Title IV Refunds

Students who have received (or who are eligible to receive) federal financial aid and who withdraw from all classes prior to the 60% point in time of the semester are subject to a recalculation of their federal awards based on the amount of aid earned.  State and Institutional aid are retained at the same percentage. Institutional aid will be reduced to eliminate any credit balance if application of the retained institutional aid exceeds the amount necessary to cover the charges owed.

Funds are returned in the following order:

1. 1. Unsubsidized Direct Loans
   2. Subsidized Direct Loans
   3. Direct PLUS Loans
   4. Federal Pell Grant
   5. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
   6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
   7. Other federal, state, and institutional funds

Unearned Aid

The amount of aid earned is determined by the number of days the student was enrolled prior to withdrawing from classes.  Any financial aid the student received in excess of the earned amount must be repaid to the University.  The University will return the funds to the appropriate source.  The student is required to pay the University any balance resulting from unearned aid.  A student who owes a balance will not be allowed to receive further financial aid until the balance is resolved.  The student is required to meet with a Financial Aid Counselor prior to completing withdrawal and will be counseled on the financial consequences of the withdrawal.

Earned Aid

Federal aid that the student has earned that has not yet been disbursed to the university will result in a post-withdrawal disbursement. Federal grant funds will be disbursed no later than 30 days post-withdrawal and applied to the student account. Federal Loan funds will be disbursed no later than 30 days post-withdrawal. Students have 14 days from the date of withdrawal to notify the university if they do not wish to accept or decline a post-withdrawal disbursement. All funds disbursed post-withdrawal are applied to any remaining student account balance. If a credit is created after posting the earned aid the credit balance is paid to the student.

Timing

Federal guidelines mandate that the university return any unearned aid as soon as possible after the student withdraws from all classes, but no later than 45 days after the withdrawal process has been completed. Alternatively, the university is required by federal guidelines to ensure that any earned aid generating a credit balance is paid to the student no later than 14 days after the withdrawal calculation is complete.

Failing Grades

Students who earn all F’s in a semester may be subject to the federal refund calculation.  At the end of each semester, the Registrar’s Office will contact faculty to determine whether students earning all F’s in a term earned a failing grade or were assigned an F for failure to attend classes.  Faculty will also be asked to determine a student’s last date of attendance.  The Accounting Office will use the last date a student attended any class in the federal refund calculation.

Assistance

Students with questions about withdrawing from classes and how it may impact the amount of aid available to cover their account balance should contact the Office of Financial Aid at 706-245-2844 or financialaid@ec.edu for aid counseling and assistance.