Return of Title IV Funds
A statutory schedule is used to determine the amount of federal funds a student has earned when he or she ceases attendance based on the time period the student was in attendance. If a student has been approved to receive a Title IV grant or loan and then withdraws from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the student began attendance, the institution must begin the Return of Title IV (R2T4) process to determine the students eligibility of Title IV funds in accordance with the calculations prescribed by regulations.
If a student obtains a loan to pay for the course of instruction, the student will have the responsibility to repay the full amount of the loan plus interest, less the amount of any refund.
There are several factors used to determine R2T4 calculations: withdrawal date, payment period or period of enrollment, amount of aid that was disbursed, amount of aid that could have been disbursed, percent of Title IV earned, post-withdrawal or late disbursement, institutional cost, amount of Title IV aid to be returned (if applicable) and time limits and reporting requirements.
Up through the 60% point in each payment period or period of enrollment, a pro-rated schedule is used to determine how much federal funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. After the 60% point in the payment period or period of enrollment, a student has earned 100% of the federal funds. Upon the completion of R2T4 a school is required to determine if a post-withdrawal disbursement is necessary for funds earned and not disbursed to students and/or parents.
Determination of the Withdrawal Date
The student's withdrawal date for purposes of R2T4 calculation will always be the last day of attendance as determined by attendance records.
Date of Determination
The date of determination is the date that the student is determined to be withdrawn. The date of determination is based on one of the following occurrences:
- The date the student officially notifies the school that they are withdrawing, which may be different than their last date of attendance.
- The student may provide intent to withdraw for a future date. The date of determination used will be the intended date provided by the student.
- The institution's date of determination for students who unofficially withdraw is the 14th day after the student's last date of academic attendance, as determined by the attendance records.
Time-Frame in which the R2T4 is calculated
The University is a term-based institution. R2T4 is calculated on the basis of a semester/payment period. The definition of a payment period for USU is 16 weeks.
Scheduled Breaks
Scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days are excluded from the calculation of R2T4 as periods of non-attendance.
R2T4 calculation
In order to determine the percentage of the payment period completed, the number of days attended in the payment period is divided by the total days in the payment period. For the purpose of this formula, days mean all calendar days, and therefore include weekends and holidays. Only scheduled breaks of 5 days or more are excluded.
If you earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution is required to return a portion of funds and the student is required to return a portion of the funds. When Title IV funds are returned, the student may owe a debt balance to the institution.
For any loan funds that the student must return, the student (or the student parent for a Direct PLUS loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. The student is required to make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when the student withdraws are separate from the University Refund Policy. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the school to cover any unpaid institutional charges.
Post-withdrawal disbursements
If the student earned more financial aid than was disbursed to the student, the institution will offer the student a loan post-withdrawal disbursement within 180 days of the students withdrawal. The University must obtain confirmation from the student or the parent (for a PLUS loan) before making a post-withdrawal disbursement of any loan funds. Notification will be sent to the Student no later than 30 calendar days after the Date of Determination. Notification will have a deadline of 30 days for the Student and Parent to respond.
A grant post-withdrawal disbursement will be paid within 45 days of the students withdrawal. The University will disburse available grant funds before available loan funds. No authorization is required to pay for current charges for tuition and fees with a post-withdrawal grant disbursement.
Order of Return of Title IV Funds at United States University
If the student receives more Title IV Aid than the amount earned by the University, the Student or both must return the funds in the order specified below.
- Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans (Other than PLUS)
- Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
- Direct PLUS loans
- Federal Pell Grants
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
Time Frame for the Return of Title IV Funds
United States University will return funds for which it is responsible as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days from the determination of a student’s withdrawal.
For further guidance on Federal R2T4 regulations, please see the reference material found in Volume 5 of the Federal Student Aid Handbook under Withdrawals.
Washington State Residents
For Washington State residents seeking information and resources about student loan repayment or seeking to submit a complaint relating to your student loans or student loan servicer, please visit www.wsac.wa.gov/loan-advocacy or contact the Student Loan Advocate at loanadvocate@wsac.wa.gov.