Repayment of Financial Aid Due to Withdrawal

If a student at Texas A&M University-San Antonio withdraws from all registered courses and received any type of financial aid to include, federal, state, or institutional funds, the student may be required to repay all or some of those funds to its original source.

The U.S. Department of Education specifies how Texas A&M University- San Antonio must determine the amount of federal financial aid that a student earned or unearned if he or she withdraws from the university. Federal financial aid covered under federal regulations and guidance defined as:

  1. Unsubsidized Direct Loan,
  2. Subsidized Direct Loan,
  3. Direct PLUS Loan
  4. Federal Pell Grant,
  5. Federal SEOG, and
  6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.

The amount of federal financial aid earned or unearned is determined by the number of days the student completed in the term.  In order for a student to have earned all federal financial aid, the student must be enrolled through the 60 percent of the term. However, if student withdraw, drop out, or stop engaging before this period, the student may only receive a prorated portion of their federal financial aid for that term. The financial aid percentage is determined by dividing the number of completed days by the number of total days in the semester. The number of completed days is calculated by subtracting the start of the semester from the day the student withdrew from the school by written notification. The earned percentage is multiplied by the amount that the student was eligible to receive to determine the amount of aid that the student has earned. If a student withdraws prior to the term’s scheduled disbursement, they are not eligible for any of that term’s aid.

  • The percent earned is equal to the number of calendar days completed up to the withdrawal date, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (less any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long)
  • The payment period for most students is the entire semester. However, for students enrolled in modules (courses which are not scheduled for the entire semester or term), the payment period only includes those days for the module(s) in which the student is registered.
  • The percent unearned is equal to 100 percent minus the percent earned

If a student stops attending all classes, does not officially withdraw, and fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course and/or has a 0.0 GPA for the term, the student may be considered an unofficial withdrawal. As a result, the student may be required to repay all or some of those funds to its original source. The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to closely monitor the attendance of students who receive federal financial aid. At the end of every semester, grade evaluations are completed to determine compliance with federal regulations. In accordance with federal regulations, the Texas A&M University-San Antonio must assume that students who do not receive a passing grade in any class attempted and/or receive incomplete grades have unofficially withdrawn from the university. This assumption requires Texas A&M University-San Antonio to formally document the student’s last date of attendance and determine if the student is required to repay all or some of the federal financial aid.

Notification will be sent via mail and email outlining the amount returned to the federal and institutional program(s). The University will return funds on the student’s behalf to the appropriate federal aid program(s) within 45 business days after determining the student’s withdrawal date. The student is responsible for all charges and overpayments resulting from a Return of Title IV Calculation. The refund will be returned to the student only if the student did not receive financial aid assistance from either Title IV programs or State programs. In the cases where the student did receive assistance from these programs, the refund will be returned to the programs, in the following order:

Order of Return of Title IV funds:

  • Unsubsidized Direct Loans (other than Direct PLUS Loans) 
  • Subsidized Direct Loan
  • Direct PLUS Loans 
  • Federal Pell Grants for which a return of Title IV funds is required 
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) for which a return of Title IV funds is required
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, for which a return of Title IV funds is required

Please visit the following link for more information: https://www.tamusa.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/maintaining-eligibility/withdrawals-and-return-of-funds.html