Withdrawal and Financial Aid
According to federal regulations (Higher Education Amendments of 1998, regulation 34 CFR part 668.22), schools must have a written policy for refunding and repaying Federal Title IV aid if a student withdraws during a term they received aid for. This policy applies when a student completely stops attending classes before completing more than 60% of the term. Federal Title IV aid includes Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG, and Federal Direct Loans.
Return Of Title IV Funds (R2T4)
Financial aid funds are awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the College for the entire period for which federal assistance was awarded. In the event a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals, or stops attending class, the College is required to determine if the student has fully earned the awarded Title IV aid. This is done through the Return of Title IV calculation. Return to Title IV is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled during the payment period. Up through the 60 percent point in each payment period, a pro-rated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds the student will have "earned" at the time of the withdrawal and the “unearned” funds are returned to the appropriate federal program. After the 60 percent point in the payment period, a student has earned 100 percent of the Title IV funds disbursed. The Return of Title IV Funds calculation applies to all forms of federal student aid including Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Equal Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and Direct Loans.
To determine whether a student’s unearned Title IV aid must be returned, Finger Lakes Community College must determine the student’s withdrawal date. FLCC is not required to take attendance, however, a one-time attendance is taken at census to very that the student began enrollment in each class. The withdrawal date for R2T4 purposes is the date the student begins the school's official withdrawal process or otherwise provides official notification to the school of withdrawal. If both circumstances occur, the withdrawal date is the earlier of these two dates. If a student does not provide official notification of withdrawal (such as an emergency, or when there are circumstances beyond a student's control), the withdrawal date is the date the school determines is related to the circumstances beyond the student's control or the midpoint of the payment period.
At FLCC, the official grading policy allows faculty to differentiate between those students who complete the course but failed to achieve the course objectives and those students who did not complete the course due to attendance. Students who fail a course due to non-attendance will be assessed an FN grade. A student who receives all FN grades at the end of the semester is considered an unofficial withdrawal and the withdrawal date will be the midpoint of the payment period.
If an R2T4 calculation determines that there is unearned aid that must be returned, in accordance with federal regulations, the school will return Title IV funds to the programs from which a student received aid during the payment period as applicable, in the following order (up to the net amount disbursed from each source):
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal SEOG
- Other assistance under this Title for which a return of funds is required
- The student
Earned aid is not related in any way to institutional charges. The College’s refund policy and Return of Title IV Funds procedures are independent of one another. A student who withdraws from a course may be required to return unearned aid and still owe the College for the course.
If an R2T4 calculation determines that the amount of Title IV aid that a student earned is greater than the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed to the student (or on behalf of the student in the case of a PLUS loan), the difference between these amounts will be treated as a post-withdrawal disbursement. A post-withdrawal grant disbursement payment will be made to the student’s account, and a notification sent by email.
A post-withdrawal of loan eligibility will be communicated to the student via email. Students must accept the loan and notify the College in writing of their interest in receiving the loan within 14 days of the notification. Once the College receives the acceptance, the loan funds will disbursed to the student’s account. Responding after 14 days or not at all will result in forfeiture of the student’s loans for the period of enrollment.
Title IV Overpayments
When an R2T4 calculation is completed, the result may indicate that funds need to be returned to the Department of Education by the school, however, occasionally, an R2T4 calculation may also indicate that the student has received more federal financial aid than they are eligible to receive and the student is responsible for repaying this amount to the Department of Education. When a student is required to repay funds as a result of withdrawal, it's called a Title IV Overpayment. Students who owe funds to a grant program are required to make payment of those funds within 45 days of being notified in writing that they owe this overpayment. During the 45 days, students will remain eligible for Title IV funds. If no positive action is taken by the student within 45 days of being notified, Finger Lakes Community College will notify the U.S. Department of Education of the student’s overpayment situation. The student will no longer be eligible for Title IV funds until they enter into a satisfactory repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.
During the 45-day period, the student can make full payment to FLCC for the overpayment. The College will forward the payment to the U.S. Department of Education and the student will remain eligible for Title IV funds. If a student is unable to pay their overpayment in full, they can set up a repayment plan with the U.S. Department of Education. Before doing this, please contact the FLCC Financial Aid Office. You will need to make sure we have referred your situation to the U.S. Department of Education before any repayment plan can be set up.
Pell Grant Recalculation
Federal Pell Grant eligibility is based on enrollment status. If a student did not begin attendance in all coursework before withdrawal, a mandatory Pell recalculation must be performed before an R2T4 can be completed.
Withdrawal When Enrolled in Sessions Shorter than a Full Semester
Students whose program of coursework does not span the entire length of the payment period are considered to be enrolled in courses offered in modules. Students enrolled in modules are considered withdrawn if they do not complete all of the scheduled days in a module that was used to determine the student’s eligibility for federal aid. Students are not considered withdrawn if
- The student successfully completes one module or a combination of modules that contain at least 49% of days within the payment period. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or S.
- The student successfully completes coursework that represents half-time enrollment. Six hours in a payment period is considered half-time enrollment at Columbia College. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or S.
- The student provides written confirmation of attendance of their intent to return to a later module within the payment period.
Students who meet at least one of the above criteria will be granted an R2T4 exemption and no adjustments to their federal aid will occur.
FLCC allows students to provide written confirmation on the withdrawal form at the time of withdrawal that they will attend a module that begins later in the same payment period. A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the College obtains a written confirmation on the College’s withdrawal form, email, or written by the student from the student at the time of the withdrawal.
FLCC considers a student who provided written confirmation of intent to return, but does not return to FLCC, as withdrawn if they do not return as scheduled to a future module within the same payment period.
FLCC allows students to return to a module within the same payment period who did not confirm future enrollment in that same payment period. The student is treated as if they did not cease attendance. The Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be reversed.
In accordance with federal regulations, FLCC determines a student’s earned and unearned Title IV aid based on a required calculation that determines the percentage of the payment period completed by the student. The percentage of the period that the student remained enrolled is derived by dividing the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the period. Calendar days (including weekends) are used, but breaks of at least 5 days are excluded from both the numerator and denominator.
Tuition Refund Policy
Tuition and fees may be prorated by the Student Accounts Office upon a student's withdrawal. Please refer to the Tuition Refund Policy outlined in the College Catalog under Course Drop and Withdrawal Procedure and Tuition Refund.