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Regulations and Policies

Regulations & Policies

Academic Affairs - Financial Aid


I.OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE

To establish a university policy for treatment of Title IV funds when a student withdraws from all classes.

II. STATEMENT OF POLICY

UNF must comply with federal regulations which require institutions to determine the amount of Title IV Aid a student earned as of the student's withdrawal date. Title IV aid recipients who withdraw from the university, either officially or unofficially, from all classes before completing more than 60% of the semester will have a percentage of their Title IV funds returned to the U.S. Department of Education in accordance with §668.22.

Withdrawals from All Courses in a Semester

When a student notifies UNF that they are withdrawing from all of their courses in a semester, the withdrawal date will be the date the student began UNF's official withdrawal process.

Unofficial Withdrawals

An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student stops attending all of the courses in a semester without officially withdrawing/notifying UNF or if a student receives a combination of all "F"s, "W"s (withdrawals), and/or "I"s (incompletes) upon the completion of the semester.

In accordance with the Higher Education Act, if a student stops attending without officially withdrawing, the last documented date of attendance, or academic activity, or midpoint will be the withdrawal date.

If all grades are a combination of "F", "W" (withdrawal), and/or "I" (incomplete) the student's professors will be asked to report the last date of attendance. Based on this information, students may be required to repay the "unearned" portion of their federal aid.

If a student's grades were all "F"s or "I"s and the student never attended, the student will be required to pay back the full amount of Title IV aid disbursed.

The Office of Student Financial Aid will make a determination of the student's withdrawal date no later than 30 days after the end of the payment period. If the professor confirms the student began attendance in the course but does not provide or confirm a last date of attendance, the mid-point, or 50% date of the payment period will be used in the calculation.

Complete Withdrawal

Complete withdrawal is the formal process of leaving the University and is not the same as dropping all classes or withdrawing from all courses in a semester. The withdrawal date will be the date the student began UNF's official withdrawal process in accordance with 2.0870P.

III. STATEMENT OF PROCEDURES

To determine the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student, the Office of Student Financial Aid will utilize the established federal formula which is based on the number of calendar days in the semester (payment period) and the number of days attended by the student prior to their withdrawal. The total number of calendar days in the payment period includes all days within the period that the student was scheduled to complete, excluding scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days. The difference between the amount of aid earned and the amount of aid disbursed is used to calculate the amount the student must repay.

Return Calculations and Repayment:

  1. Determine the percentage of the payment period/period of enrollment the student attended prior to withdrawing (days attended divided by total days in the period).

    • For students enrolled in parts-of-term, UNF does not use a R2T4 freeze date to determine the number of calendar days in the period.

  2. Determine the amount of Title IV aid the student earned by multiplying the total Title IV aid (other than Federal Work Study) for which the student was qualified by the percentage of time enrolled.
  3. Determine the amount of Title IV aid that must be returned, if any, by subtracting the amount of earned Title IV aid from the amount of disbursed Title IV aid.
  4. If applicable, determine whether the responsibility for returning funds is the responsibility of the institution or the student. The institution must return the lesser of:
    • The amount of unearned Title IV aid, or-
    • the amount of institutional charges that the student incurred for the payment period/period of enrollment multiplied by the percentage of Title IV funds that has not been earned by the student.
  5. Unearned Title IV funds will be returned in the following order:
    1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
    2. Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans
    3. Federal Direct PLUS Loans
    4. Federal Pell Grants
    5. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
    6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
    7. Federal TEACH Grant

Students will be notified of any overpayment within 30 days of the date the Office of Student Financial Aid determined they withdrew. In accordance with Student Financial Services Policy, the amount of unearned funds that are returned to the U.S. Department of Education on the student's behalf will be placed on their accounts receivable at UNF. Registration activity and/or the receipt of academic transcripts or diplomas will be prohibited until the funds are repaid to the university. If these funds are not repaid, UNF will turn the charge(s) over to a collection agency.

UNF's Tuition and Refund Policy is separate from the federal requirements governing the return of unearned Title IV aid when a student withdraws. Whether or not a student receives a tuition/fee refund has no bearing on the amount of unearned Title IV aid that must be returned under this formula.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

If it is determined that a student who has withdrawn did not receive all of the Title IV funds for which they earned, they may be entitled to a post-withdrawal disbursement. Post-withdrawal disbursement (PWD) is calculated as follows:

PWD= [% of Title IV aid earned x (Title IV aid that was disbursed + Title IV aid that could have been disbursed)] - total Title IV aid disbursed

Students will be notified via their UNF e-mail account of their eligibility for post-withdrawal disbursement(s) within 30 days of the date the Office of Student Financial Aid determines they withdrew.

Example Return of Title IV (R2T4) Funds Calculation

 

  • Fall semester is 115 days; Student stops attending all classes on the 46th day of the semester.
  • Percentage of Aid Earned: 46/115=40%
  • Percentage of Unearned Aid: 100%-40%=60%
  • UNF is responsible for returning the lesser amount of Unearned Title IV Aid ($3382.80) and Unearned Institutional Charges ($1500).

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