Students who withdraw from the university after the start of the term must complete a Withdrawal Form through the Registrar's Office and contact Student Financial Services. If financial aid funds were used to pay tuition and fees, and a student withdraws, any refundable tuition amount is returned to the appropriate financial aid sources (refer to the tuition/fee refund schedule in the academic catalog.

Return of Title IV Funds

Purpose

Federal regulations require Title IV financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend Fresno Pacific University for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded. However, in the event a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals or stops attending class, the University is required to determine if the student has fully earned the awarded Title IV aid. The return of funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled. A prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds he/she will have “earned” at the time of withdrawal and return the “unearned” disbursed funds to the appropriate federal program.

Scope

This policy applies to all students receiving financial aid at Fresno Pacific University

Policy

All undergraduate and graduate students who receive Title IV aid and withdraw before the end date of a payment period will be reviewed to determine whether unearned Title IV aid must be returned. The term "Title IV Aid" refers to the following Federal financial aid programs: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Loans, Federal PLUS (Parent/Graduate) loans, Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), Federal TEACH Grants, and Federal SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant).

To determine whether a student's unearned Title IV aid must be returned, as an attendance-taking institution, Fresno Pacific University must determine the student's withdrawal date. The University considers students to have withdrawn as follows:

  • Students who cease attendance from all of their courses eligible for Title IV aid will be considered to have withdrawn after 14 days of non-attendance.
  • The withdrawal date is always the last date of attendance at an academically-related activity by a student as recorded by instructors

 

Programs offered in modules:

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 modules 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 module or a combination of modules that contain at least 49% of the days within the payment period. Successful completion is defined as earning
    • Undergraduate Programs: Letter grades of A, B, C, D, or CR;
    • Graduate Programs including Credential Programs: Letter grades of A, B, or CR;
    • Seminary: Letter grades of A, B, C (for some courses), or CR
  • The student successfully completes coursework that represents half-time enrollment.
    • Undergraduate and Credential Programs: Six (6) hours in a payment period is considered half-time enrollment
    • Graduate and Seminary: Five (5) hours in a payment period is considered half-time enrollment
    • Successful completion is described above
  • The student has met the graduation requirements for their program
  • The student provides written confirmation of their intent to return to a later module within the payment period at the time of withdrawal

Students who meet at least one of the above criteria will be granted a Return of Title IV Funds exemption and no adjustments to their federal aid will occur; all others will have a Return of Title IV Funds calculation performed as explained below.

A student who provided written confirmation but does not return is considered withdrawn if he or she does not return as scheduled to a future module within the same payment period.

The University allows students to return to a module within the same payment period who did not confirm future enrollment in that same payment period. The student is treated as if he or she did not cease attendance. The Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be reversed.

Determining Earned and Unearned Aid

The University determines a student's earned and unearned Title IV aid based on a required calculation that determines the percentage of the payment period completed by the student. The percentage of the period that the student remained enrolled is derived by dividing the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the period. Calendar days (including weekends) are used, but breaks of at least 5 days are excluded from both the numerator and denominator.

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 (or on behalf of the student in the case of a PLUS loan), 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 email.

Any post-withdrawal loan eligibility will be communicated to the student via email to their FPU email address. Students must accept the loan via the electronic award letter and notify the University in writing of their interest in receiving the loan within 14 days of the notification. Once the University receives both acceptances, 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.

Earned aid is not related in any way to institutional charges. The University’s refund policy and Return of Title IV Funds procedures are independent of one another. A student who withdraws from a course may be required to return unearned aid and still owe the University for the course. For more information on the Fresno Pacific University withdrawal and institutional charges policies, please consult the current Fresno Pacific University catalog. The Student Financial Services Office can assist you in calculating the amount you may be required to pay back to Fresno Pacific University. Please contact Student Financial Services for more information.

The responsibility to repay unearned Title IV aid is shared by Fresno Pacific University and the student. For example, the calculation may require Fresno Pacific University to return a portion of Federal funds to the Federal Title IV programs. In addition, the student may also be required to return funds based on the calculation.

For students who are required to return Title IV aid in addition to the portion of aid the school is required to return, there is a 50% protection allowance on unearned Title IV student grants (Pell, FSEOG and TEACH) only. Loans would need to be repaid in full.

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)
  • Federal TEACH Grant
  • Federal SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant).

How to Handle an Overpayment

Students who owe funds to a grant program are required to make payment of those funds within 45 days of being notified in writing via FPU email that they owe this overpayment. During the 45-day period students will remain eligible for Title IV funds. If no positive action is taken by the student within 45 days of being notified, Fresno Pacific University will notify the U.S. Department of Education of the student’s overpayment situation. The student will no longer be eligible for Title IV funds until they enter into a satisfactory repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.

If a student is unable to pay their overpayment in full, they can set up a repayment plan with the U.S. Department of Education. Before doing this, please contact FPU Student Financial Services. You will need to make sure we have referred your situation to the U.S. Department of Education before any repayment plan can be set up. Additional information is available from the Federal Student Aid Information Center.

Pell Recalculation Policy

The federal government requires all universities to set Pell grant recalculation date(s) for every semester. The policy of Fresno Pacific University is to review/recalculate Pell grant eligibility after a change in registration. A Pell grant may be reduced or increased based on changes in enrollment.

For example, if a student is registered for courses in both the first and second modules of a semester, Pell grant eligibility will be reviewed when a student changes their enrollment.

If a student is enrolled in full semester courses only, eligibility will be reviewed (and possibly recalculated) if there is a change in enrollment. If that student later adds a course in the second module of the semester, eligibility will be recalculated if required.

Federal regulations also require the University to recalculate Pell grant eligibility when a student fails to attend any course used to award a Pell grant.

Return of Funds

Funds are returned within 45 days of a student’s date of withdrawal

Questions

For questions about Return of Title IV Funds calculations, the overpayment policy, or Pell recalculation please contact Student Financial Services, [email protected]