Adjustments to Financial Aid Awards
A student’s financial aid awards may be reduced or rescinded if the student changes enrollment status, enrolls for less than half-time, withdraws during the semester, takes courses outside of his/her program of study, or never attends some or all of his/her classes.
Students who wish to withdraw from one or all of their courses at any time after the semester begins should consult Financial Aid to understand the financial ramifications of the withdrawal.
Return of Title IV Aid
If a student fully withdraws from all classes, either officially or unofficially, their federal Title IV financial aid awards may have to be adjusted. The adjustment process is done through a Return of Title IV Aid calculation that is congressionally mandated. Only federal financial aid recipients who officially or unofficially withdraw in the first 60% of the semester are subject to this requirement.
The Return of Title IV Aid regulations require that the College calculate the amount of federal aid that the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal. Students earn aid in proportion to the amount of the semester that they complete. For example, if a student completes 29.7% of the semester (calculated by dividing the number of days up to the withdrawal date by the number of days in the semester), then the student earns 29.7% of his or her federal Title IV aid that could have been disbursed. After calculating the amount of aid earned, the College must then determine if any unearned aid must be returned to the federal government, or if the student is eligible for a post withdrawal disbursement.
Further explanation, including examples illustrating the application of Return of Title IV Aid regulations, can be obtained in Financial Aid.
Eligible Courses for Financial Aid Purposes
Only courses required within a student’s current degree or certificate program are eligible for payment from the federal and state financial aid programs. It is the student’s responsibility to carefully review program requirements and/or gain scheduling assistance from the Academic Advisement Center.
Financial Aid reviews each aid recipient’s schedule after the Add/Drop period to determine if all courses are within the student’s program of study. If a student enrolls for courses outside of the program or never attends one or more of his or her classes, the financial aid awards may be reduced and a resulting balance may be due to the College.
Overpayment
If a student officially or unofficially withdraws and has already received a federal financial aid disbursement from the Pell, SEOG or student loan programs, the student may owe an overpayment to the federal government. Like students who are in default, students who owe an overpayment are not eligible for additional federal financial aid until the overpayment or default is resolved.