Refund Policies

Undergraduate Tuition General Refund Policy

Courses dropped after the start of the semester are subject to partial tuition charges. The official tuition refund schedule can be found on the Student Financial Services website. All requests to add or drop a course must be made in writing to the Registrar’s Office through an add/drop form or via email at registrar@simmons.edu. The refund amount is determined by the date the registration change request is received. Non-attendance in a course does not constitute withdrawal from that course. The refund policy applies to any course dropped after the start of the term.

Special Rules Affecting Financial Aid Recipients Refund Policy and Return of Title IV Funds

If a student should completely withdraw from all coursework once classes begin in the fall or spring semesters, they may still be accountable for a portion of tuition, fees and room & board. Simmons University is responsible for adhering to rules established by the federal government that determine the amounts of federal financial aid (Stafford, Pell, Perkins, SEOG, TEACH) a student is allowed to keep toward University charges.

When federal Title IV grant or loan assistance is disbursed, but the recipient does not complete the enrollment period, the law requires that Simmons University calculate the amount that must be returned by the school and/or student to Title IV program accounts.

The date the student initiates the withdrawal is used for calculating the percentage used in the formula for Return of Title IV funds. Students are required to initiate their withdrawal by completing the electronic wufoo form. The data from this form is sent to all of the appropriate offices on campus that play a part in processing a student’s withdrawal. The date the student files the form is used as the date of the withdrawal as it serves as the date the student notified the institution of their intent to withdraw. In addition, the Registrar’s Office sends a weekly report of all leaves and withdrawals and this report captures any withdrawals by a student who did not complete the wufoo form but was determined to no longer be enrolled (in these cases the withdrawal date is the date the institution became aware the student was no longer enrolled).The number of days from the 1st class day to the withdrawal date divided by the number of days in the payment period (semester) equals the percentage of Title IV funds earned. If the withdrawal date is after the 60% point of the semester, the student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds.

If the total amount of Title IV grant and/or loan assistance that the student earned is less than the amount disbursed to or on behalf of the student, the difference between these amounts must be returned to the Title IV programs in the following order of priority (not to exceed the amount originally disbursed):

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
Subsidized Stafford Loans
Direct PLUS Loans
Federal Pell Grant
Federal SEOG Grant
Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant

The school and the student share the responsibility for returning Title IV aid. The school returns "unearned" Title IV funds that have been paid to the school to cover the student's institutional charges received from Title IV grant and/or loan programs.

The school must return Title IV funds due to the federal programs no later than 30 days after the date the school determines the student withdrew.

If the student owes funds back to the Title IV programs, the institution will advise the student within 45 days of determining that the student withdrew. The student has 45 days from the date of notification from the institution to take action on the over payment. If the student's portion of unearned Title IV funds included a federal grant, the student has to pay no more than 50% of the initial amount that the student is responsible for returning. Immediate repayment of the unearned loan amount is not required because the student repays the loan to the lender according to the terms or conditions in the promissory note. The institution will advise the lender of the student's withdrawal within 45 days of determining the student withdrew.

No additional disbursements may be made to the student for the enrollment period. If the student does not repay the amount owed to the Title IV programs or does not make satisfactory payment arrangements with the U.S. Department of Education, Simmons University will report to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) that the student received an over payment. The student loses eligibility for further Title IV aid until resolved.

Example

NOTE: Dollar amounts are for example only and are not true current costs.

Rachel has been awarded the following federal financial aid for Fall 2021:

Federal Pell Grant - $1200
Federal Work-Study - $1250
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan - $1750
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan - $1000

Rachel withdraws from all of her classes on October 5, 2021. The total amount of Title IV Aid that is subject to the Return of Title IV Calculation is $3950 (not workstudy). The percentage of Title IV aid Rachel has earned is 31.1%. The total amount of Title IV aid that was earned by the student is $1228.45.

The total amount of Title IV aid to be returned is $3950 - $1228.45 = $2721.55

Total charges for Fall 2021 semester is $20936 tuition and fees. The amount of Title IV aid unearned is 68.9%. The charges times the amount of unearned aid is $20936 X 68.9% = $14,424.90

The amount of Title IV aid to be returned by the school is the lesser of the two, or $2721.55. Therefore, Simmons University would return $1000 Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and $1721.55 Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan to the federal government. Simmons will also report the withdrawal effective October 5, 2021 to the National Student Clearinghouse.

The student in this example would not need to return any additional funds since the amount to be returned by the school was the same amount to be returned.

Post withdrawal disbursement

If a student’s loans were originated but did not disburse and they were enrolled at least half time when they ceased to be enrolled, they may be eligible for a post withdrawal disbursement (PWD). (note: The student may need to resolve an issue that prevented loans from disbursing. For example, if they did not complete their loan documentation but the loan had originated, regulations state the student can complete them after last day of attending.)

We will communicate with the student, or parent in the case of a parent PLUS loan, and inform them that they can accept all, a portion or none of the PWD. The normal timeframe we allow them is 15 days to inform us of their wishes. If they do not meet our deadline, then the loan funding is cancelled. We can, on a case by case basis, extend that deadline as long as the overall length is within scope of the federal regulations.

If the student has completed their loan documents but does not respond to the offer of the PWD, the loan will need to be cancelled.

Example, using the same example from above:

Rachel withdraws from all of her classes on October 5, 2021 but at the time she withdraws, her loans had not yet disbursed. The total amount of Title IV aid that was earned by Rachel is $1228.45 but the total aid that was disbursed was $1200 (her Pell Grant).

The total amount of Title IV aid eligible for a post withdrawal disbursement is $1228.45- $1200 = $28.45

The student would receive a letter from the Financial Aid office stating the details of her return calculation and letting her know about her eligibility for a post withdrawal disbursement. She would have 15 days in which to confirm that she would like her post withdrawal disbursement.

Refunds

In the case of a student who has earned Title IV funds that exceed their charges (more common when there are 100% earned funds) the school is required to perform the return calculation and then within 14 days of the date the institution performed the calculation, pay any remaining credit balance as a refund to the student. There is a weekly process of verifying and generating all student refunds which will then be mailed to the student. This ensures we remain compliant with the 14 day timeframe.

Using the example above:

If any part of the $1,228.45 Title IV disbursement exceeded the institutional charges, the student would be eligible for a titled IV refund. This would automatically be generated and sent to the student within the 14 day timeframe.

General Tuition Refund Policy
Courses dropped on or before		Tuition charges cancelled
Fall semester 2021	September 10	100 percent
	September 17	80 percent
	September 24	60 percent
	October 1	40 percent
	October 8	20 percent
	On or after October 9	0 percent
Spring semester 2022	Pending final calendar





Summer 2022	By 11:59 on the day before the 2nd class meeting	100 percent
	On or after the day of 2nd class meeting	80 percent
	On or after the day of 3rd class meeting	0 percent

The federal rules assume that a student earns their aid based on the period of time they remained enrolled. State and institutional funds are also subject to change due to withdrawal. If a student is considering withdrawal, they should meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss the financial implications prior to changing their enrollment. All non-financial aid students who withdraw from some or all classes are subject to the Simmons general tuition refund policy, which provides partial refunds of tuition only for the first four weeks of classes. When a student withdraws, any adjusted Simmons charges that have not yet been paid are still owed to Simmons University. If the account is referred to collection, any associated expenses will be added to the balance due. Many privileges are suspended for students who are not in good standing with the University, including the release of academic transcripts and diplomas. Questions regarding refunds should be directed to Student Financial Services.