Notifications

All applicants are assigned a free COTC email account once the application for admissions and application fee are received and processed. The Office of Financial Aid will adhere to the campus policy of using email as the primary form of communication with all enrolled COTC students. Important financial aid information such as requested documents, award packages, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Return of Title IV funds, budget adjustments, loan information and scholarship opportunities will be sent to the students’ email account. It is the responsibility of the students to check and read their email on a frequent and consistent basis for important, time-sensitive messages from the college. The students will be held responsible for the information provided via email. Infrequent checking and full inboxes are not excuses for missing official college communications.  (The official COTC email policy is available in the Academic Policies.) 

The Office of Financial Aid will only correspond to a the school-issued email account.  If a message is received from another source (e.g., yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc.), a response will be sent to the COTC email account as well as a response to the non-COTC account stating: “For confidentiality reasons, a response to your email will be sent to your COTC issued email account only.”  Exceptions: non-admitted students or parent seeking general information or non-specific student information. If the parent is asking for specific information, a response will be sent to the student’s COTC email account and the student is responsible for obtaining the information.

​COTC students must complete a Confidential Information Release Form in order for the Office of Financial Aid to release financial aid information via the telephone. If another person or agency is to have access to the student’s financial aid data, they must be included on the Confidential Information Release Form and know the secret code word. To update the persons listed on the form, a new release statement must be completed and submitted in person to the Gateway. Picture ID is required for service at the front desk of the Office of Financial Aid as well as in the advisors’ offices.