Rights and Responsibilities

Financial Aid Responsibility

The Financial Aid Office is responsible for processing your aid application and administering your financial aid in a timely manner. You have the right to expect equitable treatment in the consideration of your application for financial aid assistance. Each student’s file is evaluated on an individual basis and financial aid is offered according to eligibility and packaging guidelines.

The staff reviews files in the order they are completed. Students who provide information to complete their files during peak business times (July, August & September) may experience a delay due to the high volume of files being processed. If you apply or complete your file late, please be prepared to pay with your own funds until your file is reviewed and an offer is made

Confidentiality Statement

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects the confidentiality of a student's education record, specify that the College may not release information from a student's record to anyone outside of the College without the express written consent of the student. This means that Western Dakota Technical College must withhold information about a student's grades, financial obligations, or standing with the College from parents and others who believe their relationship with the student entitles them to have the information. Please understand that because of these laws, Western Dakota Technical College cannot release this information without the express written consent of the student. If the student wishes to give consent to non-College employees, they must complete an Authorization to Release Financial Information form.

Please refer to the Western Dakota Technical College FERPA Policy and related resources for details. Students may sign a release form, kept on file electronically, granting access to certain records by designated parties. The form needs to either be signed/witnessed by a College Employee or by a notary public.

Financial Aid Disbursement

Financial aid funds are credited to the student’s account and applied toward their institutional charges. If a student has a credit balance after all of their institutional charges have been paid, a disbursement through U.S. Bank’s Payee Choice will be made for the remaining amount. Credit balances become available to students the third week of fall and spring semester and the second week during summer semester. All credit balances are disbursed through U.S. Bank’s Payee Choice. You will receive a text message and email when your disbursement is ready. Please follow the directions to create an account and choose the disbursement method you prefer. The disbursement options to choose from include direct deposit, check sent by mail, or an electronic payment through Zelle. If an account is not created within 5 days of notification, a check will automatically be processed and mailed to the student’s address on file.

All fees and other institutional charges are due prior to the start of each semester. If tuition and fees are not paid in full or other payment arrangements have not been made with the Student Accounts Office, the student will be unenrolled from their courses due to non-payment and their charges will be reversed on their student account. It is the student’s responsibility to pay any remaining balance on their account not covered by other funding sources prior to the beginning of each semester. The student is responsible for all fees and institutional charges when due, even if they expect to receive financial aid.

Bookstore charges through eCampus Bookstore may be available two weeks prior to classes starting, if all Financial Aid paperwork is complete, or written authorization has been received from Third Party agencies.  

If your enrollment plans change, you must notify the Financial Aid Office because your eligibility for financial aid may be affected.

If you have a source of educational funding that is not listed on the Financial Aid Offer, inform the Financial Aid Office either via email at finaid@wdt.edu or in writing. Examples of additional funding that must be reported includes Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Labor and Regulation, tribal grants or loans, all scholarships, stipends, and grants. If you learn about additional funding after you have received your Financial Aid Offer, you are required to notify the Financial Aid Office in writing as soon as possible and an updated Financial Offer may be issued If you are no longer eligible for part of the aid you have been offered, we will work with you to resolve any over-award.. If it is necessary that you repay a portion of your financial aid, you will have to repay it before you are eligible for further aid.

Western Dakota Technical College students who utilized Federal Direct Student Loans and cease enrollment or graduate are required to complete Exit Counseling on the Federal Student Aid website.

All financial aid recipients must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Be enrolled/accepted for enrollment in a degree, diploma or certificate program.
• Have a high school diploma or GED.
• Be a citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• Cannot be in default on Perkins Loans or any Direct Loan at any institution
• Cannot owe an overpayment of Pell or SEOG.
• Cannot have borrowed more than the maximum loan limits.
• Have need, as defined by individual program requirements (except for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and Federal Direct PLUS Loan).
• Meet any other program-specific criteria.