Financial aid is awarded under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the aid is awarded; students must “earn” the aid they received by remaining enrolled in and attending classes. When a student withdraws (either officially or unofficially) or is dismissed from the University, the student may not have earned the full amount of aid that was initially awarded and may be responsible for repaying the unearned portion of their aid. Determining what aid is earned or unearned is known as the refund / recalculation process, and is separate from the process related to any tuition refund a student may be due after withdrawing. What follows is a description of the financial aid refund / recalculation process, including sample calculations, for federal, University, NJ State Awards; awards from all other sources are recalculated as per the requirements of the source and, without any specification, in the same way as University awards. Although this is a summary, the complete Return of Funds Policy is also available for review.
Process
- Students are identified as either an “official” or “unofficial” withdrawal. Student who withdraw from all courses by completing either the Withdrawal From Courses, Leave of Absence, or Total Withdrawal From the University e-forms have withdrawn officially; students who are dismissed from the University are also classified as official withdrawals. If the student stops attending and doesn’t notify the University or completes all courses with a combination of “W” and “F” grades, the student is an unofficial withdrawal.
- The Financial Aid Office determines the number of days in the semester the student attended, based on either the withdrawal / dismissal date for official withdrawals or the last date of attendance, confirmed with the instructor for each of the student’s courses, for unofficial withdrawals.
- The percentage of the semester the student completed will be calculated by diving the number of days the student attended by the number of calendar days in the semester, less any break period of 5 or more days; where the last date of attendance can’t be confirmed, the midpoint (50%) of the semester will be used in the calculation. If the percentage of the semester completed is 60% or more, all aid is considered “earned” and no further action will be taken. If the student completed less than 60% of the semester, then a portion of their financial aid is unearned and must be returned.
- The Financial Aid Office completes a series of calculations to determine the type(s) and amount of aid to be returned to the program(s) from which it came. The methods for calculating the amount of federal, University, and/or state aid to be returned are described below.
- Adjustments will be made to the student’s account by either removing unearned aid or crediting earned funds not credited prior to the student withdrawing. Monmouth University must then return unearned funds to the aid program they came from; funds must be returned within 45 days of date the University became aware of the student’s withdrawal.
- The student will receive a revised, hard copy financial aid award letter that documents the changes to their aid. The award letter will be delivered to the mailing address that the student has on file with the University.
How the Return of Financial Aid Funds Is Calculated
The following is a description of how federal, University, state, and outside financial aid is treated when a student withdraws.
Title IV (Federal) Aid
The term “Title IV” refers to the federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended). These programs include grants (i.e., Pell Grant, SEOG, the Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant, and the TEACH Grant,) and direct loans (i.e., subsidized, unsubsidized, Parent PLUS, and Graduate PLUS); federal work study (FWS) wages earned by the student are not included in the return of funds calculation and the student may keep what they earned. The Financial Aid Office uses calculation software provided by the Department of Education to complete the Title IV Return of Funds Calculations, the methodology for the calculations is described below. A sample Return of Title IV Funds Worksheet is also available for review.
Title IV Aid Disbursed or That Could Have Been Disbursed
The Title IV aid credited to the student’s account prior to the student’s withdrawal and aid that the student was entitled to but that had not been disbursed prior to the student’s withdrawal is included in the calculation. To be counted as aid that could have been disbursed the following must have taken place prior to the student’s withdrawal:
- aid was awarded and recorded in the student’s financial aid record;
- direct loans were originated by the University and the Master Promissory Note (MPN) was signed before the calculation was completed;
- the student has completed, if otherwise required, direct loan Entrance Counseling;
- the student meets all eligibility requirements for the award; and/or
- a credit decision(s) for direct PLUS loan applicants were received by the University.
Earned / Unearned Title IV Aid
The percent of the semester completed is the number of calendar days that the student attended divided by the number of calendar days in the semester, excluding any scheduled breaks (e.g., Thanksgiving holiday and Spring Break) of more than five days. The percent of semester completed represents the percent of aid earned by the student; unearned aid is 100% minus the percent of aid earned. If the student has completed 60% of more of the semester, no return of funds calculation is required and the student’s financial aid remains unchanged.
Return of Title IV Aid
The amount of aid the University will return to the Federal aid programs is the lesser of the total amount of unearned Title IV assistance to be returned or an amount equal to the total institutional charges incurred by the student for the payment period or period of enrollment multiplied by the percentage of the Title IV grant assistance that has not been earned by the student. (Note that institutional charges consist of tuition and fee (e.g., orientation fees and lab fees) charges and on-campus room and meal charges assessed prior to the student’s account prior to withdrawal.
Aid is returned by debiting the student’s account; the University will send the funds to the appropriate governmental agency on the student’s behalf. Funds must be returned no later than 45 days after the University determined that the student withdrew and will be returned to aid programs in the following order:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- TEACH Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
The aid that the student has earned may not cover all unpaid charges on the student’s account. Any balance due created by University returning a portion of the student’s aid to the federal programs is due and payable by the student. Any balance due may prevent the student from receiving an official academic transcript, prevent the student from registering for more coursework at the University, and/or may be subject to the usual collections process.
Post Withdrawal Disbursement of Title IV Aid
A student who earned more aid than what was disbursed to their account prior to withdrawal may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. To receive a post-withdrawal disbursement, the student must meet all the eligibility and disbursement criteria for a particular award and the disbursement must meet all federal requirements for late disbursements; a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds must be made within 45 days after the University determined that the student withdrew and post-withdrawal disbursements of loan funds must be made within 180 days after the University determined that the student withdrew. Funds will be disbursed in the following order:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- TEACH Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans
The University will, without authorization, use all or a portion of post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds to pay outstanding tuition, fee, room, and meal charges on the student’s account; the student must authorize a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for all other charges. If authorization is not given, the student may receive the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds as a credit balance refund (i.e., cash disbursement). If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student or parent borrower, for a Federal Direct PLUS loan, must always authorize disbursement.
If post-withdrawal disbursement authorization is required, the University must notify the student and/or parent borrower within 30 days of the date that the University determined the student withdrew. The student and/or parent has 14 calendar days from the date on the notification letter to accept all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement. If a response is not received by the University by the deadline, the post-withdrawal disbursement will not be made and the award will be cancelled.
If a post-withdrawal disbursement of either grant or loan funds is made to the student’s account and a credit balance results, the student or parent (if the PLUS loan caused the credit balance) may receive the funds as a credit balance refund (i.e., cash disbursement). In the event that refund check is not cashed or the EFT to the student or parent’s account is rejected, the University Controller’s Office will follow normal procedures to locate the student or parent. If 45 days have passed since the EFT was rejected or the check remains uncashed after 240 days, the funds must be returned to the appropriate financial aid programs.
Monmouth University Grants and Scholarships
This is applicable to ALL grants and scholarships funded by the University and is unrelated to any calculations done for federal or state financial aid awards.
- If the student withdraws during the University’s scheduled drop/add period, as published in the academic calendar, all University grants and scholarships are unearned and will be cancelled.
- If the student withdraws after the drop/add period has ended, University grants and scholarships will be reduced based on the percentage of semester that the student has completed.
- If the student withdraws after 60% of the semester has been completed, all University grants and scholarships are considered as “earned” and will not be reduced.
The following are examples of how the earned amounts would be calculated for University grants and scholarships:
Semester Start Date: September 7
Semester End Date: December 22
Total Days in Semester: 107 days
Drop/Add End Date: September 14
Example 1
Susan was awarded a $10,000 Academic Grant, a $6,500 Great Lawn Grant, and a $1,000 endowed scholarship. She withdrew on September 10. Since this is during the drop/add period, her earned aid is $0 and all University grants and scholarships will be cancelled.
Example 2
Jim was awarded a $10,000 Academic Grant, a $6,500 Great Lawn Grant, and a $1,000 endowed scholarship. He withdrew on October 26; he completed 50 days or 46.7% of the semester. Jim has earned 46.7% of his Monmouth University grants and scholarships, so his awards will be reduced to: Academic Grant of $4,670 (.467 x $10,000), Great Lawn Grant of $3,036 (.467 x $6,500), and endowed scholarship of $467 (.467 x $1000).
Example 3
Tom was awarded a $10,000 Academic Grant, a $6,500 Great Lawn Grant, and a $1,000 endowed scholarship. He withdrew on November 26; he completed 81 days or 75.7% of the semester. Since Tom completed more than 60% of the semester, all of his aid is earned and no adjustments will be made to his aid.
New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (NJHESAA) Grants and Scholarships
When a recipient of state grant or scholarship funds (i.e., Tuition Aid Grant (TAG), EOF, NJSTARSS II, etc.) withdraws or is dismissed, Monmouth University is required to determine whether or not all or a portion of the student’s State Award(s) must be returned to NJHESAA.
- Regardless of withdrawal date, if the student withdrew before NJ State Award funds were credited to their account, the aid is unearned and the student is ineligible for the award; the NJ State Award(s) will be cancelled.
- If the State Award(s) was credited prior to withdrawal and the student withdrew after they completed 60% of the semester, the State Award(s) is considered earned and will not be reduced.
- If the State Award(s) was credited prior to withdrawal and the student withdrew before 60% of the semester was completed, a portion of the State Award(s) must be returned to NJHESAA. To determine the portion of the State Award(s) that must be returned to NJHESAA is the amount of State Award(s) as a percent of total financial aid awarded multiplied by amount of tuition refunded to the student. The following are examples of how State Award(s) will be recalculated:
Semester Start Date: September 7
Semester End Date: December 22
Total Days in Semester: 107 days
Drop/Add End Date: September 14
Example 1
Susan was awarded a $7,000 State Award. She withdrew on September 30. Her State Award was not credited before she withdrew and is, therefore, unearned and will be cancelled.
Example 2
Jim was awarded a $7,000 State Award, a $5,000 Academic Grant, a $3,000 Great Lawn Grant, and a $1,000 endowed scholarship; his total financial aid is $16,000 and all awards were credited before he withdrew. He withdrew on October 26 and completed 50 days or 46.7% of the semester. Since Jim withdrew before 60% of the semester had been completed and his State Award had been credited prior to withdrawing, a portion of the State Award must be returned to NJHESAA. To determine the amount to return:
Percent of Aid Coming from State Awards = $7,000 State Award / $16,000 Total Financial Aid = 43.8%
Percent of Tuition Refunded = 100% – 46.7% of semester complete = 53.3% tuition refunded
Amount of State Award To Be Returned = $7,000 x 43.8% x 53.3% = $1,634*
*The amount to be returned is rounded to the nearest whole dollar. If the student receives funding from more than one State Award program, the amount to be returned is shared proportionately between the programs.
Example 3
Jenny was awarded a $7,000 State Award. She withdrew on November 26 and completed 81 days or 75.5% of the semester. Her State Award was credited to her account before she withdrew. Since she completed more that 60% of the semester and the State Award was credited before she withdrew, the State Award is earned and will not be adjusted.Example 1
Example 4
Tom was awarded a $7,000 State Award. He withdrew on November 26, but the award was not credited before he withdrew. Although he completed more than 60% of the semester (he completed 81 days or 75.7% of the semester) before he withdrew, the State Award was not credited and is unearned and will be cancelled.
Other Financial Aid Sources
Financial aid from other sources (e.g., private scholarships and loans) are processed according to the terms and conditions specified by the source.