The purpose of this guide is to provide information regarding the Return of Title IV aid policies that apply to any student who withdraws or is dismissed from Savannah State University during a semester. The policy will apply to all students who discontinue enrollment in all classes on or after the first day of the term.
What Is Title IV Aid?
Title IV aid, as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, includes the following major student aid programs:
- FEDERAL PELL GRANT
- FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANT (FSEOG)
- FEDERAL TEACH GRANT
- FEDERAL SUBSIDIZED AND UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOANS
- FEDERAL PARENT PLUS LOANS
- FEDERAL GRADUATE PLUS LOANS
- FEDERAL WORK-STUDY
- FEDERAL IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN SERVICE GRANTS (IASG)
When You Withdraw
When you withdraw, two separate calculations must be determined: (1) REFUND OF TUITION AND FEES; (2) RETURN OF THE TITLE IV AID. This policy does not apply to students who cancel their registration prior to the first day of classes or to students who drop some but not all of their classes.
Refund of Tuition and Fees: Based on the withdrawal date determined by the Registrar’s Office, you may receive a full or partial tuition and fee refund. This refund will not impact the Return of Title IV Aid calculation but will affect the amount of money you owe back to the University. The Bursar’s Office will refund fees based on the number of CALENDAR DAYS that you have completed up until the date the withdrawal is filed, as shown on FEE REFUND SCHEDULE. The Fee Refund Schedule can be found on the Bursar’s Office website.
Return of the Title IV Aid: When you withdraw, the Office of Financial Aid must calculate the amount of financial aid you have earned prior to withdrawing. Any Title IV aid received in excess of the earned amount is considered unearned. Unearned aid must be returned back to the respective Federal Aid program. If you are a Work- Study employee, you are no longer eligible to receive payment from Federal Work Study funds effective immediately when you withdraw. If your employer can pay you from another source, your employer may offer to continue your employment. Non-Title IV aid programs (such as HOPE/ Zell Miller Scholarships) are not part of the Return of Title IV aid calculation; however, they may still be subject to reduction in cases of a withdrawal.
Title IV and HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship: If in addition to federal Title IV funds, the student also received HOPE/Zell Miller funds, then refund amounts are distributed proportionately. The Financial Aid Office determines the amount of the federal Title IV refund as prescribed by the federal “Return of Title IV Funds” policy.
HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship Only: If a refund is due and the student received HOPE/Zell Miller funds but did not receive federal Title IV funds, then such amounts must be refunded to HOPE/Zell Miller. These amounts are refunded by applying the institution’s Refund Policy to the student’s original HOPE/Zell Miller award for tuition.
Calculating Earned Aid
Earned Aid is determined by taking the number of days attended (all calendar days are counted, including weekends) divided by the total number of days in the term (first day of classes until the last day of finals). If a student withdraws after the 60% point of the term, there are no unearned funds. The calculation of the Return of Title IV aid only applies to students who withdraw prior to the 60% point of the term. Withdrawal after this point-in-time will not result in any adjustments to your financial aid for the semester.
Calculating Unearned Aid
Unearned Aid is calculated by subtracting the earned percentage from 100%.
Calculating Return Of Title IV Aid Amount
Once the earned and unearned aid percentages are determined, the next step is to calculate the dollar amount of TOTAL UNEARNED AID that must be returned. The RETURN OF AID AMOUNT is determined by multiplying the unearned aid percentage by the total of all Title IV aid received.
| Institutional Charges: | Example 1 | Example 2 | Financial Aid Awarded: | Example 1 | Example 2 | |
| Tuition | $2,610.00 | $2,610.00 | Unsubsidized Stafford Loan | $990.00 | $3,710.00 | |
| Health Clinic Fee | $77.00 | $77.00 | Subsidized Stafford Loan | $2,721.00 | $2,721.00 | |
| Student Activity Fee | $55.00 | $55.00 | Parent PLUS Loan | $1,915.00 | ||
| Student Athletic Fee | $300.00 | $300.00 | Pell Grant | $3,698.00 | ||
| Stdnt Ctr/Stadium Fee | $260.00 | $260.00 | SEOG | $1,000.00 | ||
| Technology Fee | $50.00 | $50.00 | TOTAL | $10,324.00 | $6,431.00 | |
| Housing | $3,895.00 | $3,895.00 | ||||
| Dining/Meal Plan | $2,341.00 | $2,341.00 | ||||
| TOTAL | $9,588.00 | $9,588.00 |
Example 1: Since the total institutional charges are less than the total financial aid awarded, the cancelation of aid will be calculated using the $9,588 because it is less than the Federal Financial Aid Awarded of $10,324. If your date of withdrawal is at the midpoint of the term, $9,588 would be multiplied by 50% to calculate $4,794 to return from your Federal Financial Aid funds. For the example, the entire $990 Unsubsidized Stafford Loan would be returned to the servicer from your account as well as $2,721 of the Subsidized Stafford Loan, and $1083 of the Parent PLUS Loan. Therefore $990 + $2,721 + $1083 = $4,794 is the amount of aid to be returned.
Example 2: Since the financial aid awards are less than the total institutional charges, the cancellation of aid will be calculated using $6,431 because it is less than the total institutional charges of $9,588. If your date of withdrawal results in a 31% term completion earned rate, then the unearned percentage is 69%. Therefore, we would multiply $6,431 by 69% to calculate $4,437 to return from your Federal Financial Aid funds. For this example, the entire $3,710 Unsubsidized Stafford Loan would be returned to the servicer as well as $727 of the Subsidized Stafford Loan. Therefore $3,710 + $727 = $4,437 is the amount of aid to be returned.
NOTE: The Return of Aid calculated is charged to the students’ university tuition and fee account and this balance must be paid by the student.
A school must return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student received aid in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans (other than PLUS loans), Federal Direct PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants, IASG, FSEOG, Federal TEACH Grant.
Post-withdrawal Disbursement
If a student withdraws from a semester and receives less federal student aid than the amount earned, the student is entitled to a post-withdrawal disbursement. Post withdrawal eligibility can be used to credit outstanding charges on a student’s account. If the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal of grant funds, the Office of Financial Aid will apply up to the amount for the outstanding charges without the student’s permission. If the student/parent is eligible for a post withdrawal from loans funds, the Office of Financial Aid will notify the student/parent. The student/parent must respond within 14 days of notification to be eligible to receive the disbursement. If the student/parent does not respond to the notification, no portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement that is not credited to the student’s account may be disbursed.
Student Direct & Parent Loans
If you withdraw during the Fall or Spring semester and return to Savannah State University during the current academic year, your loans will be adversely affected.
- Loan disbursements scheduled for the terms following your withdrawal will be cancelled.
- If you have received subsequent disbursements, you will be invoiced for the amount to your student tuition and fee account.
Future Aid Eligibility
Withdrawing may affect your eligibility to receive financial aid in subsequent terms. Depending on the type of financial aid you receive, you may be required to resubmit certain applications or documents. Upon withdrawal, you should notify the Office of Financial Aid when you plan to return so necessary adjustments can be made to your financial aid award. Students should also review the SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP) policy.
Do Not Leave School Without Withdrawing
If you “walk away” and do not pass any of your classes, your financial aid will be reduced for the term. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to recalculate your financial aid based on the last determined date of academic activity or at the midpoint of the term. Students who wish to withdraw from the University once instruction begins may find information on the process on the Registrar’s website.
Other Withdrawals
Cancellation of Registration: If your registration is cancelled prior to the beginning of the semester you will not be considered a student for that semester. If this occurs, you are not entitled to receive any form of financial aid for that semester; your aid will be cancelled and returned to the appropriate programs.
Retroactive Withdrawal after Completion of a Term: If you retroactively withdraw for a term that has been completed and your withdrawal date does not entitle you to a refund, your financial aid status for the affected term will not change. No Return of Title IV Aid calculation will be required since you were enrolled and attended classes for the entire term, however, you will be subject to the SAP policy.
Unofficial Withdrawal: Students at Savannah State University who receive all F or a combination of F and W grades are considered an unofficial withdraw per federal regulation and we are required to review their account and potentially complete a Return to Title IV Calculation (R2T4) based on their last date of attendance or activity in their course(s).
If you retroactively withdraw from a term that has been completed and your withdrawal date is not past the 60% point of the term, the Office of Financial Aid is required to perform a Return of Title IV Aid calculation. Return of Title IV Aid percentages will be based upon the official date of your withdrawal, as determined by the Office of Registrar.
Long Term Impact Of Withdrawing
Students should be aware that withdrawing from all courses during a term and/or withdrawing from a course(s) could have an effect on their Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), which requires students to earn 67% of the credits they have attempted.
Students who are required to have a Return to Title IV (R2T4) Calculation completed and it is determined that funds need to be returned to the federal government should be aware that this calculation might create a balance due with the Bursar’s Office.