Return to Title IV (R2T4) Policy

Return to Title IV (R2T4) Policy

Due to federal regulations, students who receive federal financial aid and completely or partially withdraw during a trimester will be subject to a recalculation of funds awarded. The outcome of the recalculation is dependent on when the withdrawal is initiated and the type of aid received.

Student Financial Services

Return of Title IV Funds Calculation

Eligibility for Title IV funds (federal student financial aid funds) is based on the courses the student takes each trimester (full-time, half-time, etc.). Franklin University courses that do not span the entire length of the trimester are considered modular courses. Title IV funds are only disbursed and retained by the University if the student starts the courses for which the funds were disbursed. Eligibility for these funds may be recalculated if the student withdraws from a course(s) during a trimester. If a federal student financial aid recipient is considered a withdrawal from the trimester, the student will be subject to a Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation to determine the student's actual earned federal student financial aid.

The outcome of the R2T4 recalculation is dependent on the student's last day of attendance, how much federal student financial aid has been disbursed or is pending, and the number of days the student was scheduled to complete.  Franklin University will not use a R2T4 Freeze Date and will therefore determine the number of days a student was scheduled to complete based upon the Title IV programs for which the student was eligible and which modules the student actually attended during the period. The last day of attendance, as determined by the institution from its attendance records, is either the last day of academically related activity or the last day of classroom attendance. The date of determination of an unofficial withdrawal for all students will be effective no later than the 14th day after the last day of attendance or academic related activity (see below Withdrawal Policy). This date is used to determine the percentage of the trimester that the student has completed and this percentage is applied to the amount of federal financial aid disbursed and pending to determine how much aid is earned for the trimester and how much needs to be removed. Weekends and non-class days are included in this calculation and institutional scheduled breaks of five (5) or more consecutive days are excluded from the calculation. A student will not be required to return any portion of their federal financial aid if they complete more than 60% of the term (as determined by the date of attendance reported by the instructor(s)).

Return of Title IV Funds Calculation Example - this example is not indicative of every situation. Each Return of Title IV Funds calculation determination is dependent on individual student circumstances.

The date that the Financial Aid Office is notified that the student is no longer enrolled (0hrs) or no longer concurrently enrolled, therefore necessitating a Return of Title IV Funds calculation can be determined by the table below:

Type of Withdrawal Date of Notification
Official Date that the student initiated the withdrawal
Unofficial Date that the grade was verified by the Registrar's Office
Community College Alliance Date of official confirmation of non-attendance

 

The R2T4 calculation will be completed within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the determination of withdrawal and all unearned funds will be returned to the respective federal financial aid programs as soon as possible, but no later than forty-five (45) calendar days from the date of the determination of withdrawal. 

Institutional Charges

All tuition charges and mandatory fees, and book and supply advance funds to eligible students for the trimester that were present on the student account the day prior to the withdrawal date will be included in the R2T4 calculation as institutional charges. 

Post Withdrawal Disbursements

In some cases, the student and/or parent may be eligible for federal financial aid funds that were not disbursed as of the student's withdrawal date. In such circumstances, the student and/or parent may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement (PWD) of these eligible funds. The student's R2T4 calculation will indicate if the student and/or parent may be eligible for a PWD. All conditions listed below are required for a PWD to be considered:

  • A valid Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) with an eligible estimated family contribution;
  • Meet the requirements for a late disbursement;
  • A student must be previously packaged with federal aid eligibility;
  • Award letter must be received and processed for loan eligibility;
  • A completed Master Promissory Note (MPN) must be on file in order to be eligible for loans;
  • Student must have a completed Entrance Interview on file to be eligible for loans;
  • Loan(s) must have been certified;
  • Student and/or parent must accept the eligible loan PWD in writing;
  • Student must accept a grant PWD for non-institutional charges in writing;
  • Student must have established half-time enrollment (starting courses) for a loan PWD; and
  • For Pell Grant funds, the actual hours attended will be used to determine Pell eligibility.

Some pending loan funds may be included in the R2T4 calculation, but may not be eligible for a PWD due to regulatory restrictions. 

After the determination of eligibility for a PWD, the student and/or parent are notified within 30 days of the date the institution determined the student withdrew, of the available funds and will be given 14 days to reply if eligible for a PWD of loan funds. If the student and/or parent fails to reply within that allotted deadline for a loan PWD, the loan funds will not be disbursed or will be returned if the PWD is inadvertently disbursed before the withdrawal was processed. Eligible grant funds from a PWD will automatically disburse to the student's Franklin University account. If the student has an unpaid balance and is eligible for a grant PWD, the funds equal to the student's outstanding balance will be credited to the student's account as soon as possible, but no later than 45 calendar days after the date of determination of withdrawal. If a grant or loan PWD results in a credit balance on a student’s account, it will be refunded to the student within 14 days of the disbursement of these funds.

The PWD notification to the student includes the following information:

  • The amount and type of PWD available to the student and/or parents.
  • How to respond to request the PWD and the deadline for that request.
  • Notification that any remaining portion of the grant PWD that is not needed to pay outstanding charges may be sent to the student in the form of a refund check.
  • Reminder that any loan funds must be repaid and do effect the student's total aggregate borrowing limits.
  • Authorization for Franklin University to use any credit balance resulting from the PWD to pay any outstanding charges on the account for the current trimester, any past due charges for the current award year, and any past due charges up to $200 from prior academic years.

Overpayments

An overpayment occurs when a federal financial aid recipient receives more aid than they were eligible for.  If the outcome of the R2T4 calculation finds that a student must repay all or part of a Title IV grant, then Franklin University will return the funds to the Department of Education on behalf of the student.  Any balance owed as a result of the overpayment should be paid to the University.   

Return of Unearned Title IV Funds

Once the R2T4 calculation is completed and it is determined that it is necessary that federal financial aid funds be returned, an email will be sent to the student indicating how much aid was returned and to which programs. The following information is included in the letter:

  • Notification that the R2T4 calculation has been performed due to the student's official or unofficial withdrawal
  • The amount of aid and the type (grants, loan funds, etc.) of aid returned
  • Warning that financial aid eligibility will be adjusted on the account within the next 10 to 14 business days
  • Indication that a balance may be due to the University or a refund may be due to the student and the student may request that the funds be used to pay down student loan debt
  • Reminder that changes in enrollment status may affect Standards of Academic Progress and the student may be required to complete Exit Counseling

All grant and loan refund amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar for transmitting purposes. The University will return ineligible funds within 45 days of the student's date of determination of withdrawal. Funds will be returned in the following order, up to the amount disbursed from each source:

  1. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loans
  2. Subsidized Direct Stafford loans
  3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan (parent or graduate)
  4. Federal Pell Grants
  5. Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant
  6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
  7. TEACH Grant

Institutional Refund Policy and R2T4 Calculation

It is important to note that when a student withdraws, the University is not only required to determine the amount of federal student financial aid the student has earned, but also the tuition and fees for which the student is responsible. One calculation determines the amount of charges the student owes and the other determines how much federal student financial aid may be retained to pay for the charges. In some cases, the student may be obligated to pay more institutional charges than funding retained and the student may owe a balance to the University that was previously funded with federal student financial aid. In other cases, the student may have excess funding that will be returned to the student. Following a student’s withdrawal, if a student has a credit balance, it will not be refunded to the student until the institution performs a R2T4 calculation. Once the R2T4 calculation is completed, any credit balances will be refunded to the student within 14 days. 

Community College Alliance Students and R2T4 Calculations 

For Community College Alliance (CCA) students, a confirmation of enrollment changes must be received from the participating institution prior to the determination of whether or not the student has withdrawn and an R2T4 calculation is necessary. If the Financial Aid Office is unable to obtain a positive confirmation of enrollment within 14 business days of initial notification of a withdrawal at Franklin, hours included as CCA hours will be assumed to be zero (0) and the R2T4 calculation will be completed based on Franklin credit hours and charges. 

Withdrawal Policy

What is a withdrawal?

It is important to become familiar with the University’s Attendance & Tuition Refund Policy in the Academic Bulletin. The Financial Aid office is responsible for reporting in the calculation the last date of attendance as determined by the institution from its attendance records (§668.22(b)(1)).

PLEASE NOTE:  A withdrawal from all or any of your courses could result in a negative effect on your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Please view Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. 

Official Withdraw

Students withdrawing from one or some of their active courses, but not from all courses, must either submit an Add/Drop Form or utilize their Self-Service to withdraw from a course. After the first week of class, a withdrawal will result in a grade of "W" (Withdrawn) on the student's academic record but will not be calculated in the grade point average. Tuition charges and/or refunds are based on the date the student drops a course online or submits an Add/Drop Form to the University. The amount of federal financial aid the student is eligible to receive may be adjusted if the student does not begin or complete all registered courses in the trimester. 

Students withdrawing from all of their active courses must initiate the official withdrawal process by completing the online Withdrawal from All Active Courses form. Withdrawal requests must be initiated by completing the online form; no paper withdrawal forms, voicemail messages or email requests will be accepted. Upon completion of this form, students will be contacted by a University representative to confirm their intention to withdraw and verify their understanding of any potential academic and/or financial consequences. The date the student requests the withdrawal will be considered the date of the determination of withdrawal and used to calculate tuition charges and/or refunds. However, the student's last day of academically related activity or class attendance will be considered the withdrawal date used to determine the amount of federal financial aid the student has earned for the trimester. 

Unofficial Withdraw

A student who stops attending or participating in a course and does not initiate the official withdrawal process will be considered an unofficial withdrawal from that course by the University unless the student confirms in writing his or her intent to attend in a subsequent module within the term. Based on evidence of excessive absences, non-participation, or missed exams as defined in the course syllabus, a faculty member may initiate a student's withdrawal through the Registrar's Office. The date of determination of unofficial withdrawal for all students will be effective no later than the 14th day after the last day of attendance or academic related activity even if the actual status change occurs on a subsequent date.

A Z-grade is assigned to a class where an administrative withdrawal (failure) grade has been given for non-attendance. Z-grades may have an impact on the awarding of a student's financial aid and the student may be withdrawn if the student has all Z-grades or all unearned grades for the trimester. 

The University policy for the assignment of the Z-grade, based on the attendance terminology defined above, during variable course lengths is as follows:

# of weeks in the course # of course sessions that a student can be absent before failing* due to lack of attendance
3 0 sessions
6 1 session if a course meets once per week / 2 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 3 sessions for a course meeting three times per week
7 1 session if a course meets once per week / 2 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 4 sessions for a course meeting three times per week
8 1 session if a course meets once per week / 2 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 4 sessions for a course meeting three times per week 
9 1 session if a course meets once per week / 3 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 5 sessions for a course meeting three times per week
12 2 sessions if a course meets once per week / 4 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 6 sessions for a course meeting three times per week / 8 sessions for a course meeting four times per week
15 3 sessions if a course meets once per week / 5 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 8 sessions for a course meeting three times per week / 10 sessions for a course meeting four times per week
16 3 sessions if a course meets once per week / 5 sessions for a course meeting twice per week / 8 sessions for a course meeting three times per week / 11 sessions for a course meeting four times per week 

Note: *These refer to unexcused absences only 

A student must attend at least 85 percent of a course session and be engaged in planned learning activities of the course session to be considered present. For example, a student can only be 9 minutes late to a 55-minute course, 12 minutes for a 75-minute course, and 14 minutes for a 90-minute course before being too late to be considered present. 

Tuition charges and/or refunds will be based on the date of the date of determination of withdrawal. However, the student's last day of attendance will be considered the withdrawal date used to determine the amount of federal financial aid the student has earned for the trimester. 

Non-Start Withdrawals

A student who never begins attendance in a course and does not initiate a course drop or an Official Withdraw will be administratively dropped from the course by the University and considered a 'No Show' for the course and no grade will be assigned. Any federal student aid funds disbursed for a dropped class for which the student is a no-show may be returned or recalculated. When necessary, funds will be returned as soon as possible, but no later than 45 calendar days from the date of the determination of withdrawal. Title IV funds are not disbursed if the student does not start any course in the trimester. 

Confirmation of Future Enrollment 

If a student withdraws from a course, but intends to return to another course later in the trimester that begins within 45 days after the end of the course the student is ceasing to attend, a confirmation of intended future enrollment must be indicated on the Add/Drop form at the time of official withdrawal or on the Enrollment Intent to Attend form emailed after the withdrawal. If confirmation is not submitted or the student does not return after submitting a confirmation, the student will be considered an unofficial withdrawal. If the student wishes to change a previously submitted confirmation, the student will have no more than five (5) business days from the date of the original confirmation to submit the notification to the University. 

The deadline for a Franklin student to withdraw from a class is the Sunday prior to the last scheduled week of class.

These policies do not change the existing drop policy in regard to the student's responsibility to drop classes in a timely manner for a tuition refund, nor do they relieve the student of the responsibility to drop the course by the published withdrawal deadlines. If the student misses a class after the withdrawal deadline and the absence violates the attendance policy, the student will receive a failing grade for the class. Students missing a class should review the course website for additional information and discuss their absence with the instructor. 

Financial Aid Consequences

Students receiving any type of financial aid may lose part or all of such assistance if they stop attending or stop participating, or withdraw from one or more courses in any one trimester. Any over-award that results from withdrawing, nonattendance, or non-participation must be repaid before further financial assistance may be received. In considering whether or not to withdraw from, stop attending, or stop participating in a course, students receiving financial aid should first consult with the Student Financial Services office. 

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