Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Federal Funds Policy - R2T4
Financial aid funds are awarded with the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire term for which the aid was awarded. Therefore, if a student withdraws or ceases attendance, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Financial Aid originally scheduled to receive. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor student enrollment, official and unofficial withdraws, and perform specific calculations on how much financial aid a student has earned. It is important that all aid recipients understand the potential financial impact of withdrawing from classes. Once the 60% point of the semester has occurred, a student is considered to have earned all of the financial aid originally awarded and will not be required to repay any funds as a result of withdrawal.
The calculation for the R2T4 federal financial aid funds are based on whether a withdrawal is classified as official or unofficial.
Short-term courses are courses that do not span the entire length of the semester. If a student withdraws and does not attend a subsequent short term class, it is considered a complete withdrawal and a R2T4 calculation must be completed. If at the time of withdrawal the student will attend another short term course within the same semester, then it is not considered a withdrawal. However, Federal Regulations requires the Financial Aid Office to request the student to provide written confirmation or email to the Financial Aid Office within 5 days that they will be enrolling in an upcoming short term course. This confirmation is required even if the student was previously registered for future courses prior to withdrawing.
R2T4 Calculation of Earned Federal Financial Aid Funds
Financial aid recipients earn the aid originally received by remaining in the courses in which they were disbursed/paid for. The amount of federal assistance earned is based on a pro-rated system in accordance with federal regulations, 34 CFR 668.22.
Financial aid is returned in the following order:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans
- Federal Direct Subsidized loans
- Federal Direct PLUS loans
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal SEOG
- Federal TEACH Grants
The R2T4 calculation is completed automatically by the Office of Financial Aid. The following explains the formula explains:
Number of calendar days completed in the period
÷
Total number of days scheduled to complete in the period
The number of calendar days in the numerator and denominator includes all days within the session or term, except for institutionally scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days. Weekends are included in the calculation except where a break coinciding with a weekend exceeds five days.
Once the earned percentage has been calculated, it is then subtracted from 100 to get the unearned percentage. The unearned percentage is then multiplied by the Federal Financial Aid received or eligible to receive to determine the amount of Federal Financial Aid that is unearned and must be returned.
For official withdrawals, the calculation of the percentage of the semester attended is based on the eeffective date of the official withdrawal as recorded by the Registrar’s Ooffice.
For unofficial withdrawals, the calculation of the percentage of the semester attended is based on the student’s last date of academic engagement, as reported by the faculty member. If this date is unavailable, CMU will perform the calculation using the midpoint of the payment period as the student’s withdrawal date.
Note: Institutional scholarship funds, Federal Work Study and State funds are not subject to the R2T4 policy.
Credit Balance: All Return to Title IV calculations that result in credit balances follow CMU’s Refund Policy, where all credit balances are refunded as soon as possible and no later than 14 days.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from the refund policy.
Return of Funds: If a R2T4 calculation results in an amount to be returned the student may still owe funds to CMU to cover unpaid institutional charges and will also be responsible for repayment of any remaining portion of their federal student loans under the terms of the promissory note. Students will be notified by email to begin exit counseling.
CMU may also charge a student for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return.
Post Withdrawal Disbursement
If a student did not receive all of the funds that they earned, the student may be due a post withdrawal disbursement. If the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of a Title IV grant funds, it will be posted to the students account within 45 days of the schools determineed withdraw date. If the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds, CMU will notify the student within 30 days of the schools determined withdraw date and allow the student 14 days to accept or decline the funds. CMU may use all or a portion of a student’s post-withdrawal disbursement to offset any eligible, outstanding allowable charges on the students billing account. Any credit balances will be issued to the student as soon as possible, no later than 14 days after disbursement to the student account.