We hope you don’t have to leave, but if you do, there may be adjustments to your financial aid. We encourage you to speak with a financial aid counselor if you are planning to withdraw.
Purpose:
The Return of Title IV policy is to establish the processes for returning federal funds for students who completely withdraw from the institution and/or withdraw from all courses in a given period of enrollment. As defined by the U.S. Department of Education, these students must have a Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation performed to determine the percentage of aid earned based on the amount of time the student was enrolled at the Institution.
Federal Financial Aid (Title IV aid) is awarded under the assumption that a student will complete attendance for the entire period of enrollment for which aid was awarded. When a student withdraws from all courses, regardless of the reason, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of the federal financial aid originally offered. Instead, the student will only be eligible to keep the "earned" portion of the federal financial aid the student received for that term (semester).
Therefore, students who receive federal financial aid and who do not remain in attendance through the end of the term could be responsible for repaying a portion of the financial aid originally received. Federal regulations require a recalculation of financial aid eligibility if a student:
- Completely withdraws from all classes;
- Stops attending before the term's end;
- Does not complete all parts of term (modules) in which the student is enrolled as of the start date of the period of enrollment;
- Fails to earn a passing grade in any class
Note: UD's institutional tuition refund policy is separate from the federal R2T4 regulations to return unearned aid. Even though a student may receive a tuition/fee refund from UD, unearned financial aid may still need to be returned to the U.S. Department of Education
R2T4 Exemptions
There are 3 exemptions enacted by the Dept of Education that exempt a student from going through the Return of Title IV calculation process. The September 2, 2020 final rule amended the R2T4 regulations at 34 CFR §668.22 in several areas.
A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student:
• Completed Program of Study (applies to ALL Students)
A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his program before
completing the
scheduled days in the period is not considered to have withdrawn.
• Completed Half-Time Enrollment (applies to students in modules ONLY)
The student must successfully complete Title IV-eligible coursework equal to or greater
than what the
school considers to be half-time enrollment.
• Completed Modules Spanning 49% of Countable Days (applies to students in modules
ONLY)
A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes
one module or a
combination of modules that includes 49% or more of the number of the countable days
in the payment
period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between
modules.
If a student meets any of the R2T4 exemptions, the student is considered a “completer
“and is not considered
withdrawn for Title IV purposes.
Additionally, the rules amended the requirements for establishing the total number of days in the payment period (denominator) of the R2T4 calculation to only include the days in a module if the student attended the module or the student’s coursework in that module was used to determine the amount of the student’s eligibility for Title IV, HEA funds for the payment period or period of enrollment. Following these new rules, the University of Dallas uses an “R2T4 Freeze Date” (or RFD) to establish the number of days in the denominator of the R2T4 calculation based on the student’s enrollment on a specific date. The RFD was established at UD in Spring 2022, and will fall on the census date for each term (payment period, or fall, spring, or summer).
This policy is subject to immediate revision based on any changes made to federal laws and regulations. If changes are made, the student will be held to the most current regulations.