A student receiving Title IV financial aid understands that:

They must be making satisfactory progress to continue Pell eligibility, and that tuition, books, and or fees owed will be deducted from each Pell disbursement.
Students must report any changes in enrollment that may affect their financial aid.
If a student drops or withdraws from school prior to completion or ahead of schedule, they may be liable to pay back any overpayment of Pell funds received while attending SWTC. This means that if you withdraw or are dropped by the school for any reason after receiving the Federal Pell grant money, you may have to repay part of the grant money given to you. If you do not complete at least 61% of the hours in the payment period (subtracting all absences, even excused absences), it will be considered a grant overpayment and you will have to pay back a prorated portion of the grant money. You will be ineligible for any other Title IV aid from any school until you have paid it back.
Students must report all financial assistance received to the financial aid office."

Calculating Title IV Return of Unearned Funds and Repayment Formulas Used

As a general rule, grants do not need to be repaid. However, a student may have to repay a certain amount if he/she withdraws or is dismissed prior to completing more than 60% of a payment period. When a student has exhausted all leave according to the attendance policy (see the Attendance Requirements and Attendance Policy for Students on Financial Aid in this handbook, in the Financial Aid Policies and Procedures Handbook, or at www.swtech.edu; obtain a hard copy in the Counselor's Office, the Chief Finance Officer's Office, the Chief Operations Officer's office, the Administrative/Business Office, or the Financial Aid Office), and a leave of absence has not been requested (or one has been requested but denied) on the 5th day of non-attendance the student will be unofficially withdrawn upon that day.

The calculation used is by payment period. A payment period consists of 450 clock hours and 15 weeks for programs of 900 clock hours or more or half the clock hours in the student’s program for programs less than 900 clock hours. The last date of attendance is the date used as the calculation for scheduled hours for the student’s attendance on the Return of Title IV Funds Calculation Worksheet. Institutional charges incurred by the student are tuition and fee charges for which the student was responsible that were assessed by SWTC for the payment period. The portion of a federal grant that the student is entitled to receive is calculated on a percentage basis by comparing the total number of hours in a payment period to the hours the student was scheduled to complete in the payment period upon the student’s last day of attendance. For example, if the student completes 30% of the payment period, he/she earns 30% of the assistance that he/she was originally scheduled to receive. This means that a percentage of the scheduled award remains unearned and must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education. Once a student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, he/she has earned all (100%) of the grant money for that pay period.

Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, all financial aid assistance is considered to be earned

Percent earned = Number of clock hours completed up to the withdrawal Date** divided by total clock hours in the payment period or period of enrollment
Percent unearned = 100% minus percent earned

When a student receives federal financial aid in excess of earned aid, the school returns the lesser of:

Institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage, or
Title IV federal financial aid disbursed multiplied by the unearned percentage the student returns:
Any remaining unearned aid not covered by the school
Any grant amount the student has to return is a grant overpayment, and arrangements must be made with the school or Department of Education to return the funds.

The student can be billed for funds the institution is required to repay*Federal financial aid includes the federal Pell Grant.

**Withdrawal date is defined as the student's last date of attendance as determined by the institution from its attendance records. This also includes students who do not return from an approved leave of absence.

A Return of Title IV funds calculation will apply if the date that the student completes is before the end date of the payment period as in the case of a student that has completed the required competencies or work in less time than expected. The guidance for this decision can be found in the Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 5, Chapter 1 that indicates a student is considered to have withdrawn in the case of a program that is measured in clock hours if the student does not complete all of the clock hours and weeks of instructional time in the payment period that the student was scheduled to complete.

Once the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student and school is determined by the Financial Aid Office, the student will receive a certified letter stating how much Title IV aid was earned. The letter will also explain if the student has an outstanding balance that is owed to the school for tuition and fees. The student must realize that tuition and fees may be offset from the amount earned by the student.

Upon withdrawal, if the amount earned by the student is greater than the amount disbursed, then a post-withdrawal calculation is performed (see the Post-Withdrawal Disbursements section of this handbook). If the amount earned by the student is less than the amount disbursed, then a Title IV Return of Fund calculation is performed. Current regulations specify a student does not have to repay a Pell grant overpayment of $50 or less. If the amounts earned and disbursed are equal, no further action is taken.

Example 1: A student receives a Pell grant in the amount of $3,048 for a payment period that is 4505 clock hours in length. As of the student's last date of attendance, the hours scheduled to be completed for the payment period are 400 of the 450 hours, which is 88.9%. In this case, neither the student, nor the school owe any money back.

Aid to Be Returned

If the student receives more Pell grant monies than the amount earned, SWTC or the student, or both, must return the unearned funds. When a return of Pell grant funds is due, both SWTC and the student could have a responsibility for returning funds.

Whatever funds are not returned by the school must be returned by the student. The student's repayment obligation is determined after the school's earned/unearned funds are calculated. SWTC will return all unearned funds within 30 days from the date Financial Aid Coordinator determines the student withdrew. Necessary funds will be returned to the Federal Pell Grant Program by the business office by reducing the authorization drawn from G5 or by electronic transfer payment through the G5 system.

If a student owes a repayment to the Pell Grant Program, SWTC will notify the student by certified mail within 30 days that he/she must repay the overpayment. In the notification SWTC will inform the student:

That the student owes an overpayment of Pell Grant funds
That the student's eligibility for additional Title IV funds will end if the student fails to take positive action by the 45th day following the date the school sent or was required to send notification to the student.

There are two positive actions a student can take to extend eligibility for Title IV funds.

The student may repay the overpayment in full to the school within 45 days
The student may sign a repayment agreement with the Department of Education

If the student fails to take one of the positive actions during the 45-day period, the student's overpayment will be reported to NSLDS and referred to the Department of Education for collection:

Mailing address: National Payment Center

P.O. Box 105028

Atlanta, GA 30348

The student should contact the school to discuss his/her options.

POST-WITHDRAWAL DISBURSEMENTS OF TITLE IV FUNDS

Explanation of Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

If the Return to Title IV Funds calculation determines the student received less federal aid money than the amount earned, SWTC will make a disbursement of the earned aid that was not disbursed if the student has met all other eligibility requirements (i.e. SAP, completed all hours from the previous pay period). Per regulations, SWTC will credit a student’s account with a post-withdrawal disbursement for current tuition and fee costs. Earned funds in excess of tuition and fees will be provided to the student. SWTC will send notification no later than 30 calendar days after the date the Financial Aid Office determines the student withdrew. The student will then be sent a mailed notification about the post-withdrawal disbursement. SWTC will disburse the funds to the student within 45 days of the date the school determines the student withdrew. If the student cannot be located, or refuses the funds as per a written and signed statement, the funds will then be returned to the Federal Pell Grant Program. In dealing with crossover period post withdrawal disbursements, the Financial Aid Coordinator reserves the right to use the previous ISIR on a case by case basis for the benefit of the student.

SECTION IV - INSTRUCTION

IV - A TUITION AND FEES

IV -B TUITION REFUND POLICY AND TITLE 38 REFUND POLCY

IV – C FEDERAL TITLE IV RETURN OF UNEARNED FUNDS POLICY