Withdrawals & Repayment of Funds

 

Pell Recalculation Date

Each semester there is a Pell Recalculation Date (PRD), also known as a census date. On this date each student’s unit load (number of units enrolled) is recorded, which determines the student’s eligibility for financial aid awards for the semester. Any classes that are added or dropped after this date will not impact (either increase or decrease) the student’s financial aid unit load eligibility for the semester.

 

 

 

Withdrawals & Return of Funds

Grossmont College is required to complete a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation for any student that withdraws from or ceases to attend all classes during a semester, since they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of aid received or scheduled to receive. The purpose of the calculation is to determine the earned and unearned amounts of federal student aid that the student was entitled to receive. Students who withdraw from all courses prior to completing more than 60% of the semester will have their financial aid eligibility recalculated based on the percentage of the semester completed.

 

Withdrawals are classified as official or unofficial. Since Grossmont College is not an attendance-taking institution, a student's withdrawal type and date for the Return of Title IV calculation is determined as follows:

 

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Official Withdrawal 

An official withdrawal occurs when a student drops, withdraws from classes, or is administratively dropped or withdrawn. The date of withdrawal is considered to be the date the student provides notification, orally, in writing, or electronically to the Admissions and Records Office that they intend to withdraw, or the date the administrative withdrawal occurs.

 

For a student that withdraws from all classes on or before the 60% point of the term, a portion of unearned funds may be required to the returned by the college, the student and/or both.

 

For a student who withdraws after the 60% point of the semester, they are considered to have earned all of the financial aid originally awarded and will not be required to repay most funds as a result of withdrawal.

 

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Unofficial Withdrawal 

Students who do not officially withdraw and complete zero (0) units for the term will be considered unofficially withdrawn.  The midpoint (or 50% point) of the term will be used as the effective withdrawal date to determine earned and unearned aid amounts for students who unofficially withdraw from the College.

 

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Combination of Official & Unofficial Withdrawal 

Students who have official and unofficial withdrawals in one payment term will be calculated based on the date of the last official withdrawal or the midpoint date (50%), whichever is later.

 

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Military Withdrawals

If a student withdraws due to being called to active duty or military mobilization, the school must perform the required Return of Title IV Funds calculation. If this calculation results in the school being required to return funds to one or more of the Title IV programs, it must do so.  An institution, however, is not required to collect an overpayment of funds from the student or notify the student of the calculation.

 

 

 

Failure to Begin Attendance

If a student receives financial aid, but never attends any class meetings, all funds received by the student are considered unearned and results in a 100% institutional liability, which is be required to be repaid by the student.

 

 

 

Short-term Courses

Short-term courses are courses that do not span the entire length of the semester. If a student withdraws and does not attend a subsequent short-term class, it is considered a complete withdrawal and a R2T4 calculation must be completed. If at the time of withdrawal, the student will attend another short-term course within the same semester, then it is not considered a withdrawal. However, Federal Regulations requires the Financial Aid Office to request the student to provide written confirmation or email to the Financial Aid Office within 7 days that they will be enrolling in an upcoming short-term course. This confirmation is required even if the student was previously registered for future courses prior to withdrawing.

 

 

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

If the student received less aid than the amount earned based on the R2T4, the College will offer a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD) within 30 days of the determination date. Federal Pell grants will be disbursed without written confirmation; however, a student may decline or reduce their PWD to preserve grant eligibility. Loan proceeds will require written confirmation from the student for disbursement within 14 days of the notification, and funds will be disbursed no later than 45 days from the determination date.

 

Grossmont College may use all or a portion of a student’s PWD (including student loan funds, if accepted) to offset any eligible, outstanding tuition and fees.

 

 

 

 

 

Return & Repayment of Unearned Funds

If a determination is made that a student did not earn all funds for the payment period (semester) that were disbursed, a repayment of funds may be required. The student will be notified of the amount owed to the institution (Institutional Liability) and/or the amount owed to the Department of Education (Student Portion Liability).

 

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Repayment Timeframe

The R2T4 calculation should be completed within 30 days after the type and date of withdrawal is determined. If the student has been overpaid, he/she will be notified via email of the amount and program of funds that are required to be returned.

 

Students who have an Institutional Liability will have a hold placed on their record, prohibiting registration for future semesters or the receiving of academic transcripts until the debt is paid in full.

 

Students who have a Student Liability will be given a period of time in which to repay the debt to the institution, If payment in full is not received by the given date, the debt will be reported to the Department of Education’s Debt Resolution Services. If unpaid after 45 days, a hold will be placed on the student’s DoEd record and he/she will lose federal financial aid eligibility until the funds have been repaid.

 

Any student loan funds to be returned must be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note, making scheduled payments to the lender or holder of the loan over a period of time.  

 

 

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Order of Return of Title IV Funds

R2T4 calculations require the return of funds in the following order:

 

- Unsubsidized Loans

- Subsidized Loans

- Federal Pell Grants

- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

- Iraq & Iran Service Grant

Scholarship funds, Federal Work Study payments, and Cal Grant funds are not subject to this calculation.

 

 

 

School / Student Responsibilities

Grossmont College's responsibilities:

 

Providing each student with the information given in this policy;

 

Identifying students affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation;

 

Informing the student of the result of the R2T4 calculation and any balance owed to Grossmont College as a result of a required return of funds;

Returning any unearned Title IV aid that is due to the Title IV programs and, if applicable; notifying the borrower’s holder of federal loan funds of the student’s withdrawal date;

 

Notifying student of eligibility for a Post-Withdraw Disbursement, if applicable.

 

 

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Students' responsibilities:

 

 

Becoming familiar with the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) policy and how withdrawing  from all courses effects eligibility for Title IV aid;

 

Resolving any outstanding balance owed to Grossmont College resulting from a required return of unearned Title IV aid;

 

Resolving any repayment to the U.S. Department of Education as a result of an overpayment of Title IV grant funds.