Official and Unofficial Withdrawals
This policy shall apply to all students who officially or unofficially withdraw from LMU and receive financial aid from Title IV funds.
The term “Title IV Funds” refers to the Federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and includes the following programs: unsubsidized Direct Loans, subsidized Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal SEOG. The calculation does not include the Federal College Work-Study program.
For a student who leaves without notifying the institution, the withdrawal date will be determined by the midpoint of the period or the student's last date of attendance of academic engagement.
Active participation by a student in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study that-
- Is defined by the institution in accordance with any applicable requirements of its State or accrediting agency;
- Includes, but is not limited to
- Attending a synchronous class, lecture, recitation, or field or laboratory activity, physically or online, where there is an opportunity for interaction between the instructor and students;
- Submitting an academic assignment;
- Taking an assessment or an exam;
- Participating in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction;
- Participating in a study group, group project, or an online discussion that the institution assigns; or
- Interacting with an instructor about academic matters; and
- Does not include, for example-
- Living in institutional housing;
- Participating in the institution’s meal plan;(iii) Logging into an online class or tutorial without any further participation; or
- Participating in academic counseling or advisement.
If special circumstances exist that prevent a student from beginning the withdrawal process, the Executive Director of Student Financial Services will consider these matters on a case-by-case basis.
Students who receive a letter grade of “F” and/or “WD” in all courses registered for a term will be subject to the Return of Title IV Funds calculation once a withdrawal date is determined. Professors are contacted to determine the student's last date of academic-related activity.
A student is not considered withdrawn for Return of Title IV Funds if a student successfully completes:
- One module that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period
- A combination of modules that, when combined, contain 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period; or
For Students Enrolled in Modules
Students are considered withdrawn if not scheduled to begin another course within a payment period.
LMU will track enrollment in each module (a group of courses in a program that do not span the entire length of the payment period) to determine if a student began enrollment in all scheduled classes.
A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time of withdrawal that they will attend a later module in the same payment period.
Title IV Aid Disbursed or Could Have Been Disbursed
The first step in the calculation is to identify all the net Title IV aid disbursed to the student’s account or by check before the determination of the student’s withdrawal date. To be eligible for aid that could have been disbursed, the Department of Education had to process the student’s FAFSA with an official SAI, SEOG had to have already been awarded, a loan had to be certified or originated by the school, and the student had to have a valid MPN. Aid that is prohibited from being disbursed before the student withdraws is also aid that could have been disbursed had the student not withdrawn. However, the student will never be able to receive the funds. For example, aid prohibited from being disbursed could be the 2nd disbursement of a loan for the payment period.
Earned Aid
The percentage of Title IV aid earned shall be calculated as follows: # of days completed by student / Total # of days in term. The percent of term completed shall be the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the student. The total number of calendar days in a term of enrollment shall exclude any scheduled breaks of more than five days, i.e., Spring Break. If the student withdrew after the 60% period, they have earned 100% of the aid.
Unearned Aid
The percentage of Title IV aid unearned (i.e., to be returned to the appropriate program) shall be: 100% minus the percent earned. First, LMU shall return the unearned aid to the federal programs or servicer by debiting the student´s account. The calculation is as follows:
Total required institutional charges X percent of unearned aid = amount returned to program(s) by LMU.
Institutional charges include tuition and fee charges assessed before withdrawal, as well as on-campus room and board fees. Initial charges may only be adjusted for changes made by the school before the student withdrew. Miscellaneous fees, including the Late Payment Fee, NSF Fee, and Returned Check Fee, will not be included in the total tuition and fees used in the R2T4 calculation.
Distribution of Title IV Funds
Unearned Title IV aid shall be returned to the following programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan
- Graduate PLUS Loan
- Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal SEOG
Exception
No federal program can receive a refund from LMU if the student did not receive aid from that program. When the total amount of unearned aid is greater than the amount returned by LMU from the student's account, the student is responsible for returning unearned aid to the appropriate program(s) as follows:
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan*
- Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan*
- Federal Graduate PLUS Loan*
- Federal Parent PLUS Loan*
- Federal Pell Grant**
- *Federal SEOG**
*Loan amounts are returned with the terms of the promissory note.
**Grant funds due to be returned would be the initial amount of grants for the student to return minus 50% of grant aid disbursed. A student does not have to repay grant overpayments of $50 or less per program.
Timeline for Return of Title IV Funds
Students are responsible for any portion of their institutional charges that are left outstanding after Title IV funds are returned. Student Financial Services will send collection notices, allowing outstanding balances to be paid or payment arrangements to be made within 30 days. Delinquent accounts are assigned to an outside collection agency and are reported to the credit bureau. Students who have an outstanding balance on their LMU student account will remain ineligible to register for courses in upcoming semesters until the account is paid in full.
Institutional and Student Responsibilities
LMU's responsibilities regarding the Return of Title IV funds include:
- Providing each student the Return of Title IV Funds policy at www.lmunet.edu.
- Identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students within 30 days of determining the student withdrew and returning any Title IV funds that are due to the Title IV programs within 45 days of determining the student withdrew.
- Contact withdrawn students before making a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of loan funds to explain loan obligations and confirm if the student still wants the loan funds within 30 days of the school’s determination of the student's withdrawal.
Student's responsibilities regarding the return of Title IV funds include:
- Becoming familiar with the Return of Title IV policy and how complete withdrawal affects eligibility for Title IV aid; and
- Returning to LMU any funds that were disbursed directly to the student and which the student was determined to be ineligible for via the Return of Title IV Funds calculation within 45 days of notification.
- Respond within 15 days, instructing LMU to make a post-withdrawal disbursement.
