the Pell Grant program and/or Washington College Grant, and may reduce the amount you owe.

We are required to adjust your Pell Grant and Washington College Grant (up or down) based on your enrollment level as of the Census Date, but not the other aid you already received. Examples of other aid include Loans, Scholarships and Work Study, etc. Please be aware that at the end of the quarter, you may receive a warning or suspension of future aid eligibility for failure to complete the number of credits for which you received financial aid. See our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for more details.

Refunds 

Generally, after dropping a class or classes before the 20th calendar day of the quarter, you may be eligible to receive a refund (exception: self-support and non-standard classes may have a different deadline refund deadline). Please refer to EvCC’s Important Dates.

The Financial Aid Office will determine if you are eligible to receive a refund or if the funds must be returned to federal or state aid programs. If you paid your tuition by credit card, cash or check, the Cashier’s Office will determine if you are eligible to receive a refund.

Repayments 

Repayment is when you have to pay back some or all of your financial aid.  Please refer to EvCC's Federal Return of Title IV Policy (R2T4). If you receive a financial aid grant and/or loans, you must attend more than 60% of the quarter to earn all (100%) of your aid. If you stop attending or do not receive passing grades, we are required to determine how much financial aid you “earned” and we must return any “unearned” funds.  You are then required to pay us back.

If you have attended less than 60% of the quarter, you may owe a repayment. This may include federal and state grants and your tuition costs.  If Everett Community College returns funds to federal or state agencies, these funds will come out of the money that was used to pay for your tuition. This means that you will need to repay Everett Community College the balance of tuition. 

The dates listed below represent the 60% point of the quarter. If your last date of attendance is on or after these dates, you will not owe a repayment of your financial aid. Dates are subject to change in the event of unforeseen delays in the start of a quarter. 

Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy (R2T4)

More details:

Repayment calculations are performed either at the end of the quarter or throughout the quarter as we become aware of withdrawals. You will receive a letter(s) from the college notifying you of any money you may owe to the U.S. Department of Education, Washington State, or Everett Community College.  Financial Aid staff are available to answer any repayment questions at fin_aid@everettcc.edu or 425-388-9280.