Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
Return of Title IV Policy
Return of Title IV Policy:
Updated: October 26, 2023
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In accordance with the federal code of regulations 34 CFR 668.22, when a federal financial aid recipient withdraws from all classes (officially or unofficially, as defined by regulations) during a term, the institution must determine the withdrawal date and use a federally mandated calculation to determine the amount of grant and/or loan assistance that the student earned. If a student received less assistance than what was earned, s/he may qualify for those funds. If the student received more assistance than earned, the unearned “excess” funds must be returned by the school and / or aid recipient to the appropriate federal aid program. Note: The Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation is different from the institution’s tuition and fee refund calculations.
Academic Calendar
The institution operates on credit hours with standard terms. Terms include semester length courses and non-semester length courses i.e. modules that do not span the entire length of the term (Modules offered in the summer).
Payment Period and Total Number of Calendar Days
A R2T4 calculation is computed for a payment period. A payment period is a term, i.e. fall semester, spring semester, and summer term. For R2T4, the total number of calendar days in a term is defined by the student’s scheduled course enrollment, i.e. start and end dates of courses excluding scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days. The days are counted from the start date of the earliest course to the end date of the last course scheduled to complete (i.e. has the latest end date) excluding scheduled breaks. This may be less than the full length of a term.
Scheduled Breaks
Scheduled breaks must be at least five consecutive days to be excluded in the R2T4 calculation. It includes periods when the institution is not scheduled in session, e.g. holidays, and when the student is not scheduled to attend a course within the term.
Treatment of Drop/Add Courses
In the count of total days in the payment period, a course that is officially dropped prior to a student ceasing attendance is not included as days that a student was scheduled to attend, unless the student remained enrolled in other courses for those days. A course that is officially added prior to the student ceasing attendance is included, even if the student never began attending.
ECSU Does Not Require Taking Attendance
The institution does not require attendance be taken, as federally defined.
Designated Official(s) or Office(s) to be Notified of College and Course Withdrawal
The institution has designated the Registrar’s Office to be notified of a college or course withdrawal.
Withdrawal from College
In accordance with the federal code 34 CFR 668.22(a)(2)(i), a student is considered to have withdrawn from classes offered in the term when the student stops attending at any point prior to completing the period of enrollment unless the school obtains confirmation from the student at the time of withdrawal that the student will attend a session that begins later in the same enrollment period. This confirmation must be obtained at the time of withdrawal even if the student has registered for subsequent classes.
Completed Scheduled Days – Not a College Withdrawal
A student has completed a term if:
- passing grades are received in all courses that the student was scheduled to attend during the term
- a non-passing grade is received in all courses the student was scheduled to attend, and it can be documented to have been completed.
Did Not Complete Scheduled Days – College Withdrawal
For federal aid purposes, a student will be treated as a college withdrawal, unless determined otherwise, if a student:
- submits course withdrawal(s) from all courses scheduled for the term
- takes all non-passing grades in the courses scheduled for the term, e. “F”, “I” and/or “W”.
Withdrawal Date
For the purpose of calculating R2T4, a student’s withdrawal date depends on the type of withdrawal.
Student-Initiated Notification – Official Withdrawal
An official withdrawal occurs when a student withdraws (and/or drops) from:
- all courses in the term or
- all course(s) scheduled to complete for which a grade(s) is yet to be
The withdrawal date will be the date the Registrar’s Office receives written notification from a student of his or her intent to withdrawal by completing the Withdrawal from the university form, or a personal, postal, electronic, or fax delivery, or a phone call notification. The written notification may be a Course Withdrawal Form or a written request. The last day of official withdrawal from a course is included in the academic calendar of each term. See Academic Calendar.
Non-Student-Initiated Notification – Unofficial Withdrawal
An official withdrawal occurs when a student withdraws (and/or drops) from:
- Does not officially withdrawal and subsequently fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course offered over an entire period
- The withdrawal date will be the midpoint of the term, except that the institution may use the last date of attendance at an academically related activity, if documented by a college.
Note: The institution collects the last date of attendance with “F”, “I”, and “W” grades. If there is no student-initiated notification because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, i.e. illness, accident, grievous personal loss or other circumstances, the date related to the onset of that circumstance will be used as the withdrawal date. A student should file an appeal to the Dean of Students for special circumstances.
Determination of Withdrawal
The date of determination that a student withdrew varies depending upon the type of withdrawal.
Student-Initiated Notification – Official Withdrawal
For an official withdrawal, the date of determination of withdrawal is the date the Registrar’s Office receives written notification from a student of his or her intent to withdraw by completing the Withdrawal from the university form, or a personal, postal, electronic, or fax delivery, or a phone call notification The written notification may be a Course Withdrawal Form or a written request.
Non-Student-Initiated Notification – Unofficial Withdrawal
For an unofficial withdrawal, the institution determines date of determination of withdrawal is the date reported as the last date of attendance with “F”, “I”, and “W” grades collected in a report used to identify that a student has withdrawn. The date will be within 30 days of the end of the term. If circumstances beyond a student’s control cause an unofficial withdrawal, the date of determination is the date the Registrar makes a decision and establishes a college withdrawal date.
Calculation of Earned Title IV Assistance
Federal Aid Used in R2T4 Calculation
Federal aid used in the R2T4 calculation includes Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Iraq-Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal TEACH Grants. This includes aid that has been disbursed or is yet to be disbursed. Federal Work Study is excluded. Percentage of Title IV Aid Earned the amount of Title IV federal aid assistance earned by the student is determined on a pro-rata basis up to the end of 60% of the term. For example, if the student completed 30% of a term, 30% of the aid originally scheduled to be received funds would have been earned. Once a student has completed more than 60% of a term, all awarded aid has been earned. Total Days Scheduled to Complete total days scheduled to complete is the denominator in the calculation of percentage of earned aid. The days are counted from the start date of the earliest course to the end date of the last course scheduled to complete (i.e. has the latest end date), excluding scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days.
Total Days to Date of Withdrawal
Total days to date of withdrawal are the numerator in the calculation of percentage of earned aid. The number of days reported is the total from the start date of first course to the withdrawal date, excluding scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days.
Amount of Title IV Aid Earned
After calculating the percentage of aid earned, a calculation of the amount of aid earned will be performed. The total aid disbursed and yet to be disbursed for the term is multiplied by the percentage earned rounded to the one-hundredth decimal.
Post Withdrawal Disbursements
If the total amount of the Title IV grant and / or loan assistance earned as of the withdrawal date is more than the amount that was disbursed to the student, the difference between the two amounts will be treated as a post-withdrawal disbursement. In the event that there are outstanding charges on the student’s account, ECSU will credit the student’s account for all or part of the amount of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant assistance (not loan), up to the amount of the allowable charges (i.e. tuition, fees, and authorized book and other charges).
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of Grant Funds
A post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds is applied towards outstanding term charges on the student’ s account and may pay up to the amount of the allowable charges (i.e. tuition, fees, and authorized book and other charges). Any remainder of grant aid is paid to the student. The student will be notified within 30 days of the date of determination of withdrawal of the post-withdrawal disbursement. A refund will be sent as soon as possible but no later than 45 days of the date that the institution determined that the student withdrew (officially or unofficially).
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of Loan Funds
A post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds may be paid if the student is eligible to receive the funds. The student (or parent if a PLUS loan) will be notified within 30 days of the date of determination of withdrawal that loan funds are available. The student will be given the opportunity to accept, decline, or reduce the amount of loan within a 14-day timeframe of the date on the post-withdrawal disbursement letter. Upon receipt of a timely response from the student (or parent), the institution will disburse the loan funds as soon as possible but no later than 180 days of the date of determination of the student’s withdrawal date. Loan funds will be applied towards the outstanding term charges on the student’s account. The funds may pay up to the amount of the allowable charges (i.e. tuition, fees, and authorized book and other expenses). Any remainder will be paid directly to the student (or parent).The institution maintains the right to decide whether or not to make a post-withdrawal disbursement if the student (or parent if a PLUS loan) responds after 14 days of the date that the notification was sent. If the institution decides not to make the post-withdrawal disbursement, it will inform the student in writing within 15 days of the decision.
Return of Unearned Funds to Title IV
If the total amount of Title IV grant and / or loan assistance that was earned as of the withdrawal date is less than the amount that was disbursed to the student, the difference between the two amounts will be returned to the Title IV program(s) and no further disbursements will be made. Amount of Funds to be Returned If a student has received excess funds, the institution must return a portion of the unearned excess equal to the lesser of:
- The student’ s institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of funds, or
- The entire amount of the excess
Institutional Charges
Institutional charges are tuition, fees, and other educationally related costs, e.g. book, supply, and computer equipment from the College Bookstore that are charged to a student’ s account. Allowable charges are tuition and fees that do not require student permission to pay with federal aid funds. Other educationally related expenses require a student authorization, except that book and supply expenses that are covered by “excess” Pell Grant, i.e. “excess” is funds remaining after payment (or pending payment) of tuition and fees. Order in Which Funds are the funds will be returned in the order below as prescribed by federal regulations, within 45 days from the date of determination that a student withdrew.
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
- Subsidized Federal Direct Loans
- Federal Direct PLUS loans
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
- Federal Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant
A student will be notified of any funds returned by the institution within 45 days of the date of determination that the student withdrew. Return of Grant Funds when grant funds should be returned, the law provides that the student may repay 50% of a federal grant rather than 100%. The institution will notify the student that there was an overpayment which must be paid in full within 45 days, after which the overpayment will be referred to the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Credit Management Collections. Return of Loan Funds when loan funds should be returned (student or parent if PLUS loan), they will be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note over a period of the time.
Unearned Aid Returned and Repayment by Student
In the event that there is remaining unearned aid, the student is responsible for returning those funds. All funds returned by the institution to Title IV programs will be charged back to the student’s account, both the school’s portion and the student’s portion.
University Withdrawal Refund Policy
If a student officially withdrawals from the University during or before the first week of the semester, the total amount paid may be refunded as no charges would be due for the student.
After the first week of registration, any refunds of charges for tuition and fees will be reduced by 20% of the total tuition and fees per week for the next four (4) weeks of the semester.
After the first five (5) weeks of the semester, no refunds will be made and all tuition and fees as billed will be due. This schedule begins with the first day of scheduled classes regardless of the actual day of enrollment.
| Spring 2025 (Term 202520) | |
| Withdrawal January 14-January 20, 2025 | 100% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal January 21-January 27, 2025 | 80% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal January 28-February 3, 2025 | 60% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal February 4-February 10, 2025 | 40% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal February 11-February 17, 2025 | 20% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal after February 17, 2025 | 0% Refund of tuition |
| Fall 2025 (Term 202610) | |
| Withdrawal August 18-August 24, 2025 | 100% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal August 25-August 31, 2025 | 80% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal September 1-September 7, 2025 | 60% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal September 8-September 14, 2025 | 40% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal September 15-September 21, 2025 | 20% Refund of tuition |
| Withdrawal after September 21, 2025 | 0% Refund of tuition |
Time Frame for the Return of an Unclaimed Title IV Credit Balance
In the event ECSU cannot locate the student (or parent) to whom a Title IV credit balance must be paid, Student Accounts will determine what programs constitute the refund and will notify the Financial Aid Office of any unclaimed credit balances that need to be returned to Title IV, HEA programs. Financial Aid must return the funds no later than 240 calendar days after the date the school issued the check or 45 calendar days after the EFT was rejected.
XVII. Institution Responsibilities
The following are ECSU’s responsibilities regarding Title IV, HEA funds:
- ECSU will provide students with information in this policy.
- Financial Aid will identify students who are affected by this policy and complete the Return of Title IV funds calculation for those students.
- Any Title IV, HEA funds required will be returned to the correct Title IV programs within 45 calendar days of the date the official notice of withdrawal was provided.
- If less Title IV aid has disbursed than the student has earned, a post-withdrawal disbursement will be calculated and must be offered.
- The institution will always return all of the excess funds, including funds the Return of Title IV calculation identifies as the student’s responsibility to return.
XVIII. Student Responsibilities
- Any notification of withdrawal should be in writing by completing the Withdraw from the University Form.
- A student may rescind his or her notification of intent to withdraw. Submissions of intent to rescind a withdraw notice must be filed in writing with the Registrar’s office by sending an email to the registrar’s office registrar@ecsu.edu
- Student must repay any funds to ECSU that were disbursed to the student in which the student was determined to be ineligible for via the R2T4 calculation.
- Remaining unearned Title IV loan funds (e.g. Direct Loans) must be repaid by the student in accordance with the terms of the loans.
XIX. Refund vs. Return of Title IV Funds
The requirements for the Title IV, HEA program funds when a student withdraws are separate from any refund policy that UNT may have to return to the student due to a cash credit balance. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. UNT may also charge the student for any Title IV, HEA program funds that they were required to return on the student’s behalf.