Nicholls State University

FINANCIAL AID

Dropping and Resigning Policy

Dropping a Class or Classes

If you drop a class or classes, you may be required to payback the financial aid that you received. The federal refund policy, your class attendance, and your enrollment status all influence the repayment requirements. If you are considering dropping a class or classes, contact our office to determine the financial aid implications specific to your situation.

Resigning from ALL Classes

As a recipient of Title IV Funds, you must attend all courses. Failure to attend class could result in an immediate reduction of your aid in addition to that required from the completed Return of Title IV Funds calculation explained below or a cancellation of the total aid awarded.

Return of Title IV Funds Policy

The Return of Title IV Funds Policy, as defined by the Federal government, determines the formula for calculating the amount of Title IV funds a student and school can retain when a student withdraws from ALL courses prior to completing more than 60% of a semester or session. Federal financial aid regulations have defined that a student who withdraws from all courses prior to completing more than 60% of a semester or session has not earned 100% of the federal financial aid that was received, and the student and/or the school may be required to return a portion of his or her federal aid. If you are thinking about withdrawing from all classes prior to completing more than 60% of the semester or session, you should read the policy below to understand how your withdrawal will affect your financial aid.

The Return calculation must be computed on any recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds who ceases attendance in all courses. A recipient of grant or loan assistance is a student who has actually received Title IV funds or has met the conditions that entitle him/her to a late disbursement of Title IV funds.

“Title IV Funds” refers to the following Federal financial aid programs: Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and any other Title IV aid, excluding Federal Work Study.

The Federal government requires that schools determine the amount of Title IV funds a student has earned when he or she has ceased attendance in all courses by ‘officially’ or ‘unofficially’ resigning from school. An official withdrawal occurs when a student notifies the University of his or her intent to withdraw by following the University’s resignation process. An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student ceases attendance in classes but does not notify the University through the official resignation process.

The amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student is determined by the number of days the student has spent in academic attendance during a specific semester before ‘officially’ or ‘unofficially’ resigning. The school and/or the student must then return the unearned portion of Title IV funds to the appropriate programs.

A student’s withdrawal date is:

  1. the date the student began the University’s withdrawal process or officially notifies the University of his or her intent to withdraw, or
  2. the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the University, or
  3. the student’s last date of attendance, as documented by the school, at an academically related activity. Examples of academically related activities include submitting an academic assignment, taking an exam, an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction, attending a study group that is assigned by the school, etc. Academically related activities do NOT include logging in to an online class without active participation or participating in academic counseling or advisement.

At the point of withdrawal, the portion of your Federal grants and loans you are entitled to receive is calculated on a percentage basis by dividing the total number of calendar days you completed before you withdrew by the total number of calendar days in the semester or session. Scheduled breaks of five consecutive days or more are excluded.

For example, if you complete 30% of the semester, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. This means that 70% of your scheduled awards remain unearned and must be returned to the Federal government. Once you have completed more than 60% of the semester, you have earned all (100%) of your assistance. ***The dates below refer to full semesters only. If you are resigning from a Mini A and/or Mini B session, please contact our office as the 60% points will differ.

Fall 2022 semester – If a student resigns on or after October 18, 2022, and obtains all instructors’ signatures verifying that he/she attended classes at least one time, he/she will earn 100% of the federal financial aid received.

Spring 2023 semester – If a student resigns on or after March 23, 2023, and obtains all instructors’ signatures verifying that he/she attended classes at least one time, he/she will earn 100% of the federal financial aid received.

Once the Return of Title IV Funds calculation is completed, if the University is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return need to be repaid according to the terms of your promissory note. If you must return any grant funds, certain repayment regulations apply. If Nicholls is required to repay Federal aid funds, you are responsible for any balance owed to the University as a result of the repayment.

If you receive Title IV funds and resign either ‘officially’ or ‘unofficially’ and never attend any classes, you are not an eligible Title IV recipient. No Return of Title IV Funds calculation is required because you will not be eligible for any of the awards received. All grant funds will be cancelled and returned to the appropriate programs. Furthermore, any loan funds used to offset charges will be returned to the Department of Education by Nicholls, and the Department will be notified that you never established eligibility by attending class. If Nicholls is required to repay Federal aid funds, you are responsible for any balance owed to the University as a result of the repayment.

NOTE to Student Reservists Called to Active Duty: According to the Department of Education, if a Title IV eligible student withdraws because of military requirements, the school must perform the Return of Title IV Funds calculations that are required by the defined statute and regulations. This means that we still have to determine whether Title IV funds must be returned to the Title IV programs, and you may be required to payback a portion of your federal aid. If Nicholls is required to repay Federal aid funds, you are responsible for any balance owed to the University as a result of the repayment.

NOTE to Students Assigned “I” or “X” Grades: According to the Department of Education, if you complete a semester with all “F’s” and one or more “I” or “X” grades OR are assigned a grade of “I” or “X” in all courses, we are required to follow the Return of Title IV Funds Policy, as defined above, to determine if you unofficially withdrew from the University and whether Title IV Funds must be returned to the Title IV programs. If funds must be returned, you may be required to payback a portion of your federal aid. If Nicholls is required to repay Federal aid funds, you are responsible for any balance owed to the University as a result of the repayment.

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