Skip to main content
Jaguar Logo

Policies, Standards and Guidelines

Select Language

Return to Title IV Funds Policy

Effective: July 1, 2021

When a student totally withdraws, stops attending, is expelled or takes a qualified leave of absence from all classes in a given semester, the Higher Education Act requires the institution to determine whether Title IV funds must be returned by or on behalf of the student.  Title IV aid is earned in a prorated manner on a per diem basis up to and including the 60% point in the semester.  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. 

A copy of the “Return of Title IV Funds" worksheet used for this calculation can be obtained from UHV´s Office of Financial Aid.  UHV uses the Department of Education’s Return of Title IV Funds on the Web in COD.

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´s Institutional Refund policy is available at:  https://www.uhv.edu/student-billing/tuition-and-fees/drop-and-withdraw-refund-schedule/.

Official and Unofficial Withdrawals

This policy shall apply to all students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all classes at 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 Direct loans, Subsidized Direct loans, Direct PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants, TEACH Grant, Iraq Afghanistan Service 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 withdrawing in myUHV.  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—

(1) Is defined by the institution in accordance with any applicable requirements of its State or accrediting agency;

(2) Includes, but is not limited to—

(i) 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;

(ii) Submitting an academic assignment;

(iii) Taking an assessment or an exam;

(iv) Participating in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction;

(v) Participating in a study group, group project, or an online discussion that is assigned by the institution; or

(vi) Interacting with an instructor about academic matters; and

(3) Does not include, for example—

(i) Living in institutional housing;

(ii) Participating in the institution's meal plan;(iii) Logging into an online class or tutorial without any further participation; or

(iv) Participating in academic counseling or advisement.

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.  

The Senior Financial Aid Specialist runs the “All F/W” query to determine who has withdrawn and the date of withdrawal.  The Office of Financial Aid also runs the “All F/W" query at the end of each semester. Students who receive a letter grade of “F" and/or “W” 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 date of academic related activity if a date has not been posted on the gradesheet in PeopleSoft.

A student is not considered withdrawn for Return of Title IV Funds if a student successfully completes:

1.) All requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that the student was scheduled to complete

2.) One module that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period

3.) A combination of modules that when combined contain 49% or more of the numbers of days in the payment period; or

4.) Coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution’s definition of a half-time student 

For students enrolled in Modules

Students in a standard or nonstandard-term program, excluding subscription-based programs, are considered withdrawn if not scheduled to begin another course within a payment period or period of enrollment for more than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending.

UHV will track enrollment in each module (a group of courses in a program that do not span the entire length of the payment period, for example, an intersession or mini-sessions combined to form a term) to determine if a student began enrollment in all scheduled courses. 

A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time of withdrawal that he or she will attend a later module in the same payment period; and for standard and nonstandard term programs, excluding subscription-based programs, that module begins no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending.

Title IV Aid Disbursed or Could Have Been Disbursed

The first step of the calculation is identifying all the net Title IV aid disbursed to the student’s account or by check prior to the determination of the student’s withdrawal date.  To be aid that could have been disbursed, the Department of Education had processed the student’s FAFSA with an official EFC, SEOG or TEACH grants were already awarded, a loan was certified or originated by the school and the student had a valid MPN, and a PLUS loan had a satisfactory credit check result.  Aid that is prohibited from being disbursed prior to the student withdrawing is also aid that could have been disbursed.  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 (Thanksgiving and Spring Break). If the student withdrew after the 60% period, the student has earned 100% of the aid.

In the case of a program that is measured in credit hours, the student does not complete all the days in the payment period or period of enrollment that the student was scheduled to complete.  For modules, a student in a program offered in modules is scheduled to complete the days in a module if 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.

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, UHV shall return the unearned aid to the federal programs or servicer by debiting the student´s account.  The school must return the lesser of the amount of Title IV funds that the student does not earn or the amount in the calculation below: 

Total required institutional charges X percent of unearned aid = amount returned to program(s) by UHV

Institutional charges consist of tuition and fee charges assessed prior to the withdrawal and on-campus room and board charges.  Initial charges may only be adjusted by those changes the school made before the student withdrew.  The following fees will not be included in the total tuition and fees used in the R2T4 calculation:  International Program Fee, Late Payment Fee, Reinstatement Fee, Electronic Payment Card Processing Fee, Late Registration Fee, Copyright Fee Registration, NSF Fee, Returned Check Fee, Installment Pay Plan Fees, and Tuition and Fee Loan Origination Fee, Housing and Meal Plan service charges, Housing Deposits, and Housing Damage and Cleaning Fees.

Second, the student shall return the unearned aid to the federal programs or servicer 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:

Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans

Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans

Graduate PLUS Loans

Parent PLUS Loans

Federal Pell Grants

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Federal SEOG

TEACH Grants

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:

Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans*

Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans*

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans*

Federal Parent PLUS Loans*

Federal Pell Grants**

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants**

Federal SEOG**

TEACH Grants**

*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

Refund notifications and adjusted bills will be sent to the student´s home address on file in myUHV following withdrawal.   Students are responsible for any portion of their institutional charges that are left outstanding after Title IV funds are returned. The Student Billing 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:

The student´s responsibilities in regard to the return of Title IV funds include:

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 servicer.

The student will return $1600 to the Federal Subsidized Loan servicer 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 professors withdrew a student from all the classes.  The professors did not provide a last day of academic related activity so the calculation used the midpoint in the term.  The student wanted to provide documentation to prove that he or she attended classes longer than the midpoint in the term.

The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time.  Refer to the Federal Financial Aid Handbook Volume 5, Section 2 for more details.

 

60th Percentage Point for the 2023-2024 Terms and Sessions

Fall 2023

Spring 2024

Summer 2024

Fall 2024

Spring 2025

Summer 2025