Withdrawing from classes
If a student uses Federal Title IV Funds to pay for all or some of his/her enrollment there is a significant "string attached". That is that the student must complete at least one course with a passing grade. If the student withdraws from all their courses, or is withdrawn by their Instructor for lack of attendance or disciplinary reasons or fails all of their courses they do not get to keep all the Financial Aid awarded to them
When a student has been identified as having all 'W' grades, all 'F' grades or a combination of all 'W' and 'F' grades, the Financial Aid Office must use a United States Department of Education software program to notify USDE of the change in the students enrollment status and to calculate how much Title IV Student Financial Aid that student is entitled to keep. In general, if a student remains enrolled for only 40% of the semester or term then that student is allowed to keep 40% of the aid credited to his account. However, once a student has completed 60% of the semester, he is allowed to keep 100% of the Title IV Aid.
For example
- Mary registers for 4 courses in December, begins classes in January and $1000 Pell Grant is credited to her account. She then withdraws from 3 courses in late February; the Financial Aid Office will not have to do a Return of Title IV Funds calculation on her aid because she has not completely withdrawn.
- John registers for 3 courses in December, begins classes in January and has $1000 Pell Grant credited to his account. He withdraws from all three courses in mid-March. The Financial Aid Office must do a Return of Title IV Funds calculation on his aid. In the federal software we enter the semester start date, end date, withdrawal date and amount of aid credited. The program tells us what percentage of the term the student completed and the amount of Title IV Aid to return to the Department of Education. For this example lets assume the software calculated that John withdrew after completing 59% of the semester. The calculation would tell our Financial Aid Office that we must return $410 to the Pell Grant Program ($1000 x 59% = $590 earned; $1000 - $590 = $410 returned). John now owes DCCC $410.
- Tom registers for 2 courses in December, begins classes in January and has $1000 Pell Grant credited to his account. Tom withdraws from both courses two days after John (see above). The Department of Education software calculates that Tom attended for 60% of the semester. Tom has earned 100% of his Title IV Aid and nothing is returned. (Tom may have Satisfactory Academic Progress issues next time he applies for aid, but that's another story)
The DCCC Financial Aid Office will publish the 'Sixty Percent Point' date of the semesters and terms on this website and on the bulletin board outside the Media Campus Financial Aid Office. Please come in to talk to us before you withdraw or stop attending.
Special Cases:
AW
When a student withdraws receiving 'AW's' the student's entire registration is expunged. All financial aid is returned to USDE. It is not necessary for the FAO to do the RTIV calculation.
E.g. Nancy registers for 2 courses in December and is billed $700, begins class in January and $1000 Pell Grant is credited to her account. In the first week of class she receives a refund check for $300 that she uses to purchase books. In February she tells the registrar that she has been misadvised and the courses are much too hard for her. The Registrar agrees and gives her 'AW's'. All tuition and fees charges ($700) are backed off her account and then all financial aid credits ($1000) are sent back to USDE. Nancy now owes DCCC $300.
IW
When an Instructor withdraws a student from her class the Registrar records it as an 'IW'. The withdrawal can occur for many reasons but the most common is that the student has simple stopped attending and did not follow the College's withdrawal processes. This is especially true where all the courses have W grades and RTIV issues arise. Since DCCC does not require the faculty to take attendance it is very difficult to establish a withdrawal date for these students. USDE requires that in these situations the FAO set the withdrawal date as the 50% point of the semester or term no matter when the Registrar recorded the IW's.
E.g. William registers for 4 courses in December and begins class in January and a $1000 Pell Grant is credited to his account. In early February William's work hours increase and he stops coming to class. He does not notify his Instructors or the Registrar. In late February Instructor 1 notices William's absence and sends an IW grade to the registrar. Instructor 2 becomes aware of William's absence at midterm and sends an IW grade to the Registrar. Since W grades are recorded for only two of William's four classes, at this point, his name does not appear on the Weekly Withdrawal Reports Banner is producing for the FAO. Instructors 3 and 4 don't notify the Registrar until final grade report in May. William's name now appears on the report and the FAO has to do a RTIV calculation on his aid. Since all William's grades are 'IW' the FAO has to set the withdrawal date at the 50% point of the semester. This means that DCCC will have to send back $500 to the Pell Grant Program and William will owe DCCC $500.
Medical Withdrawals:
The USDE does not consider the reason for the Withdrawal; no special consideration is given for Medical Withdrawals although DCCC may be able to help ease the refund burden, please see the Student Records Office about a "Letter of Credit" and the DCCC FAO about a lenient repayment schedule.