Treatment of Title IV Federal Aid When a Student Withdraws
If you withdraw from UMW, the Student Accounts Office may adjust your charges based upon your withdrawal date and the UMW refund policy. The university’s policy for refunding institutional charges is separate from the policies related to financial aid eligibility. For information on the withdrawal process at UMW, please visit the Registrars Office for more information.
Return of Title IV Aid
The Federal Return to Title IV (R2T4) policy specifies how UMW must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that students earn if they withdraw from the University. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are:
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Direct Loans
- Federal Direct PLUS Loans
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
- Federal TEACH Grant
- Federal Perkins Loans
Regardless of any adjustment to your charges, if you withdraw from the university, your financial aid may be adjusted based on the percentage of the semester you completed before withdrawing. In some cases, Federal Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) regulations may require that aid be returned to the federal government for students who completely withdraw from UMW before 60 percent of a term (calendar days) has been completed. Once you reach more than the 60 percent point of the term, the formula considers that you have earned 100 percent of your aid, and no reductions will be made based on the R2T4 regulations.
Financial aid is awarded for the entire term. If you do not complete the entire term, then the Return of Title IV Fund rules will determine how much financial aid has been earned, which is the amount you can keep. The unearned portion must be immediately returned to the federal government, but no later than 45 calendar days after the date of determination for the withdrawal. In some situations, this may leave you with a balance owed to the university.
Students that unofficially withdraw from the University are subject to a 50% return unless they can provide documentation from a professor that they were enrolled after that time.
State funding will be returned in compliance with that state’s regulations. Virginia State grants are returned based on the percentage of days completed. University grants and scholarships will be adjusted based on the percentage of tuition paid. For example, a student who withdraws and receives a 20 percent tuition credit will lose 20 percent of his/her institutional aid. See the “Refund Policy” from the Student Accounts Office for the amount of tuition credit a withdrawn student is eligible to receive.
Determining the Withdrawal Date
A student’s withdrawal date is the date the student began the withdrawal process, the student’s last date of academic attendance, or the midpoint of the semester for a student who does not provide official notification of his or her intent to withdraw.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, UMW must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. UMW may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). UMW needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow UMW to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.
In situations where a student has completely withdrawn and all federal student aid had not been disbursed by that time, the R2T4 calculation will determine if a student is eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement (PWD) of any previously undisbursed funds. If a disbursement can be made, the following action would occur.
- If the eligible disbursement is from the Federal Direct Loan program, UMW will offer any disbursement of these funds within 30 days of the date it was determined the student withdrew.
- If the eligible disbursement is from the Federal Pell Grant or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs, the disbursement will be made within 45 calendar days of the date it was determined the student withdrew if the funds will be directly refunded to the student, or within 180 calendar days if the disbursement is being used to pay for allowable charges on the student’s account.
Cancelled Aid
Additionally, if your financial aid file is incomplete, some or all or your aid may be canceled.
Overpayment
Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You must make arrangements with UMW or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. Students who do not return grant funds that are required to be returned are reported to the Department of Education and are ineligible to receive federal funds at any institution until payment has been made in full.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that UMW may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to UMW to cover unpaid institutional charges. UMW may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return.
If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the UMW Office of Financial Aid or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913.