Refund Policy / Return of Title IV
(Federal Finanical Aid) Grant or Loan Assistance

Students who withdraw, either officially or unofficially, from school may have to return some or all of their Title IV Funds (Federal Financial Aid). Title IV Financial Aid that may have to be returned consists of:

  1. Pell Grant
  2. SEOG
  3. FFELP (Student Loans)
  4. PLUS Loans
  5. Academic Competitiveness Grant
  6. TEACH Grant

All awards must be official (your file must be complete, unless undergoing verification) before you withdraw for you to be eligible for any Title IV Aid.

Effective Date

The effective date of this policy is for the academic term beginning August 16, 2000 and all terms thereafter, and includes federal revisions through November 2011.

Refund Policy vs. Return of Title IV Funds

The refund of fees charged by the institution that a student may be entitled to due to the student's withdrawal from school is different and independently calculated from the amount of Title IV Funds the student may have to return due to withdrawal from school. The amount of refund a student may be entitled to will be calculated in accordance with the institution's Refund Policy found in the Itawamba Community College Catalog or on the institution's Web site at http://www.iccms.edu/.

Return of Title IV Funds

The law specifies how your school must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school.

When you withdraw during the semester, the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a prorata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, your school must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don't incur additional debt. Your school may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges . If you do not give your permission (some schools ask for this when you enroll), you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.

There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any FFEL or Direct loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If you receive (or your school or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

  1. your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
  2. the entire amount of excess funds.

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

If your school is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that your school may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. Your school may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. If you don't already know what your school's refund policy is, you can ask your school for a copy. Your school can also provide you with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school.

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

Dates

Students withdrawing prior to the completing more than 60% of the semester are subject to the Return of Title IV Policy. See the ICC website at www.iccms.edu/students/financial/financialaidpayment.aspx  for the specific date for each term.

Withdrawal Date

For a student who officially withdraws, the withdrawal date is the date on which the student:

  1. Began the institution's official withdrawal process; or
  2. Otherwise officially notified the institution of his or her intent to withdraw.

For a student who drops out without notification to the institution, the withdrawal date is:

  1. The midpoint of the payment period or period of enrollment; or
  2. At the institution's option, the last documented date of academically-related activity

Order of Return of Title IV Funds

A school must return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student received aid during the payment period or period of enrollment a applicable, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans.
  2. Subsidized Federal Stafford loans.
  3. Direct PLUS loans
  4. Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required.
  5. Academic Competitiveness Grants for which a return of funds is required.
  6. National Smart Grants for which a return of funds is required.
  7. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) for which a return of funds is required.
  8. Federal Teach Grants for which a return is required.

Late Disbursements to Students

If grant funds remain to be disbursed from a late disbursement after the outstanding charges on the student's account have been satisfied, the school will pay the grant funds directly to the student within 14 days.  Late Loan disbursements that are not credited to the student's account will be offered to the student, or parent in the case of a PLUS loan, in writing within 30 days of the institution's determination of the student's withdrawal.  If the student, or parent in the case of PLUS loan, does not respond to the institution within 14 days from the date the notification was sent, no disbursement will be made.  Funds will be disbursed within 180 days of the date of determination of withdrawal.  Funds returned by the institution will be charged back to the student's account and the student will owe the institution for the amount the institution returned, plus any other unpaid balances.

Questions:

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on the Student Aid on the Web at www.studentaid.ed.gov, or your ICC Financial Aid Office, or call (662) 862-8223.