Disbursements and Refunds
As a College of Western Idaho (CWI) student, each time you register for a class charges are created in the form of tuition and fees. These charges are tracked in your student account. Your student account will display both charges (i.e. tuition and fees) and credits (i.e. payments and financial aid disbursements). Similar to a bank account statement, your student account keeps a record of total charges versus credits for each semester.
Disbursements
Once you’ve completed the financial aid application process each year and have received an award notification, you can view your financial aid awards (listed on your award notification) on the myCWI site. You can also see the charges on your student account once your register on the same site.
Since financial aid awards are based on the number of credits you are enrolled in at the close of regular business on the published census date* each semester, your enrollment status will be monitored and your aid adjusted according to your actual enrollment status on the census date. If your enrollment status changes after the census date, your financial aid cannot be adjusted either up or down, but this could lead to Satisfactory Academic Progress implications later.
*Currently, the scheduled disbursement date is the same date as the census date - the 10th day of instruction in the Fall and Spring semesters and the 5th day of instruction in Summer semesters.
Refunds
Financial aid funds are used to pay direct institutional costs (tuition, fees, books if you charged them to your account, etc) first. If there is still a balance owed after financial aid funds are disbursed to your student account, it is your responsibility to pay the balance owed or make satisfactory payment arrangements with CWI One Stop Student Services. If your financial aid funds exceed the amount owed to CWI for tuition and/or fees, you will receive a refund.
CWI's Refund Partner
Beginning Summer 2012, the College of Western Idaho, is partnering with Sallie Mae, a financial services company focused on higher education to bring a new method of receiving your financial aid/scholarship disbursements. All students who are eligible for financial aid refunds will receive an email with information on how to access their options for a refund through the Sallie Mae website.
IMPORTANT: All students who will receive a financial aid refund must elect which refund method they prefer through this site. Visit Sallie Mae for more information and available refund methods. Remember, even if you are not currently expecting a refund of aid from CWI, you may have a refund in the future and should ensure your information is up-to-date to avoid any future delays.
Student Loans
You have the right to cancel a portion or all of your student loan(s) within 14 days of the disbursement date. If you receive a refund, you must bring the refund to One Stop Student Services within 14 days of disbursement (see your student account) to allow for the processing of the loan return to the lender.
