Financial Aid

Withdrawal and Refund Policy

If a student has obtained Federal financial aid while enrolled at LMU Duncan School of Law, it is very important to understand that LMU tuition refund calculation policies vary from federal aid refund calculation policies.

1) Students are not permitted to withdraw from courses without the approval of the Associate Dean for Academics for the Duncan School of Law.

2) The official date of the withdrawal is the date that the Associate Dean for Academics receives and approves the student’s written request for a leave. Only by approval of the written request for withdrawal will a student be considered withdrawn from the Duncan School of Law.  All materials assigned to the student by the Duncan School of Law must be returned before the withdrawal process will be determined complete.

3)  Tuition and Fees Refund Calculation
The Duncan School of Law policy for refunds of Tuition and Fees will be based on the following LMU refund schedule for fall and spring semesters.

If the student withdraws on or before the first official day of class, 100% of applicable institutional dollars will be refunded. If the student withdraws after the first official day of classes and during the first week of the semester 90% will be refunded; during the second week 75% will be refunded. During the third week 50% will be refunded. During the fourth week 25% will be refunded. Students who withdraw after four weeks will not receive any refund. <

A different and more abbreviated schedule will apply to summer and maymester semesters.
For example: A typical summer course that begins on or about June 1 and concludes on or about July 31 would have the following refund schedule:

100% credit – June 1
90% credit   – June 3
75% credit   – June 7
50% credit – June 9
25% credit – June 11

**Anytime after June 11 no credit will be given for dropping or WD from the course.

The LMU Main Campus Student Accounts Office will determine all refund calculations for Institutional charges (i.e. Tuition and Fees) based upon the Official Withdrawal date submitted by the Duncan School of Law Associate Dean for Academics. Any questions regarding tuition and fee refunds or charges incurred due to withdrawal should be addressed to the LMU Student Accounts Office.

4) Financial Aid Federal Aid Calculations
The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 regulate how colleges and universities handle Title IV funds when a recipient withdraws from school. This policy is separate from the University's refund of institutional charges. The return of Title IV funds, which is handled by the Duncan School of Law Financial Aid office, includes all Stafford Loans and Graduate PLUS loans received during the current semester in attendance. The policy states that up through the 60% point in each semester a pro-rata schedule will be used to determine how much Title IV aid the student has earned. The percentage of time completed in the enrollment period is determined by dividing the number of days completed by the number of days in the enrollment period. If 60% of the semester has been completed, there is no return of Title IV funds. For example, if the student has attended 31% of the enrollment period, the student has earned 31% of his/her Title IV aid, and 69% of the aid must be returned to the federal government. After the 60% point in the semester, the student has earned 100% of the aid for which the student was eligible. Additional information on the return of Title IV funds may be obtained from the Duncan School of Law Financial Aid Office.