Award & Disbursement of Financial Aid

Enrollment Status

Students who have filed a valid FAFSAmeet all other eligibility requirements for Federal Student Aid are given estimated awards based on full-time status. This initial award shows the most aid that would be available to the student. Eligible enrollment statuses are:

Enrollment StatusCredit Hours Needed
Full-time 12 or more credit hours
Three-quarter time 9 - 11 credit hours
Half-time 6-8 credit hours
Less than half-time fewer than 6 credit hours


The actual enrollment status will be determined at the end of regular drop/add and will be one factor used in determining final award amounts. The estimated award may be revised if the final enrollment status is not full-time. Federal Pell Grants and other grants may be reduced or canceled; however, Federal Direct Student Loan eligibility will not be changed except in cases where the final enrollment status is less-than-half-time.

For the purpose of determining Federal Pell Grant award amounts, enrollment status is recalculated after the last drop date for the Main Session and again after the last drop date for each of the Express Sessions within a term. If a student withdraws from a class after a Federal Pell Grant has been paid for that class, then the withdrawn class will no longer count in the overall enrollment status for the term when enrollment status is re-calculated at the start of the next Express Session. In some cases, this may result in a reduction of the award amount for the term. Conversely, a student who adds courses but does not withdraw may potentially qualify for a higher award if the additional class or classes changes the overall enrollment status for the term.

Clock Hour Students

Clock-hour students in eligible programs are considered full-time if they are enrolled in at least 450 clock hours per semester. To determine enrollment statuses other than full-time, the number of clock hours the student is currently enrolled in is divided by the program length. These rules are established in federal regulations.

Students Who Attend Multiple Sessions Within a Semester

If you attend multiple sessions within a semester, then you cannot receive financial aid under most programs until you are attending at least 6 credit hours in courses required to complete your TCC degree program. Most financial aid programs cannot disburse until you have verified attendance in 6 credit hours of courses required to complete your TCC degree program. If your enrollment changes as a new Session begins, then your financial aid will be adjusted to reflect any changes made. Should you fail to take all of the classes for which you are enrolled, financial aid may be reduced or cancelled.

Course Work for Degree

Your enrollment status will only include courses required for the degree you are enrolled in at TCC. Courses outside the degree program, or courses not required for the degree, will not be used in determining the enrollment status.

Once you have completed all the coursework for your degree, even if you have not applied for graduation, you are no longer eligible for financial aid.

A degree audit will help determine if a course is eligible. Students are encouraged to complete a degree audit every semester prior to registering for classes to determine if the classes they have selected fall within their degree major. Degree audits can be viewed in Workday under Academics > My Academics > View My Academic Progress.

Students Taking College Developmental Classes

Students taking developmental classes are allowed 30 credit hours of attempted preparatory coursework, which the Federal government will use toward their enrollment status. After a student attempts 30 credit hours of developmental coursework, further hours cannot be counted in determining enrollment status (full-time, three-quarter time, half-time) for financial aid eligibility. Developmental courses are never used for determining enrollment hours for Bright Futures Scholarship recipients.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

The EFC is calculated from the student's FAFSA and is the same at all institutions. The EFC includes a contribution from the student's earnings, savings, and assets. If the student is married, a contribution from the student's spouse will be calculated utilizing the same components. Dependent students will have a contribution from their parent's earnings, savings, and assets.

Award Adjustments

If you are found ineligible for the aid you received due to a clerical error or a drop in the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) or any other error, then you are responsible for repayment of the funds you were not eligible to receive.

If you receive a refund you are not anticipating or in excess of what you expect; then you need to contact the Financial Aid Office immediately.

You will be issued a new award letter if there are changes to your financial aid, other than adjustments to scholarships, based on actual tuition and fees.

Bookstore Credit/Textbook Voucher

The bookstore credit/textbook voucher allows students to use financial aid to purchase books and materials either in person or online through the TCC Bookstore. The credit is issued to qualifying students who have excess financial aid.

  • Part-time students are allowed a maximum of $480 in bookstore credit; Full-time students are allowed a maximum of $960 in bookstore credit.
  • Credit hour enrollment is calculated using courses required to complete your TCC degree program. Developmental courses are not used in this calculation.
  • Bookstore credit is not given to students enrolled in less than six credit hours.
  • Bookstore credit is only usable in the two-week period consisting of the week before the beginning of classes and the first week of classes for Fall and Spring semesters. Summer semester bookstore credit is only usable the two-week period consisting of the first week of class and the following week.

Bookstore credit is not an award, but allows students to purchase materials at the TCC Bookstore and have the cost charged against their current financial aid awards.