Refund of Fees
The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (HEA98) represent a major shift in the return of Title IV Federal Financial Aid when a student withdraws from the university. The policy governs all federal grant and loan programs (Pell, SEOG, Stafford Loans, Perkins and PLUS loans), but does not include the Federal Work-Study program.
In general, the law assumes that a student “earns” approved (verified) federal financial aid awards in proportion to the number of days in the term prior to the student’s complete withdrawal. If a student completely withdraws from school during a term, the school must calculate, according to a specific formula, the portion of the total scheduled financial assistance that the student has earned and is therefore entitled to retain, until the time that the student withdrew. If a student receives (or the University receives on the student’s behalf) more assistance than he/she earns, the unearned funds must be returned to the Department of Education or to the Federal Stafford or parent’s Federal PLUS loan lenders. If a student’s charges are less than the amount earned, and a refund is due, the student may be able to receive those additional funds. Students who have not completed the verification process are ineligible to receive any financial aid.
The portion of the federal grants and loans that the student is entitled to receive is calculated on a percentage basis by comparing the total number of days in the semester to the number of days that the student completed before he/she withdrew. The policy governs the earned and unearned portions of the student’s Federal Title IV Financial Aid only. It determines how much, if any, the student and/or the school may need to return. This policy does not affect the student’s charges. The University’s withdrawal policy will be used to determine the reduction, if any, in the student’s tuition and fee or room and board charges. The student is responsible for paying any outstanding charges to the university.
Withdrawal Policy
When a student withdraws from the University during the first twenty (20) days of classes during a long semester, six (6) days during a summer session of more than five weeks but less than 10 weeks and two (2) days during a session of five weeks or less, the University will refund a portion of the tuition and fees charged to a student. The percentages refunded are as follows:
Long Semester (10 weeks or longer)
- prior to the first class day – 100%
- during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class days – 80%
- during the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th class days – 70%
- during the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th class days – 50%
- during the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th class days – 25%
- after the 20th class day – none
Summer Session of More Than 5 Weeks But Less Than 10 Weeks
- during class days (1-3) - 80%
- during class days (4-6)- 50%
- after the 6th class day- None
Summer Session of 5 Weeks or Less
- 1st class day- 80%
- 2nd class day- 50%
- after 2nd class day- None
The “first class day” is determined by the beginning of a semester or summer session. The first class day is not defined by individual courses. Please refer to the academic calendar for the first class day date.
The refund will be returned to the student only if the student did not receive financial aid assistance from either Title IV programs or state programs. In the cases where the student did receive assistance from these programs, the refund will be returned to the programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Loan,
- Subsidized Loan,
- Perkins Loan,
- PLUS Loan,
- Pell Grant,
- FSEOG Grant,
- TPEG Grant,
- RPEG Grant,
- NPEG Grant and
- Texas Grant.
The student’s official withdrawal date will be determined by the University as:
- The date the student began the University’s withdrawal process.
- The midpoint of the semester if the student withdraws without notifying the University.
- The student’s last day of attendance at an academically-related activity as documented by the University.
If it is determined that the University must return to the Title IV programs monies in excess of any tuition and fees or room and board, the student will be responsible for those monies.
Any grant funds that the student is required to return to the federal programs are considered an overpayment. The student must either repay the amount in full to the University within 45 days of notification of the overpayment or make satisfactory payment arrangements with the Department of Education Collections that the student owes an overpayment. At that point, until the student pays the amount in full to the Department of Education or makes repayment arrangements with the Department of Education, the student will lose his/her eligibility to receive future federal financial aid at any institution.
Upon Dropping a Course or Courses
When a student drops a course or courses from the University during the first twenty (20) days of classes during a long semester, six (6) days during a summer session of more than five weeks but less than 10 weeks and two (2) days during a session of five weeks or less, the University will refund a portion of the tuition and fees charged to a student. The percentages refunded are as follows:
Fall and Spring Semester
| Length of Term (Weeks) | Census Date |
|---|---|
| 2 or less | 1st Class Day |
| 3 | 2nd Class Day |
| 4 | 3rd Class Day |
| 5-6 | 4th Class Day |
| 7 | 5th Class Day |
| 8 | 6th Class Day |
| 9-10 | 7th Class Day |
| 11 | 8th Class Day |
| 12 | 9th Class Day |
| 13-14 | 10th Class Day |
| 15 | 11th Class Day |
| 16 | 12th Class Day |
Summer Semester
| Length of Term (Weeks) | Census Date |
|---|---|
| 2 or less | 1st Class Day |
| 3 | 2nd Class Day |
| 4 | 3rd Class Day |
| 5-6 | 4th Class Day |
| 7 | 5th Class Day |
| 8 | 6th Class Day |
| 9 | 7th Class Day |
| 10 or more | 12th Class Day |
For the specific Census date for each term, refer to the published Academic Calendar.
Refund Policies
The following policies are used for refunds:
Refunds are processed according to published schedules from the Student Business Services Office. Refunds will be processed through Transact. Students who do not set up direct deposit will be mailed a paper check to the address listed on their student profile. Visit this link for more information: Refunds
- Any financial obligations owed the University will be deducted from the refund before the balance is mailed to the student.
- Students with a state hold may receive their refund by mailed check regardless of their refund selection.
- A student who is required to withdraw because of failure in the work of a previous semester will receive a refund in accordance with the above schedule.