Policy Number: I-81
Last Reviewed: July 30, 2026
Responsible Dept.: Vice President of Academic & Workforce Solutions
A signed copy of this policy is available in the President’s Office.
81.1 Purpose
This policy defines the rules and parameters governing all student-initiated and college-initiated tuition refunds, course transfers, and financial adjustments for non-credit Workforce Development offerings at Virginia Western Community College. This comprehensive policy applies to all registration funding types, including FastForward (Workforce Credentials Grant) programs, 100% self-pay enrollments, and customized corporate contract training.
81.2 Definitions
- FastForward (Workforce Credentials Grant / WCG): A state-funded program where tuition is split into thirds.
- 1st Third: The initial, upfront baseline tuition paid by the student or sponsor at registration.
- 2nd Third Obligation: If a student fails to complete the course, the student becomes personally responsible for paying this second one-third obligation back to the institution.
- 3rd Third: The final funding portion paid to the college by the Commonwealth of Virginia upon the student successfully earning their industry credential.
- Tuition: The core instructional cost required to register for and secure a seat in a non-credit workforce development course.
- Course Fees: Compulsory fees assessed to support programmatic operations, such as materials, custom software platform licenses, online simulation access keys, and technical licensing.
- Other Fees: Secondary operational charges, which include credit card transaction processing surcharges, late registration fees, and local seat-reservation fees.
- Local Institutional Fee: fee assessed following withdrawal period unless the one-time course transfer option is elected. This fee is assessed to cover baseline operational and software platform allocations.
81.3 College-Initiated Course Cancellation
If Virginia Western Community College cancels a non-credit Workforce course for any reason, students will not incur any financial penalty. Students enrolled in the canceled course will be offered one of the following options.
- A 100% refund of all tuition and applicable institutional fees paid;
- A full transfer to another available section of the same course, if available; or
- A full tuition credit to be applied toward another eligible Workforce Development course offered by the College.
Students will be notified as soon as practicable of the course cancellation and the available options. Tuition credits must be used within six months.
81.4 Student-Initiated Drop or Withdrawal
Student eligibility for tuition refunds, fee adjustments, and course transfers is determined by the timing of the student’s official withdrawal request relative to the course start date excluding courses outlined in Section 81.5. The following withdrawal periods identify the applicable refund, transfer options, and financial responsibilities.
81.4.a. Tier 1: Standard Withdrawal Window (More than 7 Calendar Days Prior to Class Start)
Students who submit a written withdrawal request seven (7) calendar days or more before the scheduled first day of class are eligible for a full tuition refund.
- Financial Liability: The student carries no financial obligations or penalties for tuition and course fees except for a processing fee, if applicable.
- Processing Fee Exception: While 100% of the course tuition and course fees are returned, any “other fees” for external, third-party credit card processing fees or transactional convenience surcharges assessed at the time of registration are strictly non-refundable and will be deducted from the final refund amount.
- Required Process: To execute a drop under this section, students must formally initiate the drop via the standard Workforce Drop Form.
81.4.b. Tier 2: Late Cancellation Window (6 Days Prior to Start up to Class Start)
Cancellations or drop requests submitted inside the six (6) day window immediately preceding the class start date are eligible for a tuition refund minus a flat $250.00 Local Institutional Fee.
- Financial Liability:
- Fee: Students who fail to provide the required 7-day prior written notice and do not attend the first session will be assessed a $250 non-refundable Local Institutional Fee.
- In Lieu of Refund with Fee (Transfer Alternative): Rather than forfeiting the $250.00 Local Institutional Fee, students may request a One-Time Course Transfer to completely preserve their full tuition credit. Under this option, the $250.00 Local Institutional Fee is entirely waived, and 100% of the paid tuition is applied directly to another available session of the same course or an alternative course of equal value.
- Transfer Limit: Students are strictly limited to one (1) course transfer per enrollment.
- Submission Pathways: To avoid the Local Institutional Fee via a transfer, students must officially request the switch prior to class start time either by completing the online Workforce Course Transfer Request Form or via a Staff-Assisted Digital Validation (responding to an official text/email confirmation).
- Restrictions: All transfers are subject to active course availability and require formal, joint authorization by the workforce registration office and the Dean of STEM and Workforce. Once a transfer is executed, the new registration is considered a final enrollment and is ineligible for subsequent standard refunds as outlined in 81.4.a. or further transfers as outlined in 81.4.b.
- Required Process: To execute a drop under this section, students must formally initiate the drop via the standard Workforce Course Change Request Form (MyVWCC credentials required).
81.4.c Tier 3: Initial Class Progression Window (Class Start up to 10% of Course Duration)
If a class has started and a student does not attend, has requested to be dropped, or stops attending before the course hits its 10% completion threshold:
- Financial Liability: The student will not be charged full program tuition, and any applicable charge for the 2/3 of FastForward will be canceled.
- Local Institutional Fee Assessment: Instead of full tuition, the student’s account will be assessed a flat $250.00 Local Institutional Fee to cover baseline operational and software platform allocations.
- Non-Refundable Course and Other Fees: Any applicable non-refundable registration fees, credit card processing surcharges, or physical course materials/kits already issued or allocated to the student are strictly non-refundable and will be added to the student’s final financial obligation in addition to the $250.00 Local Institutional Fee.
- Required Process: To execute a drop under this section, students must formally initiate the drop via the standard Workforce Course Change Request Form (MyVWCC credentials required)
81.4.d. Tier 4: Mid-Course Progression Window (More Than 10% of Course Duration)
Once a course meets or crosses the 10% completion milestone, standard student withdrawals are strictly prohibited. Any student attempting to drop or stop attending past this point is not eligible for a refund on tuition or any fee types and faces immediate financial enforcement for FastForward courses. See 81.2
- Financial Liability: The student is fully responsible for the cost of tuition, course fees, and or other fees, if applicable, and is not eligible for a refund.
- Required Process: To execute a drop under this section, students must formally initiate the drop via the standard Workforce Course Change Request Form (MyVWCC credentials required).
81.5 Excluded Modalities & Partnership Contracts
81.5.a. Online Classes: Fully online asynchronous or synchronous non-credit modules remain completely non-refundable once courseware credentials or system access keys have been generated.
81.5.b. Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Exception: Under the Mountain Gateway Community College (MGCC) partnership contract, CDL students are granted an exclusive policy window: they are eligible for a full refund for up to two (2) business days following their formal orientation class. Beyond this 2-business-day mark, no refunds or adjustments are permitted under any standard withdrawal.
81.5.c. Courses costing less than $250.00 and Non-FastForward Standard Offerings: For all non-credit workforce courses that are not funded by the FastForward grant (100% self-pay) or where the total course tuition is less than $250.00, the following rules apply:
- Financial Liability: If a student requests a late cancellation (81.4.b. – Tier 2) or an initial progression drop (81.4.c. – Tier 3) for a course with a total tuition cost under $250.00, the standard $250.00 Local Institutional No-Show Fee is automatically waived. Instead, the financial penalty is strictly capped at 100% of the course tuition. The student will forfeit the tuition paid, but no additional fees or balances will be billed to their account.
100% Self-Pay Standard Offerings (Over $250.00): For self-pay courses that cost more than $250.00, drops follow the standard chronological tiers outlined in Section 81.4. Late drops will result in a refund of their tuition minus the flat $250.00 fee and any Other Fees such as credit card processing fees and unrecoverable physical material kit costs.
81.6 Policy on Tuition Refunds in Exceptional Cases (Appeals)
Exceptions to this policy may be made in extreme, mitigating circumstances which are appropriately documented in accordance with Virginia Community College System Policy 4.3.2.
Appeals will be reviewed by the Tuition Appeals Committee on a case-by-case basis.
Qualifying tuition refund exceptions may include:
- Documented major medical emergency
- Documented extreme financial hardship involving sudden, unforeseen loss
- Death of an immediate family member; is defined as a father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, spouse, sibling, step-sibling, child, or stepchild
- Errors by Virginia Western personnel; documentation must be submitted by the department in which the error occurred
- National emergency or mobilization declared by the President of the United States in accordance with Section 23-9.6:2 of the Code of Virginia
- Military service as defined in VCCS Policy 4.3.2.3, pursuant to 23-9.6:2 of the Code of Virginia, and in conjunction with the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) Guidelines and VWCC Policy I-1: Refunds, Credits, and Reinstatement as a Result of Military Service.
- Certain Active Duty Military Students Covered by U.S. Department of Defense Military Tuition Assistance Program as defined in VCCS Policy 4.3.2.5
Qualifying tuition refund exceptions do not include:
- Misunderstanding of deadlines, college policies and accompanying procedures as published in the College Catalog, the Student Handbook, the college website, or course syllabi
- Misunderstanding of course requirements or prerequisites
- Dissatisfaction with course content, instruction, or academic progress
- Conflicts with childcare, work, or vacation schedules
- Changes in eligibility for funding or scholarships
- Personal errors in judgment
- Lack of transportation
- Incarceration
Students requesting a tuition refund policy exception must submit a Tuition Appeal Request Form online (please review the allowable exceptions above). This form must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation of the extreme, mitigating circumstance that qualifies for an exception to the refund policy. Please allow 2-3 weeks processing time for the Tuition Appeal Committee to review your request. Once the review process is complete, a determination will be emailed to the address provided on the Request Form. All determinations made by the committee are considered final.
If the request is denied for a FastForward (Workforce Credentials Grant) funded course, the student is also responsible for paying the second 1/3 of tuition. See 81.7
Materials Forfeiture: Even under fully approved and excused extenuating circumstances, any physical material kits, student supplies, toolsets, or credit card processing fees already processed are strictly non-refundable and cannot be credited, waived, or recovered.
81.7 Financial Obligation for Workforce Credential Grant
The Workforce Credential Grant provides training to obtain an industry credential to aid in employment. Failure to complete the course results in loss of any upfront tuition payments and owing the state an additional amount equal to 1/3 of the full tuition. A debt to the state can be collected through state tax returns. If a student does not pass but desires to retake, it will be at the student’s own expense.
81.8 Tuition Refund for Corporate and Professional Training
Corporate and Professional Training refunds are processed on a case-by-case basis with approval from the Dean of STEM and Workforce.
81.9 Communication Pathways & Safe-Harbor Verification
No course drop shall be processed purely on unverified verbal instructions. To ensure account security and clear tracking, the official request must always be submitted directly by the student.
- Staff-Assisted Digital Initiation: If a student requests a drop or transfer via phone or an informal conversation, Staff will immediately send the official Workforce Course Change Request Form (MyVWCC credentials required) link directly to the student via text message (SMS) or email which the student must verify one of two ways.
- Official Authorization Requirements: The drop or transfer will only be processed after:
- The student clicks the link and successfully submits the digital Workforce Course Change Request Form (MyVWCC credentials required) online; OR
- The student replies in writing with explicit authorization (including their Student ID) to an official verification email sent by the college.
Verbal requests alone do not constitute official authorization of a dropped course. Any written communication used to authorize the drop (e.g., email or completed form) must be retained as part of the student’s record in accordance with institutional recordkeeping procedures.
81.10 Delegated Administrative Approval
The Academic Dean of STEM and Workforce is granted delegated authority to review and approve student exceptions in cases of clear, documented extenuating circumstances.
Upon the Dean’s digital sign-off, the student’s financial account will be cleared of approved tuition balances, state financial obligations, and applicable institutional fees without requiring a formal hearing before the full Tuition Appeals Committee.
Reviewed/Revised: 11/2024; 12/2025; 1/2026; 2/2026; 7/2026
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