Federal regulations require Title IV aid, which includes Federal Pell Grant, TEACH Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work Study (FWS), and Federal Direct Stafford Loan (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and Parent) programs, to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the College for the entire period in which federal financial assistance is awarded. However, in the event a student withdraws or stops attending class, the College is required to determine if the student has fully earned the awarded Title IV aid. As required by federal regulations, the College uses a pro-rated schedule to determine the amount of federal financial aid that the student “earned” and return the “unearned” disbursed funds to the appropriate federal program. Once 60% of the semester is completed, the student is considered to have earned all the federal financial aid and will not be required to return any funds.
When a student receiving Federal Title IV aid officially withdraws or unofficially withdraws (drops out, stops attending, is expelled, takes an unapproved leave of absence, or fails to return from an approved leave of absence) on or before completing 60% of the semester, the College must apply the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation and determine the amount of funds to return to the appropriate federal programs. At Stillman College, the Office of Financial Aid is responsible for the R2T4 calculation and return of federal funds processes.
When a student officially withdraws from the College, the student’s official withdrawal date will be used in the R2T4 calculation. When a student unofficially withdraws, the student’s last date of attendance or the 50% midpoint of the term, whichever is later, is used in the R2T4 calculation. Federal financial aid regulations consider a student to be an unofficial withdrawal if the student receives all failure due to attendance or incomplete grades, or a combination of withdrawal, failure due to attendance, or incomplete grades (FA, U, I, W), for the term.
Upon determination that a student has withdrawn, whether officially or unofficially, the Office of Financial Aid will process the R2T4 calculation and notify the student (if needed) within 30 days from the date the withdrawal is determined. The following steps are used to calculate the amount of aid a student has earned and how much must be returned (if any) to the federal programs:
The College will bill the student for any account balance created when Title IV aid is returned.
If it is determined that the student owes Title IV funds, the student will be sent a notification indicating such. The student has 45 days from the date of the notification to pay the overpayment or make satisfactory repayment arrangements. If no payment is received, the College will place registration, and transcript holds on the student’s account. The student will lose eligibility for Title IV aid unless the overpayment is paid in full or satisfactory repayment arrangements are made.
Stillman College participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.
