Student Services Areas and COVID-19

If you need to drop one or more classes as a result of COVID-19, please complete and submit the Exceptional Action Petition. You will be dropped with an excused withdrawal (EW) notation on your transcript. EWs were temporarily approved by the state chancellor's office for a refund of the enrollment fee for spring 2020, summer 2020, and fall 2020.

Beginning with winter 2021, fee refunds for students who receive an EW are not available. The EW symbol does not count in the calculation of probation or dismissal and is not counted as an enrollment attempt for purposes of course repetition. However, the course, along with the EW symbol, will appear on your transcript. The deadline to submit the Exceptional Action Petition to admissions and records is 30 days after the semester ends.

We strongly encourage you to meet with a counselor prior to dropping any class and to review the financial aid impact information below for additional details.

Please note: students who drop themselves through Wingspan or are dropped by the instructor may receive a withdrawal ("W" symbol). Students who had dropped their course(s) online or who were dropped by their instructor can petition to drop with an EW by submitting the Exceptional Action Petition.

If a class is canceled, students will automatically be removed from the class, will not receive a grade or withdrawal, and will receive a refund of the enrollment fee.

Please review the Return of Title IV Funds policy and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies to determine the financial aid impact of withdrawal. These policies are in effect for all terms/semester except for spring 2020.

Spring 2020 exceptions to the Return of Title IV Funds Policy and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies:
The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) was signed into law on March 27, 2020, giving institutions increased flexibility in financial aid regulations.

Students who withdraw with an EW or withdraw from all of their courses will be subject to a Pell Grant Freeze and Recalculation* and a Return to Title IV Calculation.**

As a result, you may owe a repayment of financial aid. However, if you withdraw and receive an EW notation on your transcript due to a qualifying emergency related to COVID-19, you will not owe a repayment of financial aid funds and there will be no negative implications for future financial aid.

Students withdrawing due to a qualified COVID-19 related emergency will maintain their Pell Lifetime Eligibility and unsubsidized loan limit that they would have used for the semester in which they withdraw. Students receiving an EW due to COVID-19 may be required to provide verification of their qualifying emergency. The U.S. Department of Education is currently reviewing the implications of the CARES Act and will provide institutions with additional guidance regarding verification of a qualifying COVID-19 emergency. Students should write a statement and maintain any documentation or records to verify their emergency, should documentation be required. We will update this page with documentation requirements as soon as we receive guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.

* Pell Grant Freeze and Recalculation
Pell Grant awards are recalculated each semester on the published recalculation freeze dates found on the financial aid webpage under important dates and deadlines. The recalculation is performed to make Pell Grant adjustments based on any changes in enrollment status after the initial disbursement. If you dropped units due to a COVID-19 related emergency, you will not owe a repayment for the units dropped.

** Return to Title IV Calculations
Federal law specifies how Citrus College must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. If you withdrew due to a COVID-19 related emergency, you will not owe a repayment for the units dropped.

*** Satisfactory Academic Progress
In accordance with Federal regulations, financial aid recipients are required to meet SAP requirements. However, if you withdrew from class due to a COVID-19 related emergency, you will not have the withdrawal counted against your quantitative SAP calculation and will be eligible to continue to receive financial aid. CARES allows institutions to exclude from SAP calculations any attempted credits that were not completed due to a qualifying COVID-19 emergency, without requiring an appeal from the student. Please note that this exception does not apply to the qualitative component of SAP.

Still have questions regarding your financial aid status? Please submit your question online through the virtual Financial Aid Help Desk.