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A Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation is required when a student does not attend all of the days the student was scheduled to complete within a payment period or period of enrollment. Students who do not complete their payment period are considered to have withdrawn whether or not any credits were earned. The R2T4 calculation is done to determine the amount of aid earned by the student.
Federal regulations require institutions to calculate the amount of federal financial aid a student earned if the student withdraws from all of his/her coursework in any given semester/term. In addition, at the end of a semester/term, if a student has not successfully completed any coursework, the institution must confirm that the student did attend the courses for which the student received financial aid.
When a student who receives a net disbursement of Title IV funds then ceases attendance prior to the 60 percent point in the payment period, CF will determine whether the student must repay a portion of the net disbursement. A statutory prorated schedule will be used to determine the percentage of Title IV funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. Federal Work Study funds are excluded from the calculation.
If a student withdraws after completing more than 60 percent of the semester/term, all Title IV aid is considered earned and the student does not owe a repayment. However, withdrawing may affect a student’s satisfactory academic progress and eligibility for future financial aid.
Minimester Courses and Return to Title IV
A student who withdraws from a minimester course (A term or B term) within the semester is considered to be withdrawn, even if registered for future classes starting in the same semester, unless one of the following criteria is met:
- The student, at the time of withdrawal from a minimester class, is attending another class.
- The student has successfully completed course work in 49 percent of the countable days within the semester. Calculations cannot be rounded up to achieve 49 percent.
- The student has successfully completed courses that constitute half-time (6 credit hours) enrollment in the semester.
- The student has completed graduation requirements in a clock hour program.
- The student provides documentation to the college indicating the intent to attend a future class within that semester.
If none of these criteria is met, the student is considered withdrawn and a Return to Title IV calculation must be completed. If the student provides documentation but doesn’t actually attend that future class, a Return to Title IV calculation is still required.
Return to Title IV Calculation
- The amount of aid that must be returned is calculated using the last date of attendance as documented by faculty records (not student self-certification). The institution will determine the total number of calendar days completed in the payment period and the number of days the student was scheduled to complete in the payment period. Days attended are divided by the number of days scheduled to complete to determine that percentage completed. To determine the amount of aid earned, the percentage completed is multiplied by the total aid for which the student is eligible.
- The institution will then determine the total institutional charges (tuition, fees, and books and supplies charged at the bookstore) and multiply the total institutional charges by the percentage determined in step 1 above in order to calculate the earned charges.
The institution must return the amount of unearned aid, up to the maximum received, to each of the Title IV programs in the following order:
Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
Federal Direct PLUS Loan
Federal Pell Grant
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- The school determines the amount of unearned aid the student is responsible for returning by subtracting the amount returned by the school from the total amount which is unearned.
Example A: A student enrolled in 10 credit hours was awarded a $2,180 Pell Grant, a $1,691 Subsidized Federal Direct Loan and a $959 Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan. The student officially withdrew from all courses after attending 52.3 percent of the semester. The student did not earn $813 of the unsubsidized loan, so $813 was returned to the Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan program and the student owes that amount to CF.
Example B: The student in example A does not withdraw from any courses, but stops attending class and receives an F in all courses. Based on the attendance report from the instructor, the student is determined to have attended 52.3 percent of the semester and has not earned $813 of the unsubsidized loan. As in the example above, the unearned funds are returned to the Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan program and the student owes CF $813.
Example C: A student enrolled in 12 credit hours fails all courses in the semester (F, N or I grade). Attendance verification from the instructor shows that the student attended 83 percent of the semester. Because the student attended more than 60 percent of the semester, all Title IV funds are determined to be earned and no repayment is due.
Once the institution determines the amount the student owes, CF will notify the student via USPS mail. Funds that must be returned by the student to the loan programs can be paid in accordance with the normal loan repayment terms. For grant funds that must be repaid, the amount due from the student is limited to half of the total Title IV grant funds received by the student. A student has 45 days to make repayment and does not have to repay a grant overpayment of $50 or less. Unpaid balances will be reported to the National Student Loan Data System, and reported to the U. S. Department of Education for collection. A student who owes an overpayment will be ineligible for further Title IV aid at any institution.
Note: This policy is separate from the institutional refund policy. The student is responsible for paying any balances due to CF. See CF Financial Responsibility Agreement .
Detailed information on repayments is available in the Office of Financial Aid. These policies are subject to change by action of the United States Department of Education.
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