We hope you don’t have to leave, but if you do there may be adjustments to your financial aid. We encourage you to speak with a financial aid counselor if you are planning to withdraw.

Financial aid may be adjusted based on verification of attendance and duration of academic participation. After a student withdraws, funds may be returned or additional aid may be disbursed (if eligible) based upon federal guidelines.

Your Financial Responsibilities Related to Withdrawal

Withdrawal does not eliminate your financial obligation to the University. You are responsible for any charges owed to the University at the time you withdraw, based on the University’s tuition and housing refund policies.

  1. There are specific federal, state, and University policies regarding tuition and fees, housing charges, refunds to financial aid programs, and repayments resulting from withdrawal. Please speak with a Financial Aid Counselor for more information regarding the calculation of refunds and repayment.
  2. If your University charges are reduced as a result of withdrawal, and it creates a credit balance on your student account, these funds may be used to repay the financial aid programs. This will depend on the amount of your financial aid and the date of your withdrawal.
  3. If you received a refund from your student account to pay for living expenses, you may have received financial aid funds in excess of an amount reasonable for the length of your enrollment.
  4. Your enrollment for financial aid purposes will be adjusted to the courses for which you began attendance and your eligibility will be recalculated.
  5. Financial aid cannot be disbursed after you withdraw, except when the federal calculation allows. Work-study money earned prior to withdrawal will be paid; however, students may not receive work-study funds after withdrawing from the University.
  6. Your withdrawn credits will be counted as attempted credits according to the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

Official Withdrawals

If a student needs to withdraw from all classes for a given term, starting the first day of the term and on or before the last day of classes (before Final Exams week), this is considered a Semester Withdrawal. To complete a Semester Withdrawal, please go to your RAMweb account then, under Registration, navigate to Semester Withdrawal. The date the student begins the Semester Withdrawal process will be used to determine the student’s financial aid eligibility after withdrawal.

We hope you do not have to leave, so please contact Case Management if you need more information about your options. If you must leave, be sure to follow the steps outlined on the Office of the Registrar website.

Unofficial Withdrawals

Students who leave the University and do not formally withdraw will be assigned grades of “F” (failure) or “U” (unsatisfactory).  Additionally, recipients of federal aid who never begin attendance or who unofficially withdraw from the semester will have federal aid adjusted based on the date of the latest academic event in which the student participated. If no academic event can be documented, 100% of federal, state, and institutional aid will be canceled because the student never began attendance.

How does it work?

A student’s aid eligibility will be reviewed within 30 days of a student’s Semester Withdrawal. In the case of an unofficial withdrawal, aid eligibility will be reviewed 30 days after grades are posted for the semester in which the student did not earn a passing grade.

Funds will be returned, if needed, based on review of the student’s financial aid eligibility in the following order:

  • Direct Unsubsidized Loans
  • Subsidized Direct Loans
  • Direct PLUS loans
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • FSEOG
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

An email will be sent to the student’s university preferred email if financial aid is adjusted. 

*If a student is eligible for aid that was not disbursed while enrolled, Federal Grants will be automatically applied to the students account and a letter sent to the student. If student is eligible for Direct Loan funds, a letter will be sent to the student or borrower notifying them of their loan eligibility and how these funds can be accepted.