Students taking online classes have the same participation requirements. In an online class, participation may include engaging in forum discussions, completing assignments, and taking quizzes or exams. However, the way the instructor determines your participation may vary depending on the particular course. It’s important to follow the guidelines for participation given by the instructor. 

Federal rules require colleges to confirm that students with federal financial aid are actively participating in their courses.

If you have financial aid and your instructor reports that you never participated:

• Your financial aid (federal and non-federal) will not be paid out. 
• You will be dropped from the course (federal financial aid recipients only). 
• Those course credits will not count toward your overall financial aid eligibility and may change the amount of aid you receive.  

Instructors can update participation reports until the last day to drop out of a course, so it’s important to engage early and stay consistent. The process of dropping students may occur as often as weekly after the course begins. It’s important to continue to monitor your class schedule in Workday.  

If unexpected challenges or life events make it hard to keep up, reach out to your instructor! Email, call or visit them during office hours to show that you’re still engaged and make a plan to get back on track. We know that life happens, but if your instructor doesn’t hear from you, they can’t help.

Each semester, there is a specific date when financial aid starts being disbursed (the official term for when financial aid is used to pay your outstanding fees). You can learn more and find specific disbursement dates on the Disbursement and Refund Process page.  

If it’s been a couple of weeks after the posted date for the semester and you still see Anticipated Payments in Workday, don’t worry. Some instructors may take a little longer to verify, but they do have a deadline. Initial participation reports are typically due by the last day to withdraw without a “W” (as noted on the Academic Calendar for the semester).  

In the meantime, your anticipated financial aid protects your schedule. Once your instructor confirms your participation, your Anticipated Payments in Workday will convert to applied payments. If you have concerns, you can always check in with the instructor.  

Yes. If you have funds remaining after tuition and fees are covered, then up to $1000 of excess Anticipated Payments can be used at the Columbus State Bookstore to purchase books and supplies.

If your financial aid, scholarships, and loans add up to more than you need for tuition and fees, you can receive the excess amount in the form of a “refund.” Since participation reporting starts on the first day of the term, financial aid disbursements may occur at different times based on each class start date and when participation is verified.

The first release of refunds will occur approximately 4 to 5 weeks into the semester and continue throughout the semester. Refer to the Disbursement and Refund page for semester-specific dates.