Return of Title IV Funds Policy

The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 changed the formula for calculating the amounts of aid a student and school can retain when the student totally withdraws, stops attending, is expelled or takes a qualified leave of absence from all classes in a given semester. Students who withdraw from all classes prior to completing more than 60% of an enrollment period will have their eligibility for aid recalculated based on the percent of the period completed. For example, a student who withdraws completing only 30% of the term will have "earned" only 30% of any Title IV aid received. The remaining 70% must be returned by the school and/or the student. Aid adjustments may cause the student to repay a portion of any financial aid received. Students will be notified of any indebtedness to UHV. Students who withdraw after completing 60% of the term will be considered to have "earned" 100% of the aid. If a student is thinking about withdrawing from all classes PRIOR to completing 60% of the semester, he or she should contact the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) to see how withdrawal of classes would affect his or her financial aid.

Official and Unofficial Withdrawals

This policy shall apply to all students who officially or unofficially withdraw from the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV), 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 FFEL loans, subsidized FFEL loans, FFEL PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National SMART Grant, TEACH Grant, and Federal SEOG. The calculation does not include the Federal College Work-Study program.

A student's withdrawal date is: the date the student began the institution's withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of the intent to withdraw. This can be done by logging on to the UHV Web site and completing a drop/add form, or by completing the drop/add form at the Office of Admissions and Records or by faxing a drop/add form. 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 at a documented academically-related activity (examples of academically-related activity include an exam, a tutorial, computer assisted instruction, academic counseling, academic advisement, class assignments completed, or a study group meeting). If special circumstances exist that prevent a student from beginning the withdrawal process, the Director of Financial Aid will consider these matters on a case by case basis.

Drop/add slips and enrollment reports are reviewed to determine who has withdrawn and when. The Office of Financial Aid also processes an "All F" and an "All W" report at the end of each term. Students who receive a letter grade of "F" 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 for determining the student's last academic related activity.

Tuition and Fee Refund Policy for All Students

Refunds on all institutional charges, including tuition and fees, will be calculated in accordance with Section 54.006 of the Texas Higher Education Code refund policy when a student drops a class or withdraws from UHV. UHV Institutional Refund policy is available at:

Policy on Financial Responsibility.

Return of Title IV Funds Calculation

Title IV aid is earned in a prorated manner on a per diem basis up to and including the 60% point in the semester. Title IV aid and all other aid is viewed as 100% earned after that point in time. A copy of the "Return of Title IV Funds" worksheet used for this calculation can be obtained from UHV Office of Financial Aid.

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.

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 the school (UHV) shall return the unearned aid to the federal programs or lender 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 UHV
• Second, the student shall return the unearned aid to the federal programs or lender as follows:
  Total unearned aid less the institution's share = amount returned to the program by the student

Distribution of Title IV Funds
Unearned Title IV aid shall be returned to the following programs in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
2. Subsidized Stafford Loan
3. Graduate PLUS Loan
4. Parent PLUS Loan
5. Federal Pell Grant
6. Academic Competitiveness Grant
7. National SMART Grant
8. TEACH Grant
9. Federal SEOG

Exception: no program can receive a refund if the student did not receive aid from that program.

When the total amount of unearned aid is greater than the amount returned by UHV from the student's account, the student is responsible for returning unearned aid to the appropriate program(s) as follows:

1.  Unsubsidized Stafford Loan*
2.  Subsidized Stafford Loan*
3.  Graduate PLUS Loan*
4.  Parent PLUS Loan*
5.  Federal Pell Grant**
6.  Academic Competitiveness Grant**
7.  National SMART Grant**
8.  TEACH Grant**
9.  Federal SEOG**

* Loans 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.

Time Line for Return of Title IV Funds

Refunds and adjusted bills will be sent to the student's home address on file in the Office of Admissions and Records following withdrawal. Students are responsible for any portion of their institutional charges that are left outstanding after Title IV funds are returned. The Bursar's Office will send each student up to three collection notices, allowing outstanding balances to be paid within 90 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 UHV student account will remain ineligible to register for courses in upcoming semesters until the account is paid in full.

Institutional and Student Responsibilities

UHV's responsibilities in regard to the Return of Title IV funds include:

• Providing each student with the information given in this policy (See the UHV Catalog);
• Identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students within 45 days of determining the student withdrew; and
• Returning any Title IV funds that are due the Title IV programs within 45 days of determining the student withdrew.
• Contact a withdrawn student prior to making a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of loan funds to explain loan obligations and confirm if the loan funds are still wanted by the student. Documentation of the student's decision and contact information must be filed in the student's folder.

The student's responsibilities in regard to 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 the Title IV programs 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.

Example

Michael withdrew after attending 11 days of a 110 day enrollment period. He received a $1000 Pell Grant and a $2500 Federal Subsidized Loan. His institutional costs were $1000.

• Days attended 11 / Days in Period 110 = Percentage completed 10%
• Total Title IV aid disbursed $3500 X % Completed 10% = Earned Aid $350
• Total disbursed aid $3500 - Total Earned Aid $350 = Unearned Aid $3150
• 100% - % Completed 10% = % Unearned Aid 90%
• % Unearned Aid 90% X Institutional Charges $1000 = Uncoverable charges $900
• The lesser of: Unearned Aid to be Returned ($3150) or Uncoverable Charges = $900
• Unearned Aid $3150 - Institution's Share $900 = Student's Share $2250

The institution will return $900 to the Federal Subsidized Loan lender. The student will return $1600 to the Federal Subsidized Loan lender according to the terms of the promissory note.

Initial amount of unearned aid due from the student $2250 - student's repayment to the student's loan $1600 = Initial amount of Title IV Grants for Student to Return $650

Grant aid disbursed $1000 X 50% = $500

$650 - $500 = Title IV Grant Funds for the Student to Return $150

If the student's account has a balance after returning the financial aid, the student will be billed.

Appeals

Students may make a written appeal for an exception based on their individual circumstances. The appeal should be made to the Financial Aid Director. An appeal would be, for example, if the student wanted to provide documentation to prove that he or she attended classes longer than the 50th percentage point in the semester.

The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time.