Federal Student Aid (FSA), also known as Title IV funding, is offered to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school or remain academically active for the entire period for which the assistance is offered. When a student withdraws (Official Complete Withdrawal) or is no longer academically active (Unofficial Withdrawal), the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive or received and may be subject to request for Final Demand Letter from the loan servicer.
If a recipient of Title IV grants or loan funds completely withdraws from Adams State University after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, the unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, they are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received.
Types of Withdrawal
Official Complete Withdrawal
To withdraw from all enrollments in a semester, a student submits the official complete withdrawal form to the office of Vice President for Student Services (for Undergraduates) or the Graduate Studies Office (for Graduate students).
Approved Official Complete Withdrawal:
Return of Title IV funds calculations will be performed and the student may be responsible for any outstanding balance(s) resulting from the determinations. The student will be notified of any credit balances, returned funds, or refunds due.
Administrative Official Complete Withdrawal:
Once a student attends at least one class, the student has for all intents and purposes established eligibility for Financial Student Aid (FSA). However, it is the responsibility of the Vice President of Student Services (VPSA) or designee (or the Graduate Office for graduate students) to determine the appropriate type of withdrawal on a case-by-case basis. For an administrative complete withdrawal, the VPSA may determine the student never began attendance or had an extenuating circumstance which determined them unable to attend. All registration and all financial aid will be removed from the student records.
Note: If a student never begins attendance in any of their classes, and receives a credit balance refund of FSA funds prior to the first day of the enrollment period, a review of the student’s account will be made to determine if a final demand letter is warranted and appropriate action taken.
For a student who withdraws after the 60% point-in-time of the semester, all Title IV funds have been earned. However, a school must still determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
Unofficial Withdrawal
If a student never begins attendance or participates in an academically related activity in any registered class(es), an “unofficial” withdrawal will be processed (see 100-03-05 Undergraduate Student Non-Attendance Verification).
An Unofficial Complete Withdrawal is processed if a student ceases to attend ALL registered classes and/or ceases to participate in an academically related activity at any point during the period of enrollment. If the student ceases to attend after the midpoint of the semester, the faculty will use their discretion to assign an appropriate grade and supporting last date of attendance (see 100-11-13 Undergraduate Technical Failure (TF)/Technical Unsatisfactory (TU) Grades).
In cases where faculty have assigned a grade of TF or TU and not indicated the last date of attendance, the faculty will be contacted to determine a last date for purposes of Return to Title IV (R2T4).
In addition, if a student who receives grades of IN or NR in conjunction with grades of F, W, TF and/or TU, or have all IN and/or NR grades, a review may be conducted, including request of confirmation from the instructor(s) of record to determine if the student attended or ceased attendance at some point in the enrollment period.
Direct Loan Final Demand Letter
When a student unofficially withdraws and/or never begins attendance in any classes after a disbursement of Direct Loan funds, Adams State must return any Direct Loan funds that were applied to the student’s account for the payment period, as well as the amount of any payments made on behalf of the student to Adams State up to the total amount of the loan funds disbursed.
Adams State must immediately notify the applicable Federal Loan servicer that the student has not begun or will not begin attendance. The Federal Loan servicer will then issue a Final Demand letter to the student for the remaining amount of any Direct Loan funds that were disbursed directly to the student.
Institutional Charges Assessed
When a student officially withdraws from the institution, the amount of institutional charges must be established for purposes of the R2T4 calculation. The R2T4 calculation will be based on the initial institutional charges, which encompass items such as tuition, fees, housing, and food, upon which the student’s financial aid offer was originally determined. Only changes in enrollment, whether an increase or decrease, made prior to the established census date will impact a student’s financial aid offer amount. A change in enrollment level after the established census date will not affect a student’s offered aid unless it is established and documented that the student never commenced attendance.
Fund Determination for Inclusion in R2T4
All federal funds must be included: Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Direct Loans (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS loan).
All state need-based financial aid will be based on the percentage of federal aid calculated on R2T4: Colorado Student Grant (CSG).
Institutional aid will be canceled unless extenuating circumstances warrant. Institutional aid includes athletic, merit, and need-based aid.
Foundation Scholarships will be determined by the established criteria of each scholarship (may vary from scholarship to scholarship).
Private Scholarships will be determined by the donor’s established criteria for the scholarship.
Official and Unofficial Withdrawal Letters
Once the R2T4 calculation is completed, correspondence will be sent (via letter and email) to the student’s address of record.
Update of NSLDS Enrollment Data
If it is determined a student officially withdrew, unofficially withdrew, or ceased attendance at any point in time, the institution will immediately update the enrollment status on NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) to reflect the student’s last known date of attendance at Adams State University. If the student never begins attendance, NSLDS will be updated to code N (never attended).
