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Federal Return Calculation

Students who wish to withdraw from William Woods University must complete the formal withdrawal process by either contacting the Office of the Registrar or completing the forms online via Owlnet.  The official withdraw date is defined as the actual date the student notifies the Office of the Registrar in writing.  Failure to attend class does not constitute an official withdraw. 

If a student receiving Federal Title IV assistance fails to attend class, the university may be required by Federal regulation to perform an unofficial withdraw.  In that case, the midpoint of the semester, or the last date of attendance that can be documented, will be the withdrawal date.  When the withdrawal forms are completed, the financial account of the student is settled. 

Federal Title IV Recipients

The following information is used in the determination of the return of federal aid.

  1. Percentage of payment period (first day of class through last day of final examinations) completed is the number of calendar days the student remained enrolled divided by the total number of calendar days in the payment period.  Institutionally scheduled breaks of 5 or more consecutive days are excluded and therefore do not affect the calculation of the amount of Federal Aid earned.
  2. Percentage of Title IV funds eligible for disbursement earned is the percentage of the payment period completed through the 60% point and 100% thereafter.

For example, if 30% of the payment period is completed, then 30% of the assistance originally scheduled to receive is earned.  This percentage is calculated by comparing the official date of withdrawal with the total number of days of the semester.  \

The total number of days in a semester includes every calendar day of the semester starting with the first day of the semester through the last day of finals, no including breaks from class exceeding more than 5 days (including weekends). 

For example, if a student withdraws on day 33 of a semester, which has a total of 110 days, the student has completed 30% of the semester.  Once more than 60% of the payment period is completed, all assistance for the period has been earned.

  1. Percentage unearned (to be returned to Title IV programs) is 100% minus the percentage earned.

Student identified with post withdrawal disbursements are notified in writing (letter and/or email) of their aid that could have been disbursed within 30 days of their documented withdrawal.  Federal grants are automatically processed and disbursed on the student’s behalf once the calculation is complete (within 45 days). Students (and/or parents) are offered any applicable post-withdrawal loan eligibility once the calculation is complete (within 30 days) must give us written permission for disbursement of loan funds to their account. 

In the student’s notification they are given 45 days to respond to the Student Financial Services Office on whether they wish to accept/decline their loan funds.

  1. Student identified with an over-award are notified in writing of their over payment of federal funds and provided an opportunity to return the funds to university.  If funds are not received within the required timeframe, the student is reported to the department.
  2. Funds requiring return of Title IV funds calculation include: Pell Grant, FSEOG, Subsidized Loans, Unsubsidized Loans, PLUS Loans and Perkins Loans.
  3. The return of the Title IV funds will be allocated in the following order up to amounts received from each program:

    • Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
    • Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
    • Direct PLUS loans
    • Federal Pell Grans
    • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
    • FSEOG

And other grant or loan assistance authorized by Title IV of the HEA.

  1. The university will return up to the unearned percentage multiplied by the total institutional charges and also the required unearned student portion.

The requirements for Title IV program funds are separate from the institutional refund policy; therefore, a balance for unpaid institutional charges may still be owed.

The Registrar’s Office notifies the Student Financial Services Office and NSLDS to confirm official withdrawal of a student.  This is usually done once the notice of withdrawal is received, but must be done within 30 days of the official date of withdrawal.

The withdrawal calculation is completed within the PowerFAIDS Financial Aid Management System and is completed and processed.  Unearned funds are returned to the programs from which the student received aid during the payment period.  All unearned aid is return as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days from the determination date of the student withdrawing. 

Once the institution’s required amount and also the unearned (required) amount for the student per the withdrawal calculation is finalized, exit counseling information is sent to the student if necessary.  In the event that the return calculation creates a Title IV credit balance on the student’s account, the funds will be disbursed within 14 days of the date the credit occurs on the student’s account or Return to Title IV calculation (whichever comes first). 

Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student earns no hours (0.0 GPA) for a payment period, the Registrar must determine if the GPA was earned or if the student failed to participate throughout the payment period.   If the GPA is earned, a return to Title IV aid is not required. 

If it is determined the student failed to participate through at least 60% of the payment period, Title IV funds must be returned to reflect the portion/percentage of the Title IV funds earned (portion of payment period for which the student participated.)  The school is responsible for returning any portion of the unearned funds to the appropriate Title IV program within 45 days.

All institutional and federal aid is offered on the assumption that the student will be enrolled as a full-time student for the entire academic year.  When a student withdraws from classes, the institutional and federal award will be recalculated based on these policies.  Federal funds will be returned according to the specific order prescribed