Admission

You may be entitled to a credit balance refund when payments to your student account, including financial aid awards and loan disbursements, exceed your Essex County College tuition, fee, and other charges.   The Bursar’s Office will produce a student refund for you in the amount of your credit balance.

Definition of Credit Balance:

A credit balance occurs when the total of the credits or payments posted to a student’s tuition account (e.g., cash, check, charge payments, loan disbursements, scholarships, financial aid grants, etc.) exceeds the student’s charges applied to the account for a specific semester or term.

Credits balances available for refunds are negative (-) balances created on the student’s tuition account after-credits or payments have been posted and all applicable and or allowable charges have been deducted. Credit balances can also be created when a paid student drops or withdraws from a class.  Please review the tuition refund policy at Tuition Refund Policy (Tab found on this webpage)

Title IV credits are negative (-) balances created on a student’s tuition account after the PELL grant has been applied and all allowable charges have been paid.  Title IV allowable charges are current tuition charges, mandatory fees, book charges, and prior year charges with the student’s written authorization not to exceed $200.

Time Frame for Paying Credit Balances:

  1. Title IV or PELL grant credit balances will be automatically issued no later than 14 days from the date the credit balance occurs on a student’s tuition account.  Students will be notified via email when their refund is processed.
  2. For all other credit balance refunds, the refund accountant will run a credit balance report immediately after the add/drop period to process credit balances. Please allow 30 days for processing.

Method of Refunding Credit Balances:

  1. Cash and check overpayments will be refunded via check and credit card overpayments will be refunded to the credit or debit card account originally charged.
  2. Financial aid students are encouraged to enroll in direct deposit to have their refund sent via electronic fund transfer (EFT) to a designated bank account.


Direct Deposit Enrollment:

When you enroll in direct deposit, you enjoy the following conveniences:

  • Funds are available the next day
  • Funds can be credited to a savings or checking account
  • Avoid standing in check-cashing lines or incurring check-cashing fees
  • No chance of your check being lost, stolen or returned

Enrollment forms are available here and should be completed and delivered to the Bursars Office in room #4121 on the Newark Campus or on the first level at the West Essex Campus. Please present your ECC student identification card to the cashier when enrolling along with a voided check or bank letter confirming your bank account and routing number.

Financial Aid Title IV Grant Disbursement & Credit Balance Refund Dates:

Fy23/24:Federal Aid Disbursement DateCredit Balance Refund Date
Summer II 20237/24/238/7/23
Fall 202310/27/2311/10/23
Spring 20242/27/243/12/24
Summer I 20245/28/246/11/24
Fy24/25:Federal Aid Disbursement DateCredit Balance Refund Date
Summer II 20247/23/248/6/24
Fall 202410/23/2411/6/24
Spring 20252/26/253/12/25
Summer I 20255/23/256/6/25