Financial Aid and Textbooks

Hi Everyone-

Phyllis D. had a question about textbooks and financial aid yesterday and thought the rest of you might like the information also.

We process textbook orders for students using financial aid to purchase their textbooks through the CCCOnline offices. That adds about a day to the time it takes for a student to receive their books and it requires them to use the official bookstore - MBS.

When a student receives financial aid the college sets up an account for them at the college. The college uses the funds in that account to pay for tuition, fees, and books, then eventually disburses any remaining funds to the student. When CCCOnline orders books for the students we pay for the books, then send a statement to the colleges. The colleges reimburse CCCOnline out of the financial aid account they have for the student.

That means we have to be careful not to order books for the students after the financial aid funds have already been disbursed to the student. To ensure that we stop ordering books for students the week before classes begin. If a student registers late for session 1 classes and does not immediately order their textbooks they will have to cover the cost of the textbooks from their personal funds until they receive their financial aid check. Session 2 students are in a slightly better position. They generally receive their financial aid funds the fourth week of the semester and can use that money to purchase books for session 2 classes.

Session 1 students who don't order books promptly may be caught in the donut hole between the closing of the CCCOnline process and the disbursement of their financial aid funds. Unfortunately right now there is not a lot we can do about that. It's another reason we like the digital content project as the cost to the student is included on their tuition bill and access to the content runs with the class.

best,
Lisa