(a) A community/junior or technical college, as soon as practicable, shall at a minimum refund mandatory fees and tuition in excess of the minimum tuition collected for courses from which the students drop or withdraw, according to the following schedule. For courses which meet on what the college considers a regular schedule, class days refer to the number of calendar days the institution normally meets for classes, not the days a particular course meets. For courses which meet on an unusual or irregular schedule, the college may exercise professional judgement in defining a class day. The indicated percentages are to be applied to the tuition and mandatory fees collected for each course from which the student is withdrawing. The college may not delay a refund on  the  grounds that the student may withdraw from the institution or unit later in the semester or term. The institution may assess a nonrefundable $15 matriculation fee if the student withdraws from the institution before the first day of classes.      
        (1) Coordinating Board approved semester-length courses for which semester credit hours are awarded:                  (A) A 100% refund is to be made for courses dropped prior to the first class day.                   (B) During the fall or spring semester or comparable trimester:                      (i) during the first 15 class days, 70%;                       (ii) during the 16th through 20th class days, 25%;                       (iii) after the 20th class day, none; and                     (C) Six-week summer semester:                      (i) during the first five class days, 70%;                       (ii) during the sixth and seventh class days, 25%;                       (iii) after the seventh class day, none.           
        (2) For flex entry and non-semester-length courses with a census date other than the 12th class day (fourth class day for a six-week summer semester):                  (A) prior to the first class day, 100%;                   (B) after classes begin, see table:          
            Attached Graphic           
      (b) A community/junior or technical college must follow the applicable refund policy outlined in subsection (a)(1) and (2) of this section for  courses associated with any program which is approved for Title IV federal funding. The institution may determine a  refund policy for any other program.     
      (c) Prior to the census date, community and technical colleges may allow hours to be dropped and re-added without penalty to the student if the exchange is an equal one. When the charges for dropped hours are greater than for the hours added, the refund policy outlined above is to be applied to the net charges being dropped. If the charges for hours being added exceed the charges for hours being dropped, the student must pay the net additional charges.     
      (d) Separate withdrawal refund schedules may be established for optional fees such as intercollegiate athletics, cultural  entertainment, parking and yearbooks.     
      (e) A community/junior or technical college shall refund tuition and fees paid by a  sponsor, donor, or scholarship to the source rather than directly to the student who has withdrawn if the funds were made available through the institution.     
      (f) A community/junior or technical college may terminate student services and privileges, such as health services, library privileges, facilities usage, and athletic and cultural entertainment tickets when a student withdraws from the institution.     
      (g) If a student withdraws because the student is called into active military service, the institution, at the student's option, shall:      
        (1) refund the  tuition and fees paid by the student for the semester in which the student withdraws;       
        (2) grant a student, who is eligible under the institution's guidelines,  an  incomplete grade in all courses by designating "withdrawn-military" on the student's transcript; or       
        (3) as determined by the instructor, assign an appropriate final grade or credit to a student who has satisfactorily completed a substantial amount of course work and who has demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material.       
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §21.5 adopted to be effective December 26, 1995, 20 TexReg 10595; amended to be effective September 13, 1996, 21 TexReg 8504; amended to be effective November 26, 1997, 22 TexReg 11358