Federal (Title IV Aid) Refund Policy
Federal regulations require the use of the Return of Title IV Funds Policy to be used for all students receiving any type of federal aid when calculating the aid a student can retain after withdrawing. This policy relates to Federal Pell and FSEOG grants, as well as Federal Direct and Federal Direct PLUS Loans. The same policy will be used for state and institutional aid.
Title IV regulations govern the return of aid disbursed for a student who completely withdraws from a term or semester. During the first 60% of the term or semester, a student “earns” aid in direct proportion to the length of time the student remains enrolled. A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60% point earns all aid for that period.
Effective July 1, 2021, for students enrolled in modules (a session within the semester that is part of that semester), the period of enrollment for which a calculation of the percentage “earned” is the number of calendar days in the modules aid is paid on excluding any breaks of five or more calendar days (cumulative between modules or otherwise).
The 60% earned calculation still applies and students who complete 60% or more of the modules for which aid was paid will have no return of aid and will be considered to have earned 100%. In addition, students who have successfully completed 49% of all the countable module days (this does not include any days between modules) will be excluded from the Return of Title IV requirement, and any aid paid will be retained with the exception of Pell Grant which will be recalculated to only the classes the students complete. This exclusion does not apply to classes that were not completed or for which the student has an “F” grade earned or unearned.
The regulations have changed for how a return of aid calculation is performed for students who are enrolled in modules and are withdrawn. Some exclusions, such as the 49% exclusion listed above, to complete the Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation may apply. These rules are effective July 1, 2021, and a full description of the change to the rules can be found at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/02/2020-18636/distance-education-and-innovation
The Financial Aid Consumer Information Handbook contains information about the University of Saint Mary’s financial aid programs and policies. It also includes consumer information required by the United States Department of Education.