Return of Funds
Students receiving federal financial aid (referred to as Title IV financial aid and includes awards such as Pell, SEOG and Direct Loans) who find it necessary to withdraw from all classes may be required to return a portion, or all, of their Title IV funding. Additionally, students who have failed or stop attending their classes may also be required to return a portion, or all, of their Title IV funding.
To determine the amount of aid to be returned, a U.S. Department of Education regulated calculation will be performed. Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculations vary based on your period of enrollment. Prior to officially withdrawing, you should carefully review the satisfactory academic progress requirements to assure that this will not affect your future financial aid. Returns will be calculated within 30 days of your last date of attendance or date the University determined you had withdrawn, whichever is later. Funding will be calculated and returned within 45 days of the determined last date of attendance date. For online students the last date of interaction is used. This can be in many forms including emails to a professor on academic matters, gradable events, or interactive tutorials.
If you do not officially withdraw, but do not complete all your classes within a semester, you will be reviewed for an R2T4 calculation. This includes any combination of (F) or (I) grades as well as non-attendance. These grades will trigger the process and your last date of attendance will be determined based on your learning environment. For in-class settings your attendance will be determined based on the last day you were physically in class. For online classes, it will be determined by the last academic interaction you were engaged in.
If you have withdrawn before receiving the funding that you are eligible for, you may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. This amount will be calculated using the same criteria as Return of Title IV calculations follow. You will be notified via mail of any outstanding requirements you may need to complete. If this funding includes loans, you will have to authorize the receipt of this funding. This funding follows Title IV credit balance regulations and will be refunded to you as soon as possible, not to exceed 14 days from when the balance was credited to your account.
Traditional Undergraduate
If you are enrolled in the traditional undergraduate program, the Return of Title IV calculation is as follows:
Number of days completed ÷ number of days in semester = percentage completed
If you complete 60% or less of your scheduled enrollment period, a portion of your Title IV aid is required to be returned. The number of days completed is determined by the official withdrawal date provided by the University Registrar. This date is dependent on the last date of an academically related event.
College of Professional Studies, Graduate and Doctoral
Students whose program of study or course work does not span the entire length of the payment period are considered to be enrolled in courses offered in modules. Students enrolled in sessions are considered withdrawn if they do not complete all of the scheduled days in a module that was used to determine the student’s eligibility for federal aid.
Students are not considered withdrawn if:
- The student successfully completes one session or a combination of sessions that contain at least 49% of days within the payment period. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or S;
- The student successfully completes coursework that represents half time enrollment. Six hours in a payment period is considered half time enrollment at Indiana Tech. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or S;
Students who meet either of the above criteria will be granted an R2T4 exemption and no adjustments to their federal aid will occur.
If one of these exclusions do not occur, the following formula will be used for aid determination:
Number of days completed ÷ number of days in session = percentage completed
If you complete 60% or less of your scheduled enrollment period, a portion of your Title IV aid is required to be returned. The number of days completed is determined by the official withdrawal date provided by the University Registrar. This date is dependent on the last date of an academically related event.
Determining Earned Aid
Until a student has passed the 60% point of a payment period, only a portion of the student’s aid has been earned. A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60% point is considered to have earned all awarded aid. All students who withdraw, including those who remain enrolled beyond the 60% point, will be reviewed to determine whether unearned Title IV aid must be returned or whether post-withdrawal disbursements of Title IV aid are due.
If the total amount of Title IV aid that a student earned is greater than the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed to the student, the difference between these amounts will be treated as a post-withdrawal disbursement. A post-withdrawal grant disbursement payment will be made to the student’s account, and a notification sent by mail.
A post-withdrawal determination of loan eligibility will be communicated to the student via mail. Students must notify Indiana Tech’s Student Financial Services (SFS) office of their interest in receiving the loan, in writing, within 14 days of the notification. Once SFS receives this acceptance, the loan funds will disburse to the student’s account. Responding after 14 days or not at all will result in forfeiture of the student’s loans for the period of enrollment.
The return of Federal aid is in the following order: Unsubsidized Federal Direct loans, Subsidized Federal Direct loans, Federal PLUS (Parent/Graduate) loans, Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), and Federal SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant).
R2T4 Freeze Date
The federal government requires all colleges to set financial aid recalculation date(s) for every semester. Indiana Tech’s policy is to review/recalculate financial aid eligibility on the 15th day of each session in a semester. Financial aid may be adjusted based on changes in enrollment.
For example, if a student is registered for courses in both the first and second sessions of a semester, financial aid eligibility will be reviewed at the end of the second module’s R2T4 freeze date (RFD). If the student’s enrollment has changed, the amount of aid will be adjusted accordingly
As another example, for a student who receives a loan disbursement based on half-time enrollment (6 credit hours) in multiple sessions, who then only takes one class and drops future sessions, may have that loan funding removed from their account.
If a student is enrolled in full semester courses only, eligibility will be reviewed (and possibly recalculated) at the end of the semester’s add/drop period. If that student later adds a course in the second session of the semester, eligibility will be reviewed again at the end of the RFD of the second module.
Related Policies: Attendance and Withdrawals
Withdrawals and attendance are a critical part of determining if a student will be federally required to be reviewed for a return of federal aid. Students who attend their courses and do not withdraw are not subject to the return of funds process. Students who do not attend courses may be academically withdrawn for non-attendance and may be required to return Title IV aid. Attendance in an online class requires not simply logging in, but a gradable event, participation in an interactive online tutorial, or event of a similar nature.
Returns and Notification
In the event that a portion, or all, of your Title IV aid must be returned, Indiana Tech will return aid in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Direct Loan
- Subsidized Direct Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
- Federal Pell Grants
- Other Title IV Assistance
Students affected by a Return of Title IV calculation will be notified on an individual basis via U.S. mail. The Return of Title IV calculation may result in a balance due to Indiana Tech. Please contact the Business Office directly to resolve any outstanding balances.