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How US Title IV (Direct Loan) funding is calculated and adjusted if a student withdraws from or interrupts their studies, and how responsibility for returning funds is determined.

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

• Leave of Absence, Re-engagement and Withdrawal policy (PDF)
• TITLE IV Leave of Absence Policy for Postgraduate Research Students (PDF)
• The University of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø' refund procedure

How Title IV funding is calculated when a student withdraws

The law specifies how the University must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance (Direct Loans) that students earn if they withdraw or interrupt.

• The Financial Aid Administrator is responsible for calculating R2T4 and the Finance Office is responsible for transferring the funds.
• The Financial Aid Administrator uses worksheets provided by the US Department of Education to calculate the R2T4 funds.
• All funds must be returned to the lender within 45 days of the date of when the University determined that a student withdrew.

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, students can call the Federal Student Aid Information Centre at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on the website.

How the amount of earned funding is determined

When a student withdraws during a payment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that has been earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula.

The date of withdrawal is determined by the Head of School or Supervisor and will be the last day the student attended.

• If the student received (or the University received on the student’s behalf) less assistance than the amount that is earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds.
• If the student received more assistance than was earned, the excess funds must be returned by the University and/or the student.

Determining the date of withdrawal and attendance

Students are expected to maintain attendance in accordance with the University of St Andrews’ academic regulations, ensuring that students are compliant with the regular attendance requirement of their student visa.

Students who are not in attendance or not engaging for a period of six weeks are reported to UKVI and their visa is revoked.

Student Registry is notified of the student’s lack of attendance and will consult with the student and/or their Personal Academic Tutor to determine if the student never attended classes or will verify the last date of attendance.

Where a student is considered Withdrawn or Interrupts without an official notification (for example, through lack of attendance), the University of St Andrews must make a determination within 14 days as to whether the student intends to return to their studies or withdraw.

Except in unusual instances, the date of withdrawal used for R2T4 will normally be the date that is shown on the student records system (the last date of attendance) or no later than after 14 days, when it is determined whether the student intends to return to classes or to withdraw.

Notification of withdrawal

In the case where a student notifies the Head of School or Supervisor or a member of staff that he or she intends to withdraw, the student will be informed of the need to make a formal request by contacting the relevant Registry Support Officer who can inform them of the process and initiate a withdrawal request.

Alternatively, students can arrange an appointment to discuss the withdrawal procedure. It is not sufficient for a student to inform their School or Student Services that they are not returning to their studies.

Written confirmation and effective date

When a student undertakes the Request a Withdrawal from Study process they will inform the Registry in writing, citing the reason for withdrawal and the effective date.

Written confirmation will then be passed to the School, Finance Unit and other relevant units such as the Visa and HR Immigration Teams.

Should the student fail to write or there is a lag between the notification and the student’s written confirmation, the earlier date of notification will be used in calculating the R2T4 formula.

Failing grades and lack of attendance

In the event a student receives all failing grades for a semester, the Head of School or Supervisor will contact academic staff to determine if the failing grades were earned or represent a lack of attendance.

In the event it is determined that those grades were the result of lack of attendance, the Head of School or Supervisor will attempt to determine the last day of attendance and use that date in the R2T4 calculations.

Our policy does not allow retrospective breaks in studies and withdrawals to be permitted. Students who do not attend even one class, are ineligible for Title IV funds and all of the loan proceeds will be returned to the lender.

How earned assistance is calculated

The amount of assistance earned is determined on a pro rata basis.

The payment period is the semester for which the loan was certified and the percent of attendance is calculated by dividing the number of days attended by the total number of days in the payment period.

Any holidays of five days or more are deducted from the number of days attended.

• Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrolment, all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that period is considered to have been earned.
• Where enrolment is less than 60% of the payment period the amount of Title IV funding earned is calculated proportional to the actual percentage of enrolment, that is the number of calendar days completed up to the end date of study divided by the total number of days in the payment period.

If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned, he or she may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement and these loans will be offered to the student within 30 days.

If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student may choose to decline the loan funds so that additional debt is not incurred. The Financial Aid Administrator will use the R2T4 worksheets as provided by the US Department of Education to determine how much of the loan may be retained and how much must be returned.

Use of post-withdrawal disbursements

The University may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if the student accepts them) for tuition, fees, and accommodation.

For all other University charges, the University needs the student's permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. If the student does not give permission the student will not be offered the funds. However, it may be in one's best interest to allow the University to keep the funds to reduce the debt at the University.

Timing and confirmation of post-withdrawal disbursements

Once the University has received confirmation from a student or parent that a post-withdrawal disbursement is to be made, any credit balance will be processed as soon as possible and within a specified period of time of not less than 14 days after the student is contacted by the University.

The University may honour a late response but will not honour a response that is more than 180 days late.

The University will only disburse post-withdrawal funds upon documented confirmation by the borrower.

Any repayment by the University will be no later than 180 days after the date of determination.

Unearned funds and amounts that must be returned

There are some Title IV funds that students are scheduled to receive that cannot be earned once a student withdraws because of other eligibility requirements. If the student receives (or the University receives on behalf of the student) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, the University must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

• the institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the funds, or
• the entire amount of excess funds.

The University must return this amount even if it didn't keep this amount of the Title IV program funds.

If the University is not required to return all of the excess funds, the student must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that must be returned, the student must repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, scheduled payments are made to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Students who have received a refund of their loan proceeds before withdrawing may be required to return part or all of those funds to the lender.

Order in which Title IV funds are returned

Title IV funds will be returned in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct loans
2. Subsidized Direct loans
3. PLUS Loan Funds

Relationship to University refund policies

The requirements for Title IV program funds when students withdraw are separate from any refund policy that the University may have. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the University to cover unpaid institutional charges. The University may also attempt to collect from the student any Title IV program funds that the University was required to return.

Further information and support

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Centre at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on the website.

Last reviewed: February 2023
Allyson MacCrossan
Finance Operations Manager