The board of trustees of College District No. 26 establishes policies for administering the refund of tuition and special course/program connected fees when a student withdraws from college or reduces class load.

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Misconduct" means student action or inaction which violates a college rule or policy and results in suspension or dismissal from the college.

(2) "Registration fee" means a service fee charged to defray the clerical expense of processing a registration transaction.

(3) "Special course/program connected fees" means fees other than tuition required for enrollment (e.g., equipment fees, supply fees, laboratory material fees, excess cost fees, etc.).

(4) "Termination" means the dismissal from a course, program, or the college due to student misconduct or lack of academic progress.

(5) "Transfer" means moving from one course to another within the same registration transaction.

(6) "Tuition" means fees collected by College District No. 26 which include the general tuition fees, operating fees, and the services and activities fees.

(7) "Withdraw" and "withdrawal" means when a student formally leaves college by completing the forms and procedures specified in the published class schedule or otherwise established by the college.

Tuition and special course/program connected fee refunds will be made for a student's reduction in class load or complete withdrawal from college, in accordance with these rules. Students will forfeit all claims to refund of tuition and special course/program connected fees when they fail to withdraw from the college, when they are suspended or terminated for misconduct, and when the tuition and special course/program connected fees are designated in the quarterly course schedule and/or course announcement as nonrefundable.

It shall be the policy of Lake Washington Institute of Technology that students shall receive refunds of tuition and fees in a fair and equitable manner in accordance with policy expressed in state law. Further, all applicable federal laws and regulations will be observed and implemented when doing so is necessary to maintain eligibility for federal funding of programs, as allowed by state law.

A student may appeal denial of a refund request within one quarter of payment. All such appeals shall be made in writing, and filed with and decided by the registrar.