Refund Policy and Withdrawals

Treatment of Title IV Aid When a Student Withdraws
To request an official withdrawal, all students must contact the Registrar about his/her intent to withdraw. The law specifies how Midwives College of Utah must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that a student earns if the student withdraws from school, either voluntary or involuntary. The withdrawal date that is used in determining a student’s refund or repayment will be defined as the actual date that the student begins the withdrawal process, or the student’s last day of academically related activity, should the student leave the school without notification.

A student who receives all failing grades in a semester is considered a withdrawal. The withdrawal date will be the last day of academically related activity.

The U.S. Department of Education requires Midwives College of Utah to use the Return of Title IV Funds Policy for students who withdraw from school and who are receiving Federal Title IV student financial aid. Title IV funds refer to federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended). The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq Afghanistan Service Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants, National SMART Grants, Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), and Federal Perkins Loans.

When a student withdraws during a payment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that a student has earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If a student received (or MCU or parent received on student’s behalf) less assistance than the amount that the student earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than earned, the school and/or student must return the excess funds.

The Department of Education expects a student to “earn” the financial aid they receive. Students who receive federal aid in the form of a Federal Pell Grant, or Federal Stafford Student Loan(s) are expected to earn those funds by attending school and completing the time in the term for which they are paid. The amount of assistance that a student has earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if a student was scheduled to complete 30% of the student’s payment period at the time the student withdrew, the student earns 30% of the assistance that the student was originally scheduled to receive. Once a student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, the student earns all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that period. The percentage of the period completed is calculated as follows:

Number of calendar days completed in the period / Total number of calendar days in the payment period

The completion date of the payment period must be projected based on the student’s progress as of the withdrawal date. In general, to calculate the number of days in the period, the following example applies.

Example:
Determine the percentage of credits earned:
Number of credits completed (4)
Number of credits in payment period (15) = Percentage of credits earned (.267)
Determine the number of days in the period:
Number of days attended (43)
Percentage of credits earned (.267) = Number of days in the period (161)

If a student did not receive all of the funds that the student earned, the student may be due a postwithdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the school must get the student’s permission before it can disburse them. A student may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that the student does not incur additional debt. The school may automatically use all or a portion of a student’s post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if the student accepts them) for tuition, fees and books/supplies. For all other school charges, the school needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. If the student does not give permission, the student will be offered the funds. However, it may be in the student’s best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce the student’s debt at the school.

There are some Title IV funds that a student is scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to the student once the student withdraws because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if the student is a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and the student has not completed the first 30 days of the student’s program before the student withdraws, the student will not receive any Direct Loan funds that the student would have received had the student remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If the student receives (or the school or parent receives on the student’s behalf) excess Title IV program
funds that must be returned, the school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:
1. The student’s institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the student’s funds, or
2. The entire amount of excess funds.

The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of the student’s Title IV program funds. If the school is not required to return all of the excess funds, the student must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that the student must return, the student (or the student’s parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, the student makes scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that a student must return is called an overpayment. The amount of a grant overpayment that a student must repay is half of the grant funds a student received or was scheduled to receive. A student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. A student must make arrangements with the school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from any refund policy that the school may have. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. The school may also charge the student for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. A copy of the school’s refund policy is contained in the School Catalog.

Students who do not begin or stop attendance in a course may be subject to this policy, if not actively attending at least one other course. Students in this situation are required to confirm their written intent to attend the course scheduled later in the term. If a student provides written confirmation of the intent to attend but fails to attend, the student will be withdrawn as of the date of the last attendance. Students may change the date of their intent to return only when received by the College prior to the original return date.

A school must return unearned funds for which it is responsible as soon as possible but no later than 45 days from the determination of a student’s withdrawal.