Disbursement and Refund Process
Receiving Financial Aid, refunds, and bookstore allowances.
Financial aid (including federal grants, federal student loans, and scholarships) is used to pay for college tuition and fees. "Disbursement" is the official term for how that money is applied to your tuition bill.
Once financial aid is applied to your tuition and fees, if there is money left over, then funds will be made available to you at the Columbus State Bookstore to purchase books and supplies. After a specified time period each semester, all remaining money will be released to you in the form of a "refund." More on Refunds
For specific questions and troubleshooting, check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). For specific dates, see: Refund Schedule.
See also: Bookstore Financial Aid Allowances | Refunds
How will my fees be paid with my financial aid funds?
To see how much financial aid you’ll receive, check your Anticipated Payments.
Anticipated Payments are the total amount of student financial aid funding you are eligible to receive for the semester. To view your anticipated financial aid and how it applies to your balance, log in to Workday, go to View Account Activity and select Anticipated Payments.
Important things to note:
- The amount of financial aid you recieve will be adjusted based upon your enrolled credit hours. If you change your schedule, your aid will also change. Please allow 3-5 days for processing.
- You must accept student loans in Workday for them to be included in the Anticipated Payments amount. Learn more.
- If your Anticipated Payments do not fully cover your tuition and fees, you must pay the balance or enroll in a payment plan by Fee Payment deadline to avoid being dropped from your classes. Pay fees.
- Prior to each semester, your financial aid offer changes from a Potential amount to an Actual amount based on your enrolled credit hours. For the Autumn 2026 semester, that date is July 6.
- After the Actual Aid Date for the upcoming semester, your aid offer will show as ‘Anticipated Payments’ on your Student Statement.
Anticipated financial aid can be used at the bookstore.
Anticipated financial aid will be applied to tuition and fees first. If you have excess financial aid available after that, up to $1000 (if eligible) will be available at the Columbus State Bookstore for you to purchase books and supplies.
Financial aid will be paid out on an ongoing basis.
The actual payment of financial aid toward your tuition and fees will occur throughout the semester as faculty report your participation in each of your registered courses.
Once they verify your course participation, your Anticipated Payments will be processed to pay charges on your account. You will see them under Applied Payments.
- See Important Financial Aid Changes for information on the Verified Participation process.
Refunds will be issued throughout the semester.
If you have financial aid funds remaining after all charges have been paid and bookstore charges are deducted, then a refund will be issued to you through direct deposit or a check. For each semester, the first release of refunds will occur approximately 4 to 5 weeks into the semester and continue throughout the semester.
- If some of your classes start later in the semester, part of your financial aid will be paid later as well, once the instructor verifies your participation. As a result, refunds will be issued on an ongoing basis as well.
- See Refunds
- To sign up for Direct Deposit, visit the Financials Hub on Workday.
Disbursement & refund dates Autumn 2026
Refunds of instructional and general fees are granted pursuant to Procedure No. 7-06(O). The refund dates for each term can be found on the Academic Calendar webpage.
| Actual Aid Date (The date when your financial aid offer reflects the actual aid you are eligible to receive based on the number of credit hours you've registered for.) |
July 6, 2026 |
| First day to use Bookstore Vouchers for CCP and Third Party Sponsorships | August 21, 2026 |
| First day to purchase at the Columbus State Bookstore using Financial Aid. | August 25, 2026 |
| First day of the semester |
August 31, 2026 |
| Columbus State Bookstore return deadline. Receipt required. Purchases after this date may be returned following the Columbus State Bookstore's Return Policy. | September 14, 2026 |
| LAST day to sign up for direct deposit | September 22, 2026 (To be included in the first financial aid direct deposit disbursement.) |
| LAST day to purchase books in-store or online using financial aid at the CSCC Bookstore | September 28, 2026 |
| Non-financial aid refunds released from CSCC by | September 30, 2026 |
| Financial aid credit balances released to students (direct deposit or check) | Approximately September 30, 2026 (Direct deposit: allow 1-2 business days for bank processing. Checks: allow up to 14 days for processing plus standard U.S. Postal mail delivery time) |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Troubleshooting
Refunds will be processed beginning around the fifth week of the semester, after verification of course participation.
If some of your classes start later in the semester, part of your financial aid will be paid later as well, once the instructor verifies your participation. As a result, refunds will be issued on an ongoing basis as well.
An e-mail notification will be sent when a financial aid direct deposit or check refund has been processed. Please check your Columbus State student e-mail account for e-mail notifications. To view your account online, sign in to Workday and click on Financials Hub (below the Home tab to the left).
If you pay online, an e-mail notification will be sent to your student e-mail account. To view your account, sign in to Workday and click on the Financial Hub tab (below the Home tab, to the left of the screen). From here, click on Financials Overview, and review Account Transactions. Account information is not released over the telephone.
If you withdraw from classes, you may be eligible for a refund of tuition and fees. See Refunds.
If you are receiving federal student aid (grants, loans), and you completely withdraw from classes before completing the term, then unearned federal student aid funds must be returned to the federal government. This is called Return of Title IV Funds Policy. See Satisfactory Academic Progress
There may be several reasons why financial aid has not been disbursed to pay fees for the semester. Information may be available on your Workday account under the Financials Hub.
For assistance, contact the Telephone Information Center at 614-287-5353, or chat online with Student Central.
There may be several reasons why financial aid has not been disbursed to pay fees for the semester. Information may be available on your Workday account under the Financials Hub.
For assistance, contact the Telephone Information Center at 614-287-5353, or chat online with Student Central.
If your Anticipated Payments cover your entire bill, you will not be dropped from classes on the fee payment deadline.
If your Anticipated Payments do not fully cover your tuition and fees, you must pay the balance by Fee Payment deadline to avoid being dropped from your classes. Outstanding fees can be paid by various methods. See ‘How to Pay Fees’ for instructions.
It is important to monitor your account, beginning on the Actual Aid Date. (See Disbursement Dates - above). You can monitor your account by logging into Workday and viewing the "Financials Hub" tab to the left of the screen, below the Home tab.
Direct Deposit
Step 1: Log in to Workday.
Step 2: Click on the "Payment Elections" link from the Financials Hub.
Step 3: Enter your bank account information on the Bank Information (U.S.) screen
Step 4: Check the box to agree to the terms and conditions and then click "Submit"
You will be taken to a confirmation page and we will send an email to your CSCC student email account confirming the change.
If you have old bank account information that needs removed, check the "Delete" box and click "Submit" before entering any new bank account information.
Please note: Payment Elections and/or confirmation emails will only display the last 4 digits of the account number we have on file.
Anticipated Payments
Anticipated Payments represent the total possible amount of student financial aid funding you are eligible to receive for the semester. This amount will be adjusted based upon the actual number of enrolled credit hours.
- The amount shown for the Pell Grant will vary depending on how many credit hours you take. See Enrollment Chart)
- For students enrolled in less than 12 credit hours but more than 6 credit hours (minimum number of credit hours to receive federal loan funds), the amount of loan funds available will adjust based on actual credit hours. This adjustment may take 3 to 5 days to be accurate on your account. More on Loans
To view your anticipated financial aid and how it applies to your balance, log in to Workday, go to View Account Activity and select Anticipated Payments.
If your Anticipated Payments do not fully cover your tuition and fees, you must pay the balance or enroll in a payment plan by the Fee Payment deadline to avoid being dropped from your classes. Outstanding fees can be paid by various methods. See ‘How to Pay Fees’ for information on options.
Contact Us
Cashiers and Student Accounting
Phone: (614) 287-5658
Email: stuacct@cscc.edu
Fax: (614) 287-5985