Return of Federal Financial Aid

Effective: 8/1/20; Reviewed: 7/13/21
Updated: 1/5/23
Contact: Financial Aid

This policy conforms to the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and becomes effective for an enrolled student who begins attendance, has federal aid, and withdraws, officially or unofficially, before the enrolled semester/payment period has ended will be evaluated according to U.S. Department of Education guidelines and formula. If the withdrawal occurred before more than 60% of the semester has elapsed, the evaluation according to guidelines and formulas will determine all earned and any unearned Title IV aid.

An R2T4 calculation may not be performed in the following circumstances:

  • In the event more than 61% of the semester has elapsed, or
  • the student was only offered Federal Work Study or no Title IV aid, or
  • the student dropped classes but did not completely withdraw, or
  • when a student qualifies for an R2T4 waiver due to a COVID-19 related withdrawal during a period covered under the CARES Act, or
  • in extenuating circumstances when a last date of class attendance is undocumented. Note that the Unofficial Withdrawal Policy details the requirements if a student does not formally submit a request to withdrawal to the Office of the Registrar.

Title IV programs affected by this provision are subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loan (parent loan for undergraduate students), Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, and Federal TEACH Grant.

Official Withdrawal
An official withdrawal occurs when the student initiates the withdrawal of all enrolled courses for a current period of attendance with the Office of the Registrar. The date/time of submission and receipt to the Registrar is considered the point of withdrawal and is documented on the document management/workflow history. The student may rescind their withdrawal after consultation with a designated office as requested on the withdrawal form. Official withdrawals may also occur administratively resulting from student conduct issues or instances when a student is incapacitated and unable to complete the formal withdrawal processes. This date is submitted by the Vice President for Academic Affairs or their designee. An official withdrawal will adhere to workflow involving the faculty advisor, financial aid office, business office, and student life (residence life).

Unofficial Withdrawal
As an institution that does not require attendance taking, an unofficial withdrawal occurs at the conclusion of the enrollment period when it has been determined that a student failed all enrolled coursework. In this event, the Registrar’s Office will provide a listing of students with credit hours completed as zero (0) and/or a semester GPA of 0.000 to the Office of Academic Affairs for review of academic performance. This listing is distributed to members of the Academic Standards Committee, of which the director of financial aid serves. In occurrences when a student rescinded an official withdrawal to later cease attending, the last date of attendance or the date of the official request (whichever is later) will be used to determine R2T4.

The director will ascertain via email from the faculty of all enrolled courses for the period the last date of a student’s actual class attendance or last date of an academic-related activity (whichever is later). Based on the date provided, the director will determine whether an R2T4 calculation is warranted. If an adjustment is required, all processes and procedures herein are adhered.

Earned Title IV Funds
Federal aid is earned by the percentage of the payment period the student completes. To figure the percentage of aid earned, divide calendar days completed in the semester by total days in the semester. Weekends are included, but scheduled breaks that are at least five (5) days in length are excluded. If the student completes more than 60% of the semester, 100% of the aid is earned for the semester and an immediate repayment obligation is not incurred. If the student completes 60% or less of the semester, the portion of federal aid determined to be unearned must be repaid to the federal aid programs.

Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)
William Jewell College will return all unearned Title IV aid from the student’s account according to the federal formula and consider the debt owed to the College. The business office may enter a repayment agreement so that the student may re-enroll in a later enrollment period or obtain an official transcript.

A student may be required to return Title IV aid overpayment. If the College notifies the student to return an overpayment, the student has 45 days to return the funds to the College. If the 45-day requirement is not met, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will be notified by the director to begin collection. The student will be ineligible for further Title IV assistance until the overpayment is paid in full or satisfactory repayment arrangements have been made with ED.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements (PWD)
If the R2T4 calculation shows the student is entitled to a post-withdrawal disbursement (PWD) of federal student aid, William Jewell College will notify the student in writing no later than 30 days of the date of determination of withdrawal regarding the available disbursement. The student has 14 days from the date of notification to respond to the College.

Federal grants will automatically be disbursed to the student unless written notification is received from the student no later than 14 days of the date of notification that the student chooses to decline the disbursement.

Federal Direct Loan disbursements will automatically be cancelled unless written notification is received from the student no later than 14 days of the date of notification requesting for the disbursement to be made. Federal PLUS loan disbursements will also be cancelled unless written notification is received from the borrower within the same 14 days requesting for the disbursement to be made.

In the event that the student responds after 14 days of the date that the notification was sent, William Jewell College reserves the right to decide whether or not to make a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the College decides not to make this post-withdrawal disbursement, it will inform the student in writing.

Title IV funds will be applied to the student’s allowable charges first. Any excess funds will be refunded to the student.

Timeframe for the Return and Disbursement of Title IV Funds
Federal regulations outline the timeframes for return and disbursement of Title IV aid as follows:

  • No later than 30 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, perform the Return of Title IV Funds calculation.

1. For an official withdrawal, the date of determination of the withdrawal date is the same as the withdrawal date.

2. For an unofficial withdrawal, the date of determination of withdrawal must be made no later than 30 days after the end of the payment period.

  • No later than 30 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, notify the student if there is a post-withdrawal disbursement due to the student of loan funds or grant funds, if applicable.
  • No later than 45 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, return the school and/or student owed funds to the appropriate Title IV program account.
  • No later than 45 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, pay a student a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds
  • No later than 180 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, pay a student a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds, if student requested funds within 14 days of notification by the school of their availability.

Institutional refunds and the formula to determine the required return of federal and other student aid will be finalized within 30 days of the withdrawal date for an official withdrawal or 30 days from the date of notification for unofficial withdrawals. An adjusted billing will be mailed by the Business Office to the student’s permanent address on record.

Federal student aid programs will be returned in the following regulated order [34 C.F.R 668.22(i)]:

  • Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
  • Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
  • Federal Direct PLUS Loan
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)
  • Federal SEOG grant
  • Federal TEACH Grant