Weatherford College returns unearned funds received from Federal student assistance programs to the proper program accounts or lenders in accordance with Federal Title IV student assistance regulations, as amended, under 34 CFR, section 668.22(a) of the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, with rules of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and with district board policies.
The student receiving assistance from Federal Title IV programs is required to complete a minimum number of hours for which aid was received. If the student completely withdraws from school during the semester, or quits attending, but fails to officially withdraw, the student may be required to return the unearned part of the funds which were received to help pay educational expenses for the semester. Liability for return of Federal Title IV funds will be determined according to the following guidelines:
- If the student remains enrolled and attends class beyond the 60% mark of the semester in which aid is received, all federal aid is considered earned and not subject to this policy.
- If the student completely withdraws from all Title IV eligible classes before completing 60% of the semester, a pro-rated portion of the federal aid received must be returned to the federal aid programs equal to the percentage of the semester remaining.
- If all eligible aid was not already disbursed to the student before the student withdrew, the earned portion of aid will be paid to the student as a post-withdrawal disbursement within 30 days of the Date of Determination that the student has withdrawn. In some instances, students will be asked to provide confirmation to accept or return some or part of the earned funds.
- If the student does not officially withdraw from classes, and stops attending all classes, a pro-rated portion of the federal aid received, based on the documented last date of attendance, must be returned to the federal aid programs. If the college is unable to document the last date of attendance, one-half of all federal aid received during the semester must be returned to the federal aid programs.
If a student ceases attendance (drops or withdraws) in all his or her Title IV-eligible courses in a payment period or period of enrollment, the student must be considered a withdrawal for Title IV purposes.
Return of Federal Title IV (R2T4) funds will be distributed according to statutory regulations within 45 days of the Date of Determination on the R2T4 worksheet. The funds will be returned to the appropriate federal programs in the order mandated by the regulation in section 34 CFR 668.22(i). The current order of distribution occurs with money returned to Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans, Federal Perkins loans (WC does not participate in the Perkins loan program), Federal Direct Parent Plus loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants. Worksheets provided by the U.S. Department of Education or calculations produced through the Colleague System and Return of Funds (ROF) program will be used to determine the amounts and order of return. If a student's share of the return amount exists, the student will be notified and allowed 45 days from the date of determination to return the funds to the business office of the college for deposit into the federal program’s accounts. If the student does not return the amount owed within the 45-day period, the amount of overpayment will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) via the National Student Loan Database (NSLDS) and the student will be referred to the USDE for resolution of the debt.
R2T4 withdrawal exemptions
Under the September 2, 2020 final regulations, the Department established withdrawal exemption criteria which, if met, allows a student who has withdrawn or otherwise ceased attendance to NOT be considered a withdrawn student for Title IV purposes, which means that no R2T4 calculation is required for that student. Prior to conducting an R2T4 calculation for a student who has ceased attendance during a payment period or period of enrollment, a school should review the student’s circumstances to see if the student qualifies for any of the R2T4 withdrawal exemptions.
The withdrawal exemption categories are as follows:
- Withdrawal exemption for graduates/completers
- A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that he or she was scheduled to complete is not considered to have withdrawn This exemption applies to all types of programs (including those with or without modules)
- Withdrawal exemptions for programs offered in modules
- A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes one module that includes 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
- A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes a combination of modules that when combined contain 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
- A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution’s definition of a half-time student under 34 CFR 668.2(b) for the payment period
Please note that all of the withdrawal exemptions apply to both undergraduate and graduate students as long as the student and program meet the underlying exemption criteria (i.e., the program is offered in modules, the students are graduates, etc.). Finally, a student only needs to meet one of the withdrawal exemptions to be exempt from R2T4.
Examples of how this policy is applied are available upon written request to Weatherford College, Office of Financial Aid, 225 College Park Drive, Weatherford, Texas, 76086.
For the purposes of this policy, withdrawal refers to a total withdrawal from all course work at the College.
Weatherford College does not offer a Leave of Absence at this time.