University Of Southern Nevada

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN NEVADA

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Repayment of Title IV Funds

REPAYMENT OF TITLE IV FUNDS
The federal government mandates that students who withdraw from the University may only keep the financial aid they have "earned" by attending classes up to the time of withdrawal. Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by the University and or student to the federal government. This situation could result in the student owing aid funds to the University, the government, or both.

To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, the financial aid staff will divide the number of calendar days the student attended classes by the total number of calendar days during the payment period (less any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student's University account or to the student directly by check) for the payment period. This calculation determines the earned amount of aid (for example, if the student attended 25% of the payment period, the student will have earned 25% of the aid disbursed). The unearned amount (total aid disbursed less the earned amount) must be returned to the federal government by the University or the student. Financial Aid will notify and provide instructions to students who are required to return funds.

For “Official withdrawals," the date on the withdrawal form signed by the student and the Dean/ Program director is used in the earned amount calculation. For "unofficial" withdrawals, the documented date of withdrawal is used. If faculty is unable to document that the student ever attended class, the student did not establish eligibility as a "student" and 100% of all funds must be repaid.

Generally, when University charges are equal to or greater than the amount of aid disbursed, the University must return the funds to the federal government. If the student received a check after all University charges were paid, a repayment from the student is required (beyond any institutional refund that may have been already applied).

ALLOCATING RETURNED TITLE IV FEDERAL AID
Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. Financial aid returned by the University and/ or the student or parent must be allocated in the following order:

  1. Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
  2. Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
  3. Federal Plus Grad/Parent Loan
  4. Federal Pell Grant
  5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
  6. Other Federal Loan or Grant Assistance
  7. State Aid
  8. Institutional loans and scholarships

Students whose circumstances require that they withdraw from the program are strongly encouraged to contact the Financial Aid and appropriate College administrator before doing so. At that time, the consequences of withdrawing from all classes can be explained and clearly illustrated. Read the appeal section in "Satisfactory Academic Progress" standards for information regarding mitigating circumstances.

CALCULATION OF AMOUNT OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID (SFA) PROGRAM ASSISTANCE EARNED
The amount of Student Financial Aid (SFA) Program assistance earned depends on the date of student withdrawal. The percentage earned is one of the following:

  1. The amount of SFA Program funds that the student does not earn; or
  2. The amount of institutional costs that the student incurred for the payment period or period of enrollment multiplied by the percentage of funds that was not earned.

The student must return or repay, as appropriate, the remaining unearned SFA Program loan funds.

METHOD OF RETURN OF FUNDS BY THE STUDENT
The student must return the unearned funds to the appropriate loan programs in accordance with the terms of the loan.