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Refunds and Return of Title IV Funds

If you fail to attend all courses, withdraw from the University during the period of your award, or if your registration is canceled, all or a portion of the funds you received must be repaid. The refund will be prorated according to your date of withdrawal, course load reduction, or canceled registration. Student aid funds credited to your student account will be adjusted. There will likely be an outstanding balance on your student account that you will be obligated to pay. If you fail to attend all courses, withdraw or cancel enrollment during the first term of an award, your subsequent term(s) of aid will be canceled. You must submit a Change of Status form to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to reinstate aid for any remaining term(s) for the award year. You must come to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships before you failure to attend all courses, withdrawal, or a change of enrollment status to discuss the effects of your decision.

Please read the following Official Return of Title IV Aid policy carefully: In the event that a student who received Federal Title IV funds completely withdraws, is expelled, drops out, or otherwise fails to complete a period of enrollment for which charges are incurred, the University will first determine whether:

Unearned Title IV funds, other than Federal College Work Study, must be returned to the appropriate financial aid program. A student “earns” Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time he or she remains enrolled. The percentage of time during the period that the student remained enrolled is the percentage of aid that the student earned. For example, if a student remains enrolled in 37 out of 73 calendar days for a term, that student has earned 50% of his or her aid. Therefore, using this example, 50% of the aid must be returned to the appropriate aid program(s). A student who remains enrolled for at least 60% of the term, 44 out of 73 calendar day, earns all of his or her aid for that term.

  • The student did not attend any class and overpayment provisions apply. In this situation 100% of the aid funds would be returned to the Title IV, State, or Institutional programs; or
  • The student attended at least one class and regulatory repayment requirements apply. In this situation, the University must calculate the amount of aid that was “unearned” at the time of departure from the University.

A student who fails to attend all classes or abandons (drops out) his/her classes without officially notifying the University will have all or a portion of aid cancelled and returned to the appropriate program. The beginning or midpoint of the term may be used as the withdrawal date for students who fail to provide official notification. If a student is able to document classroom-related activity subsequent to the midpoint of the term, then a later date may be used in the calculation.

According to Federal Guidelines, the responsibility for repaying unearned aid may be shared by the University and the student in proportion to the aid each is assumed to possess. The University share is the lesser of: a) the amount of unearned aid or b) institutional charges multiplied by the percentage of aid that was unearned. The student’s share is the difference between the total unearned amount and the institution’s share.

Unearned Title IV aid will result in a reduction to each aid program in the following order:

  • Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
  • Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
  • Federal Perkins Loan
  • Federal PLUS/Grad Loan
  • Federal PLUS Loan
  • Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
  • Federal TEACH Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • State Cal Grant (A, B and B Access)
  • State University Grant (SUG)

Reductions in aid from the above programs may create a balance that will be due from the student to the University. Your share of a federal grant will be reduced to half per federal law. Your share of an unearned federal loan will be returned by the University to the Department of Education. You may owe the University for any balance due as a result of return of federal grants or loans to the Department of Education. Note: You are responsible to repay federal student loans that you otherwise receive and retain according to the terms of the promissory note.