Refund Policy for Financial Aid Recipients who Withdraw

To officially withdraw from all courses students must go to the Office of Admissions and Records at the Tahlequah campus, or the Student Services Office at the Broken Arrow or Muskogee campuses and sign a form acknowledging that they understand the withdrawal process.  If  students cannot go to the office in person, they should call the Office of Admissions and Records at 1-800-722-9614, or 918-456-5511 ext. 2200, for assistance. 

Students receiving federal financial assistance who completely withdraw from all classes or fail to receive a passing grade in all courses during a period of enrollment will be subject to the Return of Title IV Funds refund policy required by federal regulation.  The Return of Title IV Funds are calculated during each period or term of enrollment.  This policy applies to students receiving assistance through the Pell Grant, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, Smart Grant, Perkins Loan, Subsidized Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, and the Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students Programs.

This policy assumes students “earns” their financial aid based on the period of time in which they are enrolled through the semester.  This policy refers to two types of withdrawals; official and unofficial.  When a student officially withdraws from all courses, the Office of Admissions and Records will notify the Office of Business Affairs, who in turn sends the Office of Student Financial Services a refund/repayment form.  This form specifies students date of withdrawal, institutional charges, aid disbursed, and aid that could have been disbursed. At the end of each semester those students who did not receive a passing grade in any of their courses will be considered an unofficial withdrawal.  These students’ withdrawal dates will be  at the midpoint in the semester, the last time they attended class, or any scheduled academic event related to the period of enrollment. For those students who fail to return from an approved leave of absence, the withdrawal date will be designated as the date the leave of absence began.

After determining students’ withdrawal dates, official or unofficial the Office of Student Financial Services must then determine if the amount of aid disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned.  Any unearned funds must be returned to the Federal student aid programs.  If at the time of withdrawal the amount disbursed to the students is less than the amount they earned, they may be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of earned aid not yet disbursed.  If students or parents are eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement, they will be notified by mail and will have 14 days to respond and approve or deny the post-withdrawal disbursement.  The return of unearned aid may be the responsibility of the University, the student or both.  The method used to calculate earned aid is found using the following formula:

Number of days enrolled (divided by) Total number of days in the semester = % of aid earned.
(Examples of this calculation method can be obtained at the Student Financial Services Office)

Students who remain enrolled beyond 60% of the semester are considered to have earned 100% of aid received.  Students who are enrolled for less than 60% of the semester will likely be responsible for repaying a portion of the financial aid received.

When performing a Return to Title IV calculation, all students’ institutional charges, i.e., tuition, fees, and room and board are included in the calculation, as well as all disbursed federal aid. Any refund amount calculated from this formula that the University must return will be returned to the appropriate federal aid programs in the following order:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
  2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
  3. Federal Perkins Loans
  4. Federal Plus Loans
  5. Federal Pell Grant
  6. Academic Competitiveness Grant
  7. Smart Grant
  8. Federal Supplemental Grant (SEOG)

Any unearned aid that students owe the federal aid programs must be returned to the school within 45 days or the student will lose future Title IV eligibility until the overpayment is paid in full. Students’ initial repayment responsibility will be to the following programs:

  • · Pell Grant
  • · Academic Competitiveness Grant
  • · Smart Grant
  • · Federal Supplemental Grant (SEOG)

Any loan funds returned as a result of the Return of Title IV Funds process will go into repayment based on the regular repayment terms of their promissory note.

Students must be aware that when the institution is required to return unearned funds due to their withdrawal, they may have a balance due to the school.  This balance is separate from any overpayment the student must repay due to withdrawal. (An example of this can be obtained in the Student Financial Aid Office)

The University must complete the Return to Title IV process within 45 days of the date of a students withdrawal. Students will be notified by mail within approximately 4 weeks of this completed process.



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