The U.S. Department of Education requires aid to be recalculated if a student withdraws during a semester.
If a student stops attending before they complete all of the days they planned to attend in a semester, they are considered “withdrawn.” They are also considered withdrawn if they do not pass any of their courses in a semester with a grade of D or higher. When this happens, the federal (“Title IV”) financial aid they were offered for their registered classes may be adjusted to reflect the amount of the semester they attended. This could result in the student owing money back to Ozarks Tech if it has disbursed or receiving financial aid if it has not disbursed. If the student received financial aid other than federal funds, the college may also return a portion, depending on the type of aid that was received.
Federal Pell Grant, Federal student loans, and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant are all federal financial aid that could be adjusted.
Withdrawing
If financial aid is recalculated because the student withdraws (officially or unofficially), the new aid amounts will be based on the student’s last day of attendance, not the day they dropped or were dropped from their courses. Ozarks Tech will return the financial aid to the U.S. Department of Education, creating a balance that the student owes to the college.
If a student plans to withdraw they should discuss the financial aid implications with their college navigator first. If they still wish to withdraw, the student should drop their classes rather than be dropped by the instructor. Dropping classes immediately allows for timely aid recalculation.
FAFSA Verification
If information is still needed to confirm the student’s financial aid eligibility, the student should turn in everything being requested no later than fourteen calendar days from the date classes are dropped.
Repayment
Withdrawing could mean having to repay financial aid that was already received, especially if a student never attends a class they registered for but does not drop it.
Repayment Amount
The formula used to determine how much aid a withdrawn student will owe back is set by the U.S. Department of Education.