Withdrawing as a financial aid recipient | Tuition (2024)

How is the calculation done?

ASU's Financial Aid and Scholarship Services is required to:

• Determine the number of calendar days in your scheduled enrollment.
• Determine the number of calendar days you attended classes.
• Calculate the percentage of Title IV aid earned and unearned.
• Calculate the amount of institutional charges.
• Determine the amount that must be returned to each Title IV program.
• Return federal funds to the programs according to regulatory requirements.
• Adjust financial aid awards as needed, which may result in charges due to ASU.

What is the recalculation process?

Financial Aid and Scholarship Services calculates the number of days you were enrolled before you withdrew, dropped or stopped participating, and compares that to the number of days in your scheduled enrollment for the term. You earn your financial aid award in proportion to the number of days completed in the session or term.

Number of calendar days completed in the session or term
÷

Total number of days scheduled to complete in the session or term

The number of calendar days in the numerator and denominator includes all days within the session or term, except for institutionally scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days.

When you completely withdraw from ASU prior to completing more than 60% of your scheduled enrollment for the term, a portion of the Title IV financial aid you received (excluding Federal Work-Study) is considered to be an overpayment, and must be returned to their respective federal financial aid programs.

Note: Dates below are examples only and may not reflect ASU's academic calendar.

Example A*

Mary enrolls for the fall term in session A and session B. She completes session A but withdraws from the course she registered for in session B on Oct. 15. Because she did not complete her scheduled enrollment, Financial Aid and Scholarship Services must determine if she is eligible to receive all of her aid.

Did Mary complete more than 60% of her scheduled enrollment for the term

Because Mary did not complete more than 60% of her scheduled enrollment, Financial Aid and Scholarship Services must calculate how much of the financial aid she earned and is eligible to keep, and how much was unearned and must be returned to the financial aid programs.

Example B*

Steve enrolls in session C only for the fall term. He withdraws from all the courses registered in session C on Sept. 20. At the time he withdraws, he submits the Financial Aid Withdrawal Confirmation form and states that he plans to enroll in session B.

Three scenarios can occur:

1. Steve attends and completes his courses in session B — he will not be considered to have withdrawn from the term and a Return of Title IV calculation does not need to be performed.
2. Steve begins attendance in session B and withdraws from session B within the session — he will be considered to have withdrawn and Financial Aid and Scholarship Services must determine if he is eligible to receive all of his aid based on his most recent withdrawal date, and the number of days of his scheduled enrollment will include all the days in session C.
3. Steve does not fulfill his promise by attending session B — he will be considered to have withdrawn and Financial Aid and Scholarship Services must determine if he is eligible to receive all of his aid based on his original withdrawal date, and the number of days of his scheduled enrollment will include all the days in session C.

For scenario No. 3, did Steve complete more than 60% of his scheduled enrollment for the term?

What is the difference between earned and unearned Title IV funds?

Title IV funds earned: You earn Title IV funds in proportion to the percentage of time officially enrolled in the term (in example A above, Mary earned 50% of her financial aid). If the aid earned is more than the amount that was disbursed, you will be offered a post-withdrawal disbursem*nt.

Title IV funds unearned: Unearned funds must be returned to the federal programs from which they originated (e.g., if Mary in example A above is eligible for 50% of the Title IV aid, then the unearned funds will be 50% of the Title IV aid received). If there are any unearned funds, ASU must return the lesser of the unearned Title IV aid or the total unearned institutional charges, which consists of all charges for tuition, fees, and room and board, multiplied by the percentage of Title IV funds that was not earned.

What are the timelines for Return of Title IV funds?

Financial Aid and Scholarship Services must determine the amount of aid that was earned and how much was unearned; the unearned aid is returned to the U.S. Department of Education by ASU on your behalf. ASU is required to return these funds within 45 days from the date Financial Aid and Scholarship Services has determined you have withdrawn.

The amount of unearned aid will be returned to the U.S. Department of Education, which will create a balance due to ASU. This is posted as a charge to your ASU student account on My ASU and must be repaid to the university immediately. If the returned funds include any loans you borrowed, your loan principal will be lowered by the returned amount. Therefore, when your loans enter repayment the total amount borrowed will be lower and you (or your parent for Direct Parent PLUS loan) will repay the loan funds in accordance with the terms of the promissory note.

In what order is Return of Title IV Funds returned?

ASU must return the funds to aid programs in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans.
2. Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans.
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loans (parent and graduate).
4. Federal Pell Grants.
5. Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants.
6. Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants.
7. Federal Teacher Education for College and Higher Education Grants.

Federal Work-Study earnings are not affected by Title IV regulations concerning the return of unearned federal financial aid.

How do I withdraw from my courses at ASU?

Now that you understand that you may owe a portion of the financial aid you received back to the federal government or ASU if you withdraw, you should first contact your instructors to see if there is any way that you can complete the courses for which you are registered — this is the only way to avoid any possible financial consequences.

If your circ*mstances are such that you are not able to complete your classes, please click here for instructions. If you are planning to complete a course during the same term at a later start, be sure to submit the Financial Aid Withdrawal Confirmation form within five days of initiating any withdrawal.

Please remember, the institutional tuition refund policy is different from the financial aid Return of Title IV process. Click here to learn about ASU's tuition refund policy. You will be billed by ASU for any unearned Title IV aid returned to the U.S. Department of Education and any unpaid institutional charges.

Can I register for the next term?

Once you have repaid any unearned funds due to the university, you will be eligible to enroll in the next term. Just remember: EN, EU, E and W grades are considered when determining your Satisfactory Academic Progress and can negatively affect your future financial aid eligibility.

When is a Return of Title IV calculation not required?

A Return of Title IV calculation is not required if you meet one of the following exemptions:

• You complete all of the requirements for graduation.
• You successfully complete a class or multiple classes that comprise at least 49% of the days in the term in a program offered in session.
• You successfully complete at least half-time enrollment status in a program offered in sessions.

What would happen if I did not receive all earned Title IV aid?

A post-withdrawal disbursem*nt may be due to you if you did not receive all of the Title IV funds that you earned. If your PWD consists of loan funds, you will be notified via My ASU to accept or decline some or all of the loan funds by completing the Post-Withdrawal Disbursem*nt form.