Return of Title IV Funds
This Return of Title IV Funds policy (“Policy”) applies to students who complete 60 percent or less of the payment period (i.e., Fall, Spring or Summer session) for which they received Federal Title IV aid. A student who does not complete all of the days in the payment period that the student was scheduled to complete is considered a withdrawal.
To comply with the Policy, Florida National University (FNU) must first determine the student’s withdrawal date. The withdrawal date is determined in accordance with FNU’s Drop Procedure, and is based on the following:
- For a student who leaves without notifying the institution (an unofficial withdrawal), the later of the midpoint of the payment period, the last date of an academically-related activity (if documented) or the census date*; or
- For a student who notifies the institution of the student’s withdrawal, the earlier of the date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified FNU by contacting the Registrar’s Office either orally or in writing of his/her intent to withdraw (an official withdrawal).
*Exceptions: (1) If a student does not receive an earned grade (A – F) in at least one of the courses the student was scheduled to attend during a semester, FNU will assume an unofficial withdrawal has occurred (see Drop Procedure for additional detail). (2) If a student withdraws or is terminated when enrolled only in courses in which attendance-taking is required, special treatment is required (see below).
The Return of Title IV funds calculation determines a student’s earned and unearned Title IV aid based on the percentage of the payment period completed by the student. The amount of assistance earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. For example, if a student completes 30 percent of the payment period, the student earns 30 percent of the assistance the student was originally scheduled to receive. Once a student completes more than 60 percent of the payment period, the student earns all of the assistance he/she was scheduled to receive for the payment period. The percentage of the payment period that the student completes is derived by dividing the number of calendar days the student attended up to the withdrawal date by the number of calendar days in the payment period. Calendar days (including weekends) are counted, but breaks of at least 5 days are excluded from both the numerator and denominator.
If a student has not received all of the Title IV earned, the student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes Direct Loan funds, FNU must seek the student’s permission before it can disburse the loan funds. The student may decline all or a portion of the Direct Loan funds. FNU may automatically use all or a portion of a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition and fees and other institutional charges, if the student has provided an authorization for this purpose.
There are some types of Title IV funds that a student may have been scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to the student upon his/her withdrawal. For example, a first-time, first-year undergraduate student who has not completed the first 30 days of the program before withdrawing cannot receive any Direct Loan funds.
If the student earned less Title IV aid than the amount of funds disbursed on the student’s account, FNU must return a portion of the excess Title IV funds equal to the lesser of:
The applicable institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the Title IV funds; or
The entire amount of excess Title IV funds.
FNU will return the Title IV funds in the following order: Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loans, PLUS (Parent) loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal SEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant), within 45 days of the date of determination.
The student may also be required to return Title IV funds based on the Return of Title IV Funds calculation. A student returns funds to the Federal Direct Loan programs based on the terms and conditions of the Master Promissory Note. Any amount of unearned grant funds that a student must return is considered an “overpayment.” A student who receives a Federal Pell Grant or FSEOG funds may be required to repay any overpayment to the extent it exceeds 50% of the amount of grant funds the student received or could have received. A student does not have to repay a grant overpayment of $50 or less.
Earned Title IV aid is not related in any way to institutional charges. Therefore, the College’s refund policy and Return of Title IV Funds procedures are independent of one another. A student who withdraws from FNU, may be required to return unearned aid and still owe the University for their institutional charges. For more information on the FNU withdrawal and institutional charges policies, please consult the University catalog.