Title IV funds

Return to Title IV Policy

The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, who are dismissed, drop to less than half time status, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations.
 
To determine if you will be subject to a return to Title IV fund calculation, please review this document: Steps in determining a R2T4 calculation. If a student withdraws from a class (whether officially, or simply stops attending) prior to completing more than 60% of the payment period or term, the financial aid office may be required to recalculate eligibility for Title IV funds. Students dropping a Fall or Spring course may also be subject to a Return of Title IV Funds calculation. 

WATCH: If I drop a course or withdraw, what will happen to my financial aid?

The recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following federal return of Title IV Funds formula:

• Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

• Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution.

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 120 days of the student's withdrawal.

The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student's withdrawal.

Return of funds by the school and order to be returned
•    Unsubsidized FFEL/Direct Stafford Loans
•    Subsidized FFEL/Direct Stafford Loans
•    Federal Perkins Loans
•    FFEL/Direct PLUS (Graduate Student)
•    FFEL/Direct PLUS (Parent)

Return of grants funds by the student and order to be returned:
•    Pell Grant
•    FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant)
•    Other assistance under this Title for which a return of funds is required (e.g. LEAP)