SLCC will return Federal Student Aid to the programs from which the student received aid during the payment period in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

• Direct Unsubsidized Loan
• Direct Subsidized Loan
• Direct PLUS Loan
• Direct PLUS Loan
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant*
• Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

*There is a 50% grant protection allowance for the student built into the Return to Title IV calculation. Students are also not required to return unearned funds of $50 or less for Title IV grant programs.

Students are responsible for immediate payment on account balances that are a result of a Return to Title IV calculation.

Within the Return to Title IV calculation, there is also an amount of unearned Title IV aid due from the student.

• Title IV grant funds are repaid directly or through payment arrangements with the Department of Education.
• Direct Loans are to be repaid in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the student’s signed Master Promissory Note (MPN).

The withdrawal date is the date the student ceases attendance. For an official withdrawal, this date is when the student withdrew from or dropped all their course on the system. If submitting a registration appeal, the instructor lists the withdrawal date on the Last Dates of Attendance form. Instructors must enter the last attendance date if a student receives all “E” grades. Suppose the date is before the last day of class. In that case, “E” grades are considered unearned and subject to a recalculation of federal aid. All unearned “E” grades are considered unofficial withdrawals.

There may be instances when federal aid has not been fully disbursed to an eligible student when they withdrew from school. Within 30 days of withdrawing, the Financial Aid Office will calculate and notify the student of the type and amount of funding earned based on their withdrawal date. A letter is sent to the student explaining the necessary documentation required by the student to receive the funds.

Students (parents with Parent Plus loans) are given fourteen days from the notice to notify the Financial Aid Office of their wish to be considered for the post-withdrawal disbursement. Loans require authorization by the student. The Direct Loans will be repaid under the terms and conditions outlined in the student’s signed Master Promissory Note (MPN). Students may decline some or all of the funds.

• Grants are disbursed within 45 days.
• Loans are offered within 30 days.
• Post-withdrawal disbursements are applied to the student’s account first
• Credit balances remaining on the student’s account will be refunded within 14 days from the disbursement.

At SLCC, some programs are “offered in modules.” According to the Department of Education, if a program is “offered in modules,” it means that the course(s) do not span the entire length of the payment period or period of enrollment for programs that are offered in modules the payment period would be considered two modules (eight-week academic terms) or a one twelve-week term within one semester (16-week payment period).

A student in a program offered in modules is scheduled to complete the days in a module if the student’s coursework in that module was used to determine the amount of the student’s eligibility for Title IV funds for the payment period. SLCC monitors changes in the student’s enrollment throughout the payment period to determine the number of days scheduled to complete in modules that the student did not attend.

A student will have their Return to Title IV calculation “undone” if the student ceases attendance during a payment period, then returns during the same payment period. This process will restore the FSA funds to the amount that the student was originally eligible/scheduled to receive. This process is applicable only to programs that are offered by the college where the student has the ability to cease attendance during a payment period.

The term start date is August 20 and the end date is December 12. There is a five-day break for Thanksgiving. The total number of days for the term is 110. The student withdraws on October 2, which is day 44 of the term. The percentage of earned aid would be 40% (44 days/110 days) and the unearned aid percentage is 60%.

• If the student received $5,500 in Title IV aid, then the student earned $2,200 in Title IV aid and $3,300 is the unearned amount.
• If institutional charges are $2,213, then the amount of earned charges would be $885 and the unearned charges would be $1,328.
• SLCC is responsible for returning the lesser of the unearned institutional charges or the total amount of unearned Title IV aid, so SLCC would return $1,328 in this example. The student is responsible for the immediate payment of the balance on the account.
• If there is a Title IV credit balance on the student’s account when they withdraw the Financial Aid Office will calculate the return of funds; if a credit balance remains, it will be issued to the student within 14 days.