Withdrawal and Return of Title IV

Requirements for Withdrawal and Return of Title IV

Return of Title IV

Title IV funds are packaged for a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which they have been deemed eligible for financial aid.

When a student who has actually received Title IV funds or has met the conditions that entitled the student to a late disbursement, is considered withdrawn from a semester, the university is required by law to perform a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation to determine the percentage and amount of aid that the student earned up to the time of withdrawal. An R2T4 determination cannot be appealed.

The outcome of an R2T4 calculation may result in student owing funds to the university, the government, or both.

Federal law requires schools to calculate how much federal financial aid a student has earned if that student:

• Completely withdraws, or
• Stops attending before completing the semester, or
• Does not complete all modules for which the student has registered at the time they begin attending

Unless the student

• Completes half-time course enrollment in a semester with passing grades, or
• Completes one module (course) that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period with a passing grade

Regulations require that if a recipient of Title IV assistance withdraws from an institution during a period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must calculate the percentage and amount of Title IV assistance the student did not earn and return those funds to the Title IV programs. Return of unearned funds is performed regardless of the amount of tuition and fees the university is charging the student.

The designated office for students to contact to withdraw from a class or completely withdraw from UHC is the Registrar's Office. Students who want to drop all of their classes need to do so through the Office of the Registrar. The institution does not withdraw students who stop attending classes.

Official Withdrawal

A student is considered an official withdrawal if they have:

• Withdrawn from all courses in the current semester
• Student selected confirmation to continue but did not continue and was identified at the mid-point in the semester

Unless the student

• Completes half-time course enrollment in a semester with passing grades, or
• Completes one module (Course) that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period with a passing grade

Withdrawing (official or Unofficial) from classes could affect the student's future eligibility for Financial aid due to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements.

Unofficial Withdrawal

If a student who began attendance, and has not officially withdrawn, fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course offered over the entire semester, the university must assume for Title IV purposes that the student has withdrawn. The student may then be subject to an R2T4 calculation, unless the school can document that the student completed the period.

• The university differentiates between an earned F and an unearned F(FN) - an earned F grade is not considered a withdrawal.
• Students determined to be an unofficial withdrawal are no longer considered enrolled for the semester and are therefore subject to R2T4 rules.

Module Based Programs

Modules are courses that do not span the entire payment period (semester). A student in a module-based program would be considered withdrawn if the student:

• Does not complete all the days they were scheduled to attend within a semester or module for which their aid was intended for
• Intends to return for another module in the same semester but does not return

Unless the student

• Completes half-time course enrollment in a semester with passing grades, or
• Completes one module (Course) that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period with a passing grade

Students may provide written confirmation at the time of withdrawal that he or she will attend a module that begins later in the payment period A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the university obtains a written confirmation to continue on the withdrawal form at the time of the withdrawal. Future registrations are not considered a confirmation to continue.

Return of Title IV Calculations

R2T4 calculations are completed within 30 days of the Date of Determination that the student has withdrawn. Students receive electronic notifications of the R2T4 calculation and results. The following R2T4 procedures are followed:

• The amount of aid earned is based on a determination of the withdrawal date, which may be:
  • For unofficial withdrawals, either the midpoint of the semester or the last documented date of attendance at an academically related activity, whichever is later.
  • For official withdrawals, either the last course drop/withdrawal date as provided to the Registrar.
• The institution will determine the last date that the student participated in an academically-related activity such as participating in a discussion group, taking a quiz or exam, turning in homework, etc.
• Simply logging into a course without active participation does not constitute an academically- related activity.
• A calculation is used to determine how much Title IV program funds the student has earned at the time the student is considered withdrawn, up through the 60% of the scheduled period of enrollment.
• After the 60% point of the scheduled period of enrollment a student has earned 100% of the Title IV program funds.
• The percentage of the payment period completed is determined by the total number of calendar days in the payment period for which the assistance is packaged divided into the number of calendar days the student completed in that period as of the day the student withdrew.
• Scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days are excluded from the total number of calendar days in a payment period (denominator) and the number of calendar days completed in that period (numerator).

Post Withdrawal Disbursements

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed, they may be due, and offered, a post-withdrawal disbursement. Pell Post-withdrawal disbursements are processed no later than 45 days after the date of determination. Loan post-withdrawal disbursements can be paid up to 180 days.

Students are provided a Post withdrawal notification letter and provided a "response due date" to accept of 14 days within the date of notification. If a response is received by the due date, post- withdrawal disbursements are initiated and monitored through posting on the student's account. If the student has a credit balance once all funding has processed, the credit balance is processed according to the student's credit balance selection. Section 668.22(a)(4)(ii)(E), however, requires an institution to notify a student or parent when the student's or parent's acceptance of the post-withdrawal disbursement was received after the 14-day time limit for responding has elapsed and the institution does not choose to make the post-withdrawal disbursement.

Order Funds Returned

Title IV funds credited to outstanding loan balances for the payment period for which a return of funds is required must be returned in the following order:

• Direct Unsubsidized loans
• Direct Subsidized loans
• Direct PLUS loans
• Federal Pell Grants
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants(IASG)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
• TEACH Grants

The university is required to return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date determined that a student is withdrawn. Students who have Title IV funds returned and owe money to the institution are notified by e-mail and a 'Hold' is placed on the account.

For students who require an R2T4 calculation, documentation is compiled and maintained as part of the student record and financial aid file.