Financial Aid Policies

Understand and Protect Your Financial Aid

Learn how academic progress, enrollment, attendance, course start dates, withdrawals, program requirements, and federal limits can affect your financial-aid eligibility and payment schedule.

Check eligible courses

Federal aid generally covers only courses in your program.

Review CPOS

View your aid record

Review requirements, offers, and financial-aid messages.

Sign in to myYC

Maintain eligibility

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Financial-aid recipients must meet academic-progress standards. YC reviews progress before aid is awarded and after grades are posted for each term.

2.0

Cumulative GPA

Maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0.

66.67%

Completion rate

Successfully complete at least 66.67% of all cumulative credits attempted.

150%

Maximum timeframe

Complete your program before attempting more than 150% of its published credit requirement.

How the completion rate is calculated

YC divides successfully completed credits by total attempted credits. Transfer credits accepted by YC generally count as both attempted and completed credits in this calculation.

Read the SAP policy Use SAP calculators

Status levels

Understand your SAP status

Good

You meet all SAP requirements or are successfully following an approved academic plan.

Warning

You failed to meet SAP for the first time and may continue receiving aid for one warning term.

Suspension

You are not eligible for financial aid unless eligibility is restored or an appeal is approved.

Probation or academic plan

An approved appeal may permit aid under specific term-by-term academic requirements.

Receiving funds

How enrollment affects disbursement

Aid is applied according to eligible courses, course start dates, attendance, award type, and completion of all requirements.

Full-semester courses

When all eligible courses begin at the start of the semester, eligible aid may disburse on the first published disbursement date after requirements are met.

Late-start courses

Aid connected with late-start courses may not disburse until those courses begin and attendance is confirmed.

Mixed course schedules

Students taking full-term and late-start courses may receive aid in more than one disbursement.

Disbursement is not the same as a refund

Disbursed aid is applied first to eligible charges on your student account. A refund is issued only when eligible aid exceeds those charges.

Detailed guidance

Policies that may affect your aid

Open a topic for more information about verification, appeals, enrollment, withdrawals, limits, and other requirements.

YC verifies FAFSA records selected for verification and may request documents when reported information conflicts with other records.

Financial aid cannot be finalized until requested documents are received, reviewed, and any required corrections are completed.

Financial-aid administrators may review documented circumstances that are not fully reflected on the FAFSA.

Financial circumstances may include:

  • Recent unemployment or reduced income.
  • Unusually high uninsured medical or dental expenses.
  • Other significant changes affecting family finances.

Contact Financial Aid before submitting an income-reduction appeal.

Dependency circumstances:

Supporting yourself or having parents who refuse to help does not automatically make you independent for FAFSA purposes. Students with unusual circumstances should contact Financial Aid before requesting a dependency override.

Federal financial aid generally applies only to courses required for your officially declared eligible degree or certificate.

Review Degree Works and consult an academic advisor before changing your schedule.

Review Course Program of Study information

YC recalculates applicable aid using enrollment in degree-applicable courses as of the published Pell Recalculation Date.

Aid may be adjusted according to eligible enrollment. Courses added after the applicable date may not increase aid for that term.

Students who never attend or who withdraw from all courses may still have their eligibility reduced.

Find current financial-aid dates

Students who withdraw from or stop attending every class before completing 60% of the term may be required to repay part of their federal financial aid.

YC must calculate how much federal aid was earned through the withdrawal date and return unearned funds in the order required by federal rules.

A complete withdrawal can create a student-account balance and may affect future registration and aid.

The withdrawal date may be based on the official withdrawal date, the last documented date of attendance, or another date permitted by federal regulation.

Read the Return of Title IV Funds policy

Federal Pell Grant eligibility is limited over a student’s lifetime. StudentAid.gov displays the percentage of Pell eligibility already used.

Sign in to StudentAid.gov and open your aid details to review your Pell Grant history.

Learn how Pell Grant eligibility is calculated

Sign in to StudentAid.gov

Federal transfer monitoring allows YC to confirm whether a student received federal aid at another institution during the same award year.

A temporary hold may delay disbursement while YC receives and reviews federal monitoring information. This review may be required even when the student did not receive aid at the previous school.

Not every degree, certificate, or noncredit program is eligible for federal financial aid.

Review the current YC catalog and the individual program page for financial-aid eligibility information.

Search the YC College Catalog

Account and service information

Communication, books, and refunds

Email is an official method of financial-aid communication. Initial messages may be sent to the email address provided on the FAFSA.

After a YC student email account is created, financial-aid notices may be sent to that official address. Students should monitor their YC email regularly.

Get help accessing your YC account

Eligible students may charge approved books and supplies to their student account during the published bookstore charging period.

General requirements include:

  • Financial aid has been awarded.
  • Expected aid exceeds posted tuition, fees, housing, and other eligible charges.
  • The purchase occurs during the approved period.
  • A valid student ID is presented.
  • Only approved books and supplies are charged.
Book charges reduce any later financial-aid refund. If aid changes or does not disburse, the student is responsible for the remaining account balance.

Review bookstore charging dates

When eligible financial aid exceeds current student-account charges, the remaining credit may be issued as a refund for education-related expenses.

Refunds may be issued by check or electronically through eRefund. Students should verify their mailing address and refund preferences in the Payment Center.

Use the Financial Aid Glossary for definitions of common application, award, eligibility, and payment terms.

View the Financial Aid Glossary