Refund Schedule and Appeal Information

Students shall have the opportunity to seek an appeal, in writing, contesting or petitioning an outstanding balance due to the college. Students will receive a response within five days of submitting an appeal. The Petition for Tuition & Fee Appeal form is available at Student Account Services, which is located on the 1st floor of the Information Commons building inside the Student Affairs office as well as online at the link below. Once an appeal has been submitted, the Tuition and Fee Appeal Committee will review the appeal situation and the documentation provided. Any individual who fails to appeal, in writing, within the thirty-day timeframe, by default waives all rights to appeal.

 

Appeals Procedure

 

The student must complete and submit a Petition for Tuition & Fee Appeal form and all pertinent written documentation to Student Account Services within 30 days following the end of the term. In cases of incapacitation, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.

Students receiving any type of financial aid, including loans grants, and scholarships should be aware that their account will be reviewed to determine how much financial aid they have earned. Ozarks Technical Community College will not adjust any tuition charges if aid is earned. Rules and regulations governing Federal Financial Aid programs cannot be waived through a tuition appeal or under any other circumstances.

 

Please note that you do not qualify for an appeal under these circumstances:

 

• Courses moving to online delivery in response to COVID-19
• Attendance Agreement signed, acknowledging you are taking a seated course with COVID-19 ongoing.
• Failure to attend class, incomplete course withdrawal or administrative withdrawal action does not constitute grounds for appeal.
• Financial hardship does not constitute grounds for appeal.
• If your request is based on a current or past incarceration, you cannot appeal your balance unless you can prove you were wrongly accused.
• You have an academic complaint. These complaints need to be handled with the appropriate college department or vice chancellor.
• If you have an OTC employee/customer service complaint, please address them with the appropriate department supervisor.
• Inadequate student technology devices including, software and hardware issues, do not constitute grounds for an appeal.

 

Students initiating the appeal process should keep the following in mind:

 

• Each written appeal must be dated and include the student’s name, ID number, signature, statement describing specifically what is being requested and for what term, statement of any extenuating circumstances and why the request should be honored.
• Failure to attend class or incomplete course withdrawal does not constitute grounds for appeal.
• Failure to complete registration transaction with myOTC will not be grounds for appeal. Students are ultimately responsible to verify that registration transactions are completed.
• Exceptions must meet one or more of the following criteria to be considered and approved:
  1. Written documentation of an illness, accident, injury or situation which could not be influenced, planned for, or prevented by the student and which subsequently caused a change in the class schedule, thus changing the assessment. This provision specifically excludes conditions or chronic illnesses that remain static and are known to the student at the time of registration. This applies for student or immediate family only. Immediate family includes spouse, children, parent, step-parent, grandparent and step-grandparent.
  2. Written documentation of substantiated circumstances involving deadlines where a student has in good faith relied on information provided by a named college official or the official’s interpretations of the text of a college document or publication and was consequently misled or mistaken about its terms. Please note printed/published material, such as registration forms, guide sheets, class schedule information, web directions and the catalog take precedence over verbal information.

• Decisions will only address whether an adjustment of fees will be made. Grade assignments and other academic issues are not within the scope of these procedures and should be addressed to the appropriate vice chancellor.
• Notification of a decision will be made in writing and will be mailed within 45 business days of the appeal being submitted.
• The decision of the committee may be appealed, in writing, to the college’s Director of Student Financial Services.
• Any individual who fails to appeal, in writing, within the thirty-day timeframe, by default waives all rights to appeal.

You must sign up for My Payment Plan on the same day that you register in order to complete your registration.

All students accept responsibility for payment of all tuition and fees at the time of registration. Any outstanding student account balance remaining unpaid following the final My Payment Plan payment of the semester will be assessed up to a 35% collection charge and reported to appropriate collection agencies and the Missouri Department of Revenue.

Any student who has an outstanding balance due to the college will not be able to register/maintain enrollment in future courses.