Main Content

Return of Title IV Funds

The law specifies how the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that a student earns if the student withdraws from school.  The Title IV programs that are covered by this law and offered at UAPB are:  Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, William D. Ford Federal Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS Loans.

The institution has 45 days from the date the institution determines that the student withdrew to return all unearned funds for which it is responsible. The school is required to notify the student if they owe a repayment via written notice. The school must advise the student or parent that they have 14 calendar days from the date the school sent the notification to accept a post-withdrawal disbursement. If a response is not received from the student or parent within the permitted time frame or the student declines the funds, the school will return any earned funds that the school is holding to the Title IV programs. Post-withdrawal disbursement must occur within 120 days of the date the student withdrew.

When a student withdraws, the amount of Title IV program assistance a student has earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If the student received (or UAPB or the student’s parent received on the student’s behalf) less assistance than the amount that the student earned, the student may be able to receive additional funds in a post-withdrawal disbursement. A post withdrawal disbursement from grant funds is applied to a student’s account to pay any outstanding balance from tuition, fees, room and board and other charges authorized by the student. If a post-withdrawal disbursement is a result of loans made to the student or parent, authorization must be given to apply the disbursement to the students account. Any funds from either a grant or loan that result in a credit balance after charges are paid may be given to whom the credit is owed (student or parent), if authorized.  If the student received more assistance than the student earned, the excess funds must be returned by the university and/or the student.

The amount of assistance the student earned is determined on a prorata basis.  For example, if the student completed 30% of the semester, the student earned 30% of the assistance the student was scheduled to receive for that semester. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the semester, the student has earned all the assistance that he/she was scheduled to receive for that period; however, there are some Title IV funds that the student may have been scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to the student once the student  withdraws because of eligibility requirements.  For example, if the student is a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and has not completed the first 30 days of the semester before he/she withdraws, the student will not receive any Federal Direct loan funds that would have been received had the student remained enrolled past the 30^th day.

If a student receives (or UAPB or the student’s parent receives on the student’s behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, UAPB must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

• Student’s institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the student’s  funds, or
• The entire amount of excess funds.

UAPB must return this amount even if it did not keep this amount of the student’s Title IV program funds.  The funds will be returned in the following order, up to the amount disbursed from each source:

1. Unsubsidized William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans
2. Subsidized William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans
3. William D. Ford Federal PLUS Loans
4. Federal Pell Grants
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

The amount of aid that is unearned is considered an overpayment of Title IV funds. It is the student’s responsibility to repay the total amount of the overpayment. During this time the student will remain eligible for Title IV aid for a maximum of 45 days if the student either:

• Repays the overpayment to UAPB in full
• Makes satisfactory arrangements to repay with UAPB
• Makes satisfactory arrangements to repay with the U.S. Department of Education

UAPB must notify the student within 30 days that repayment of federal funds is owed, the student then must respond within 45 days. After the 45 days, the student’s portion of the repayment will be referred to the U.S Department of Education as an overpayment. The student will then become ineligible for federal aid.

Withdrawal Determinations

• The official withdrawal date for a student is the date the Student Success Center receives written notification of the student’s intent to withdraw.
• A grade of UF is given to students who stop attending class and who do not officially withdraw from the class.  A grade of UF in each class in a semester is considered an unofficial withdrawal from the University.  As a school not required to take attendance, the University will assume the last date of enrollment was the mid-point of the semester (50% point) unless documentation of a different date is provided.
• The withdrawal date for a student who withdraws without providing notification, due to circumstances beyond the student’s control, will be determined upon review of valid documentation the school receives related to the events causing the student to cease attendance. 
• If a student dies while enrolled, the withdrawal date will be at the latest, the date the student dies, unless notification is received that the withdrawal process began prior to the student becoming deceased. 
• The withdrawal date for an administrative withdrawal is not pre-determined. The date is established at the conclusion of a thorough review of events and sufficient documentation supporting the need to administratively withdraw the student.
• Students who withdraw from Distance Education programs will be withdrawn as of the date of the student’s signature on the notification of their intent to withdraw.

Withdrawing from the Summer Payment Period (Semester)

The summer mini sessions (Summer I and Summer II) are combined into one payment period and treated as one semester.  Because one or more courses do not span the entire payment period, the summer semester is considered a module.  In this case, the determination of a withdrawal is treated differently than a Fall or Spring semester without modules. During summer enrollment, if a student withdraws from current courses (Summer I), but is also registered in a course(s) starting later in the payment period (Summer II), we are required to determine the amount of Title IV funds earned and return any unearned funds, unless the student provides in writing at the time of withdrawal, he or she will attend Summer II (merely registering for Summer II is not accepted as confirmation to attend Summer II). Should a student not provide written notification they will attend Summer II, the student is not considered to have withdrawn and will be eligible to receive the aid for which he/she was eligible to receive before ceasing attendance. 

In deciding whether a student is determined to have withdrawn from the summer payment period (semester), requiring a Return to Title IV calculation, the following questions and responses are applicable:

               1.    After beginning attendance in the summer semester (payment period), did the student cease to attend or fail to begin attendance in a course he or she was scheduled to attend?  If the answer is no, this is not a withdrawal. If the answer is yes, go to question 2.

2.   When the student ceased to attend or failed to begin attendance in a course he or she was scheduled to attend, were they still attending any other courses? If the answer is yes, this is not a withdrawal; however, other regulatory provisions concerning recalculation may apply. If the answer is no, go to question 3.         

3.     Did the student confirm attendance in a session beginning later in the semester (Summer II)? If the answer is yes, this is not a withdrawal, unless the student does not return. If the answer is no, this is a withdrawal and the Return of Title IV Funds requirements apply.