Financial Aid Credit Balances
When financial aid is disbursed to a student’s account, it is applied to the student’s account balance. If there is a credit remaining after all tuition and fees are paid, the student’s account is reviewed to determine if the credit should be refunded to the student. If it is determined that the credit should be refunded, the refund process will begin and “Student Refund” will show on the account, making the balance $0. This usually occurs 3-5 business days after the aid is placed on the student’s account.
Student refunds are issued on or after the first day of classes each semester.
Students with financial aid expecting to receive a refund must complete the Financial Aid Disbursement Authorization Form in OnePort. Financial Aid Authorizations is listed under the menu on the left under Financial Aid and Payments. If the form cannot be located in OnePort, you may download the paper form here and submit it to our office.
Refunds can be delivered two different ways:
- Enroll in Direct Deposit eRefunds in OnePort. View the eRefund Direct Deposit Instructions here. This is the preferred, faster method.
- If you don’t enroll in direct deposit, your refund check will be sent to your mailing address on file. Ensure your mailing address is correct in OnePort.
- If you would like your refund check sent to a different mailing address, please complete the Refund Request Form online.
Credit Balances Due to Overpayment
If a student account has a credit balance that is not the result of financial aid, the student must request a refund if one is desired. Otherwise, the credit balance will remain on the student’s account and be applied to future charges. Students may request a refund by completing the Refund Request Form online.
Payments made by credit/debit cards will be refunded back to the applicable card.
Parent PLUS Loan Refunds
All credit balances due to a Parent PLUS Loan will be refunded to the PLUS Loan borrower unless they indicate on the PLUS loan application that the funds should be issued to the student. Any credit to a student’s account with a Parent Plus Loan will be viewed as resulting from the Parent Plus Loan and refunded as indicated on the PLUS loan application. Please be advised that if the credit is to be refunded to the PLUS Loan borrower, it typically takes two weeks from the first day of classes (or disbursement date if funds posted after classes start) for the check to be mailed.
If the PLUS Loan borrower would prefer that we issue the refund to the student, they can send an email to studentaccounts@unca.edu from the email on the PLUS application indicating they would like us to make that change.
VA Refunds
The VA has changed the way that they handle overpayments and debts in the GI Bill® program:
In the past, the VA would create a debt and ask for repayment from the student when the student reduced or terminated enrollment after the first day of the term. In the upcoming semester, if you have a change of enrollment which results in an overpayment of benefits associated with tuition and fee charges, you will still receive an automated notification from VA indicating the tuition and fee debt amount to be collected.
However, the VA will collect this amount from UNC Asheville rather than you. In turn, you will be required to repay UNC Asheville for any outstanding balance for tuition and fees. If you owe money due to dropping a class or withdrawing, we will reach out to you for the debt once we receive notification from the VA. You will still be responsible for repaying any debts associated with the monthly housing allowance and the book stipend to the VA.
Due to these changes the Student Accounts Office will no longer automatically advance a refund of any financial aid that you receive prior to the start of the semester, however you can request an advance individually based on the expected tuition and fee payment from the VA. This form is required for that process.