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| SUBJECT: |
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS |
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EFFECTIVE: September 01, 2004 |
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| Procedure: 830.2 Refunds |
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Introduction:
This Procedure Manual is to serve as a supplement to SBHE Policy 830.2 (Refund Policy), and as a general instructional guide for completion of the Return of Title IV Funds Worksheet.
Federal regulations require all institutions to develop a policy which determines the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance that a recipient of this assistance has earned as of the recipient's withdrawal date. Institutions are also required to provide a written explanation of their Return of Title IV (Federal Financial Aid) Funds policies and procedures to prospective students, prior to enrollment or prior to execution of an enrollment agreement, whichever occurs first.
Definitions:
Aid Disbursed: The net amount of aid disbursed to the student.
Amount of Title IV Aid Earned: The percentage of Title IV aid earned multiplied by the total of Title IV aid disbursed.
Amount of Aid that Could Have Been Disbursed: The net amount of aid the student could have received at the point of withdrawal but had not yet received.
Institutional Charges: Tuition, fees, room, board and other charges assessed the student by the institution. Books and supplies are institutional charges only if the student must purchase them from the institution, or a vendor operated by the institution, and has no other reasonable choice from which to purchase them from.
Instructional Week: A consecutive seven-day period in which at least one day of regularly scheduled instruction, examination, or preparation for examination occurs. The first day of an instructional week is the first instructional day of a term. (An example of an instructional week would be, if a term begins on a Tuesday, the instructional week would be a Tuesday through the following Monday.)
Percentage of Title IV Aid Earned: The number of calendar days completed (excluding scheduled breaks of 5 days or more) divided by the total number of days in the period of enrollment. This percentage must be rounded to the nearest tenth percent.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement: The amount of Title IV aid earned by the student minus aid disbursed.
Refund of Institutional Charges: The amount of unearned institutional charges based on the student's withdrawal date. The following schedule shall be used to establish the percentage of unearned institutional charges to the sixty percent point in the enrollment period and unearned board charges from that point to the end of the term. In a term that has a scheduled break of 5 or more calendar days, the unearned institutional charges during that break shall be based on the percentage of unearned institutional charges on the last day of classes before the scheduled break. After the break, the percentage of unearned institutional charges shall resume based on the percentages set forth in the definition of "Refund of Institutional Charges:
| Per Cent of Enrollment Period Completed (actual calendar days including weekends) | Tuition and Fees Unearned | |
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| 0-8.999% | 100% | | | 9.000%-34.999% | 75% | | | 35.000%-59.999% | 50% | | | 60.000%-100.000% | 0% | | | | | | Enrollment Period-Weeks of the Regular term | Room and Other Charges Unearned | Board Charges Unearned |
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| 1 | 95% | 95% | | 2 | 90% | 90% | | 3 | 80% | 80% | | 4 | 75% | 75% | | 5 | 70% | 70% | | 6 | 65% | 65% | | 7 | 60% | 60% | | 8 | 50% | 50% | | 9 | 45% | 45% | | 10 | 40% | 40% | | 11 | 0% | 30% | | 12 | 0% | 25% | | 13 | 0% | 20% | | 14 | 0% | 10% | | 15 | 0% | 5% | | 16 | 0% | 0% |
Regular Term: A "traditional" fall or spring semester consisting of at least 15 instructional weeks.
Title IV Aid to be Returned: The amount of aid disbursed minus the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student.
Total Title IV Aid Disbursed: The total of Title IV aid disbursed and Title IV aid that could have been disbursed.
Unearned Title IV Aid Due from the School: The lesser of the total institutional charges multiplied by the percentage of Title IV aid unearned OR the amount of Title IV aid to be returned.
Unearned Title IV Aid Due from the Student: The difference of Title IV aid to be returned and the amount of unearned Title IV aid due from the school.
Withdrawal Date: The date the student begins the withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw OR the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution.
Calculation and Allocation of Refunds/Unearned Title IV Aid:- A refund of institutional charges or the percentage of Title IV aid earned for a student who withdraws from a North Dakota University System institution shall be calculated through the sixty percent point in an enrollment period.
Institutions shall make available to all their students a detailed refund schedule reflecting the percentage of institutional refund the student is entitled to. The refund schedule extends through the sixty percent point in the enrollment period. The institutional refund is calculated by multiplying the amount of institutional charges times the appropriate percentage in #2 of the Refund/Return of Title IV Funds Procedure Manual. The percentage of Title IV aid earned is determined by dividing the number of completed calendar days in the period of enrollment by the total number of calendar days in the period of enrollment (excluding scheduled breaks of 5 calendar days or more) rounded down to the nearest tenth of a percent.
The Return of Title IV Funds Worksheet must be processed by the Financial Aid Office before the Student Records Office processes the student's withdrawal. This will ensure that the correct institutional charges will calculate on the Return of Title IV Funds Worksheet. (Institutional Charges are recalculated when a drop is processed, with the actual charges on the account at the time of the withdrawal being removed.)
- Students who drop a class or classes prior to completion of 9% of the term or period of enrollment for the class or classes shall receive a 100% refund of tuition and fees for the credit hours attributable to the class or classes dropped. There shall be no refunds for partial drops after completion of 9% of the period of enrollment. Students who totally withdraw from all classes during the term or period of enrollment shall receive a prorated refund.
- Students with traditional board contract who withdraw after the sixty percent point in an enrollment period shall receive a refund of the board contract amount based on the percentages set forth in the definition of Refund of Institutional Charges.
- Students with "declining balance" board contracts, or contracts by which a student purchases a specified number of meals or dollar value of meals to be deducted from a credit balance, shall receive a refund of the remaining balance upon withdrawal.
- Consistent with federal law, unearned funds must be returned in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans;
- Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans;
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans;
- Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans;
- Federal Perkins Loans;
- Federal PLUS;
- Federal Direct PLUS Loans;
- Federal Pell Grants;
- Federal SEOG;
- Other Title IV aid programs;
- Any exceptions to SBHE Policy 830.2 (Refund Policy) based upon extenuating circumstances must be approved by the chief financial office (or designee). Institutions shall, upon application by eligible students, grant waivers to the refund policy and refund 100 percent of tuition and fees for students who withdraw or drop classes because they are called to active military duty.
- Refunds provided as a result of dropped classes may be returned to Title IV aid accounts and repayment calculations may be required.
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| REFERENCE: SBHE Policy 830.2 |
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| HISTORY: |
Chancellor's Cabinet Meeting, June 2001
Chancellor's Cabinet Meeting, September 2004 |
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