As cited in section 484B of the Higher Reauthorization Act of 1998 (1965) and section 668.22 of the Federal Register, students who receive Title IV grant or loan funds and withdraw from a school after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance earned by the student must be determined for the amount of time class was attended, and if necessary, return the calculated unearned portion, to the Department of Education. You may also be subject to Albany State University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines.
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1. Pell Grant |
6. Subsidized Stafford Loan |
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2. Academic Competitiveness Grant |
7. Perkins Loan |
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3. National SMART Grant |
8. Parent Plus (Graduate Student) |
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4. Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant |
9. Parent Plus Loan (Parent) |
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5. Unsubsidized Stafford Loan |
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The Return of Title IV Funds (Return) regulations do not dictate an institutional refund policy. Instead, a school is required to determine the earned and unearned Title IV aid a student has earned as of the date of the student ceased attendance based on the amount of time the student spent in attendance. The calculation of Title IV funds earned by the student has no relations to the student’s incurred institutional charges.
For official withdrawals, the date you withdraw from classes is the date of record for Return of Title IV Funds calculations, unless your intent to withdraw on an alternate date is documented. If you are not going to continue to attend school, you will need to complete an official withdrawal through the Registrars Office as soon as you decide to leave.
In the case of an unofficial withdrawal where the student did not complete the semester, and took no action to officially withdraw from the university through the Registrar’s Office; the university will determine the withdrawal date.
Federal Regulations mandate that Albany State University must calculate earned and unearned portions of financial aid if necessary and return those funds to the student or the Department of Education whether the student “Officially” withdrew or “Unofficially” withdrew from the University.
If you do not attend classes, you will have to repay all financial aid funds received. If you do not attend classes, you have not established eligibility for the financial aid that you received therefore all financial aid funds MUST be repaid within 30 days.
If you attend classes, the University will calculate your repayment based on federal regulations. The repayment calculation is based on the time you attended classes for that semester. This calculation, based on the withdrawal date, determines the type and amount of financial aid you received. The calculation also identifies the financial aid earned for the semester and the amount the University and you must return to the Department of Education.
If the total amount of Title IV grant and/or loan funds that the student earned is less than the amount received by the student, the difference between these amounts must be returned to the Title IV program (Department of Education) in the following order of priority (not to exceed the amount originally disbursed):
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1. Unsubsidized Stafford Loan |
6. Pell Grant |
|
2. Subsidized Stafford Loan |
7. Academic Competitiveness Grant |
|
3. Perkins Loan |
8. National SMART Grant |
|
4. Parent Plus (Graduate Student) |
9. Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant |
|
5. Parent Plus Loan (Parent) |
|
The institution and the student share the responsibility for returning Title IV funds. The institution returns the “unearned” Title IV funds that have been paid to the school to cover the student’s institutional charges received from Title IV grant and/or loan programs. The student is responsible to repay any unpaid institutional charges resulting from the Return of Title IV Funds Calculation.
The school must return Title IV funds due to the Department of Education no later that 30 days after the date the school determines the student withdrew. Due to the time necessary to research the last date of enrollment for students who unofficially withdraw from the university (must investigate by contacting all professors). In cases involving unofficially withdrawn students, they maybe be notified of the unearned portion well after the withdrawal took place.
If the student owes funds back to the Department of Education, the university will advise the student within 30 days of determining that the student withdrew: The student has 45 days from the date of notification from the university to take action on the overpayment. If the student’s portion of unearned Title IV funds includes a federal grant, the student has to pay no more than 50% of the initial Pell award that the student is responsible for returning.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who completely withdraw from the University will be subject to Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Guidelines. Please visit the SAP guidelines that refer to Minimum Percentage of Credit Hours Completion at http://www.asurams.edu/financialaid/sap.php.
