Federal financial aid (“Title IV funds”) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.

If a recipient of Title IV grant withdraws from VCCCD after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant assistance earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned. If the student receives less Federal Student Aid than the amount earned, VCCCD offers a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. This is called a Post-withdrawal disbursement.

Withdrawal Date

The withdrawal date established by VCCCD is the date used by the Financial Aid Office to determine the point in time that the student is considered to have withdrawn so the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment completed by the student can be determined. The percentage of Title IV aid earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment completed.

Process for Calculation of Amount of Title IV aid earned by student

The amount of Title IV aid earned by the student is determined by multiplying the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the total of Title IV program aid disbursed plus the Title IV aid that could have been disbursed to the student or on the student’s behalf.

If the day the student withdrew occurs when or before the student completed 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, the percentage earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment that was completed. If the day the student withdrew occurs after the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, the percentage earned is 100%. When a student fails to earn a passing grade in any of their classes, VCCCD must assume, for Title IV purposes that the student has unofficially withdrawn, unless VCCCD can document that the student completed the period.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

If the student receives less Federal Student Aid than the amount earned, VCCCD offers a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. This is called a Post-withdrawal disbursement. Title IV grant funds from a Post-withdrawal disbursement are credited to a student’s account to pay for tuition and fees for the term for which the student is eligible for a Post-Withdrawal disbursement or are disbursed directly to the student.

VCCCD must obtain a student’s authorization to credit a student’s account with Title IV grant funds for charges other than current charges and must notify the student no later than 30 calendar days after the date that VCCCD determines the student withdrew. VCCCD notifies students by letter that they are eligible for a Post-withdrawal disbursement and that the student has a deadline of 14 days to respond to the request for authorization. In the notification, VCCCD states that VCCCD is not required to make the Post-Withdrawal disbursement if the student does not respond by the deadline.

Title IV aid to be returned: VCCCD and student

If the student receives more Federal Student Aid than the amount earned, VCCCD, the student, or both must return the unearned funds in a specified order as follows:

  1. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loans (other than PLUS loans). 

  2. Subsidized Direct Stafford loans. 

  3. Direct PLUS loans. 

  4. Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required. 

  5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) for which a return of funds is required. 

When a Return of Title IV funds is due, VCCCD and the student may both have a responsibility for returning funds. Funds that are not the responsibility of VCCCD to return must be returned by the student. VCCCD exercises its option to collect from the student any funds VCCCD is obligated to return, and such funds required will become an obligation on the student’s account for which the student will be responsible. This obligation is not reported to the Department of Education and simply remains as an obligation on the student’s VCCCD account. Services such as registration and transcripts will be prohibited until this obligation is satisfied. Unpaid balance will be reported to COTOP and state return refunds or lottery winnings may be used to offset this obligation.

If a recipient of Title IV grant funds withdraws from a school after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant assistance earned by the student will be determined within 30 days after the student withdraws. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned to the Department of Education within 45 days following the date of notification sent to the student. If the obligation is not resolved within the 45 days of the notification, the unearned funds, will be reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) as an overpayment and the student will be ineligible for Title IV funds (such as Pell, FSEOG, Direct Loans and other federal aid) at any institution until this overpayment is resolved.

Although a student may be eligible for a refund of fees from VCCCD the student may still be required to repay all or part of their Title IV aid.