the student stopped attending after it started, and still has a monetary obligation to the college for that class, and a record of the class will be reflected in the student’s academic transcript the student chose not to take a class he/she is registered for after the semester began, but before that particular class has started (See “Modular Classes” below.)
“Clean-Dropping” is a term used for when a student dropped from a class at the decision of the College, and has his/her actual record of being registered for the class erased, causing all charged to be removed, and leaving no record of the class on the academic transcript. Policies - Students must be enrolled for at least 6 credits a semester to qualify for most financial aid.
(Pell Grant is the sole exception.) - Classes that are clean-dropped cannot be counted toward financial aid.
Modular Classes
Modular classes are courses that do not run the full length of the payment period (semester). If a semester has started and the student withdraws prior to attending a modular class because that class starts late in the semester, then that class cannot be counted for financial aid purposes. If a student withdraws from a modular class, then confirms attendance in a later modular class within the same payment period, the student is not considered a withdrawal. However, the student is considered a withdrawal if he/she drops an early modular class and does not attend a later class within the same payment period. If a semester has started and the student withdraws from a class that has not yet begun because it occurs later in the semester term, then that class cannot be counted for financial aid purposes as of the date of the withdrawal.
Withdrawal Examples: 1. A student registers for 6 credits in the fall semester, and both classes start at the beginning of the semester. The semester starts, and the student withdraws from one of the classes. Impact: The Business Office will still charge for the dropped class, and the transcript will reflect that the class was attempted. The student may still receive financial aid for the class, provided the aid was received and posted to the student’s account prior to the withdrawal from the class. The student may even receive a refund of financial aid funds, if applicable, provided the refund is received prior to the withdrawal from the class. If the refund occurs after the withdrawal, the funds are returned to the student’s lender, and his/her loan obligation is reduced accordingly. 2. The student starts a class, but then the college decides to clean-drop the student from the class due to an unusual circumstance. Impact: The Business Office will not charge for that class, nor will it appear on the student’s academic transcript. The student cannot receive any financial aid for this class. Depending on the timing of the action, it is possible that financial aid funds already received for the class will be returned to the lender, and may result in the student owing a balance to Cabrini College. 3. Modular Class Example:
A student registers for 6 credits, but one of the 3-credit classes starts in Summer I and the other starts in Summer II. Prior to the start of Summer II, the student drops the Summer II class. Impact: The student was eligible for financial aid while registered for the 6 credits. All aid transactions, including disbursement of funds and potential refunds to the student, may occur. However, once the student dropped the Summer II class, he/she no longer qualifies for financial aid because he/she is registered for only 3 credits. Any aid received prior to dropping the class can be kept. But the student cannot receive any additional aid, and if a refund is owed but hasn’t yet been sent, that refund must now be returned to the bank. Withdrawing from College and the Return of Title IV Financial Aid For financial aid purposes, a withdrawal from the College occurs - when a student ceases to be enrolled as a matriculated student pursuing a degree
- by formally withdrawing from the college
- by dropping out
- by taking fewer than the required number of credits per term to qualify for federal financial aid
- by being dismissed
- by taking a leave of absence prior to completing at least 60% of a payment period or term, usually defined as a semester
The Federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV Funds formula: The percentage of the payment period is the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date. This percentage is divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) The resulting percentage is also the percentage of earned aid. Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula: Aid to be returned (which is 100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of aid actually earned) is multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term. If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution. If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him or her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid with 120 days of the student’s withdrawal. Refunds are allocated in the following order: - Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan/Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan/Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Graduate PLUS Loan/Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
- Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan/Direct PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant
- National SMART Grant
- Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Other assistance under the Federal title IV programs (e.g. LEAP)
- Modular classes
For financial aid purposes, modular classes are courses that do not run the full length of the payment period (semester). If a student withdraws from a modular class and attends no other class in the payment period, he/she is a withdrawal and the Federal Recalculation of Title IV Funds is required. If a student withdraws from a modular class but returns to attend a subsequent class offered within the same payment period, he/she is not considered a withdrawal and no Federal Recalculation of Title IV funds is required. |