The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence having only completed 60% or less of a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations.
A student may withdraw officially following the college’s course withdrawal procedure. If a student officially withdraws from all classes before the 60% point of the payment period or term, the FAO uses the latest course withdrawal date as the last day of attendance for R2T4.
A student may withdraw unofficially by ceasing attendance. Instructors report unofficial withdrawals to the Records Office via the grade roster. If the instructor knows the student’s last date of attendance, the instructor reports that date. If the instructor does not know the student’s last day of attendance, the instructor reports a placeholder date. For unofficial withdrawals, the FAO uses the 50% point of the payment period to calculate the return to Title IV.
If a student leaves the institution having only completed 60% or less of a payment period or term, the financial aid office recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:
Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.
Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:
Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.
If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student may owe a debt to the institution.
If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement. For post-withdrawal disbursements, grants must be disbursed within 45 day and loans must be offered within 30 days allowing the student at least 14 days to respond to accept or decline the funds.
Post-withdrawal disbursements are applied to the student account first. Should a credit balance refund result, the college disburses it as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after the R2T4 calculation.
The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal. Further, the institution must updated COD within 15 days of an adjustment to previously reported disbursement data.
Refunds are allocated in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans (other than PLUS loans)
- Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans
- Federal Pell Grants for which a Return of funds is required
- Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a Return of funds is required
- Other assistance under this Title for which a Return of funds is required (e.g., LEAP)
Return of State Grant Funds
Please note that both the Commonwealth Grant (COMA) and Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP) follow the same return of funds policy and procedure as is followed above for the return of federal student aid (Title IV) funds.
Information and Resources
- Financial Aid Home
- Apply for Financial Aid
- What to Know About Your Aid Award
- Types of Aid
- Summer Financial Aid
- Career Training/Non-Credit Financial Assistance
- Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Using Financial Aid in the Bookstore
- Financial Aid Forms
- Cost of Attendance
- Special & Unusual Circumstances
- Net Price Calculator
- Policies & Conditions
- Student Consumer Information
Contact Us
finaid@virginiawestern.edu
Chapman Hall C106
855-874-6690
Fax: 540-857-6208
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3094 Colonial Ave. SW
Roanoke, VA 24015
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