Refunds
If a student withdraws from the College, a refund/reduction of charges will be made based on the following schedule for the respective fourteen-week terms:
Fall Term
Aug. 26-Sept. 1: 80% Refund
Sept. 2-8: 60% Refund
Sept. 9-15: 40% Refund
Sept. 16-22: 20% Refund
Sept. 23 and after: 0% Refund
Spring Term
Feb. 8-12: 80% Refund
Feb. 13-19: 60% Refund
Feb. 20-26: 40% Refund
Feb. 27-Mar. 5: 20% Refund
Mar. 6 and after: 0% Refund
Institutional and Kentucky financial aid credits may be adjusted as a result of any decrease in charges based on the above table due to withdrawal from the College. If a student violates the terms and conditions of the student housing contract or other College regulations, and such violation results in disciplinary action which includes some form of suspension or expulsion, this refund policy does not apply and the student will be held liable for the full charges for that term. Recipients of federal and state financial aid are subject to the federal “Return of Title IV Funds” policy, which mandates how funds are to be refunded. A copy of this policy is available in the Finance Office.
Return of Federal Title IV Funds
Federal regulations require each educational institution to have a written policy for the refund and repayment of federal aid received by students who withdraw during a term for which payment has been received. Although federal financial assistance is posted to the student's account at the start of each term, these funds are earned as the student completes the term. If a student withdraws from Centre during the term, the amount of federal financial assistance earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. Aid is earned proportionally to the duration of attendance. For example, a student who has attended 20 percent of the term has earned 20 percent of their Title IV aid. These policies are effective only if the student completely terminates enrollment (i.e. cancels their registration, withdraws, or is dismissed) or stops attending classes before completing more than 60 percent of the enrollment period. No Title IV funds are required to be returned if the student remains enrolled for more than 60 percent of the term. The date of withdrawal is determined by the completion and submission of the Official Withdrawal Form to the Registrar’s Office or the last date of academic activity as determined by the college if a student unofficially withdraws by ceasing to attend all courses.
Return of Title IV Funds Policy
The amount of Title IV aid that a student must repay is determined via the Federal Formula for Return of Title IV Funds as specified in Section 484B of the Higher Education Act. This law also specified the order of return of the Title IV funds to the programs from which they were awarded. Regulations determine the order funds need to be returned with loans (unsubsidized direct loans, subsidized direct loans, parent PLUS loans) before grants (Pell Grants, FSEOG Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants).
A repayment may be required when federal financial aid funds have been disbursed to a student in excess of the amount of federal aid the student earned during the term. The amount of Title IV aid earned is determined by multiplying the total Title IV aid (other than FWS) for which the student qualified by
the percentage of time during the term that the student was enrolled.
If less aid was disbursed than was earned, the student may receive a late disbursement for the difference. This is known as a post-withdrawal disbursement. Centre will notify students with post-withdrawal disbursement loan funds through a letter and get the student’s permission before disbursing loans funds. You may choose to accept or decline any portion of loan funds in a post-withdrawal disbursement. A post-withdrawal disbursement will automatically be considered against our comprehensive fee (tuition, fees, room and board) but you will have to give permission to Centre if you would like it used for any other institutional charges. If more aid was disbursed than was earned, the amount of Title IV aid that must be returned (i.e., that was unearned) is determined by subtracting the earned amount from the amount actually disbursed.
The responsibility for returning unearned aid is allocated between the College and the student according to the portion of disbursed aid that could have been used to cover College charges and the portion that could have been disbursed directly to the student once College charges were covered. Centre College will distribute the unearned aid back to the Title IV programs as specified by law. The student will be billed for the amount the student owes to the Title IV programs and any amount due to the College resulting from the return of Title IV funds used to cover College charges. A student will be notified by letter in addition to the bill if they are responsible for paying the Department back directly because they received a credit balance refund from TIV funds in the term they withdrew.
Return of Title IV funds will occur as soon as possible after official campus notification occurs of the official date of withdrawal and no later than 45 days after that notification.