Federal Financial Aid Refunds - Return of Title IV Calculation
A student recipient of Federal Title IV funds (i.e., Federal Pell, SEOG or TEACH grants, or Direct or PLUS loans) who withdraws from the school before completing 60% of the term is subject to the Return of Title IV Calculation to determine the percentage of Title IV funds required to be returned to the federal government. The Return of Title IV calculation is a federally mandated formula to determine how much federal funding was “earned” up to the time of withdrawal.
The Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned to the federal government by the school and/or you. If you received a refund from financial aid, which was to be used for education-related personal expenses or housing expenses, you may be required to return a portion of those funds to the school. This portion represents funds that were intended to pay your education-related expenses through the end of the semester. The amount to be returned to the school will be determined by your institutional costs, refunds you might have received for non-school expenses and the funds that must be returned to the government.
The amount to be returned to the federal government will be calculated from the date you officially withdrew from classes or, in the case of an unofficial withdrawal, the last date you were involved in an academically related activity. An official withdrawal occurs when a student follows the published process for withdrawing from the school prior to the end of the term.
To determine the amount of aid you earned up to the time of withdrawal, the Lakeland University Financial Aid and Educational Funding Office will determine the percentage of the semester you attended. The percentage used to determine the return of federal student aid funds is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than five consecutive days are excluded. The resulting percentage is then used along with your school costs and total federal funds that you received (funds that were disbursed directly to your school student account and possibly refunded to you) or that you were eligible to receive, to determine the amount of aid that you are allowed to keep.
Any unearned Title IV aid must be returned to the federal government within 45 days of the date of the determination of your withdrawal. The Lakeland University Financial Aid and Educational Funding Office will notify you with instructions on how to proceed if you are required to return funds to the government. Any funds returned after the Return of Title IV Aid calculation is completed and processed are then used to repay Lakeland University funds, state funds, other private sources, and the student, in proportion to the amount received from each non-federal source, as long as there was no unpaid balance at the time of withdrawal. All aid sources are repaid before any funds are returned to the student.
Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. These funds must be returned to the federal government within 45 days and must be allocated in the following order:
- Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
- Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
- Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS)
- Federal Direct Grad Plus
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Federal Teach Grant
A student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement if, prior to withdrawing, the student earned more federal financial aid than was disbursed. If a student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement for Title IV funds, it will be processed for the student and a refund will be issued within 14 days of the credit balance.
If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, Lakeland University must get the student’s permission before it can disburse the loan. Students may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that they do not incur additional debt. A notice will be sent out to the student, and the signed, original document must be returned to the school within 14 days.
Lakeland University may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition and fees. However, the school needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If the students do not give their permission, students will be offered the funds. However, it may be in the student’s best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce the student’s debt at the school.
It is also important to understand that accepting a post-withdrawal disbursement of student loan funds will increase a student’s overall student loan debt that must be repaid under the terms of the Master Promissory Note. Additionally, accepting the disbursement of grant funds will reduce the remaining amount of grant funds available to students should they continue their education at a later time.
Official Withdrawals
A student is considered to be “Officially” withdrawn on the date the student notifies a designated campus office or official (acting in the student’s official capacity) of the intent to withdraw. Lakeland University designates the Registrar’s Office or the Education Advisors for this purpose. Note: If the student submits their request to the institution by sending a letter or email to the designated campus office indicating their intent to withdraw, the withdrawal date is the date the institution receives the letter or email. The institution reserves the right to use the student’s last day of participation in an academically related activity for the purposes of the return of funds calculation if this date more accurately reflects the student’s withdraw date than the date the student began the school’s official withdraw process. Additionally, the university takes academic attendance on the 10th day of the term. The institution will use the student’s last documented day of participation in an academically related activity if the student withdraws within the first ten days of a course(s). A student is allowed to rescind their notification in writing and continue the program. If the student subsequently drops, the student’s withdrawal date is the original date of notification of intent to withdraw.
Unofficial Withdrawals
Students who fail to receive a single passing grade (and have not otherwise officially withdrawn) will be evaluated for a possible unofficial withdrawal. Students found to have ceased attendance in class, therefore resulting in a failing grade, will be considered an unofficial withdrawal and the Financial Aid and Educational Funding Office Staff will calculate an R2T4 to determine the amount of earned/unearned aid. If the student’s last date of attendance cannot be documented, the date that is equivalent to 50% of the term will be used to calculate earned/unearned aid.
Administrative Withdrawals
In the event that the institution administratively withdraws a student for non-participation all Title IV funds will be returned. The institution will process such an administrative withdrawal if the student does not attend courses by the 10th day. If the student is administratively withdrawn for non-payment, the Financial Aid and Educational Funding Office will perform a return of funds calculation based on the date the student was administratively withdrawn (unless the student is administratively withdrawn within the add/drop period of courses, in which case the student’s last day of documented academic attendance will be used). The institution reserves the right to use the student’s last day of participation in an academically related activity for the purposes of the return of funds calculation if this date more accurately reflects the student’s withdraw date than the date.
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