Federal Policy for Return of Title IV Funds

If you are a recipient of Title IV aid and completely withdraw at any point during the semester, federal regulation requires Missouri Western to calculate the amount of Title IV aid that you received but did not earn and return those funds to the appropriate Title IV program(s). Title IV aid consists of the Pell Grant, FSEOG, ACG, SMART, Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Perkins Loans, and PLUS Loans.

Both the institution and the student may be required to return funds received.  Students owing dollars to Federal Student Loan Program begin repayment six months after the student ceases to enroll at least half-time. Dollars owed by the student to Federal Grant Programs must be repaid immediately.

Failure to Attend Classes and Unofficial Withdrawals

If you do not attend class or leave Missouri Western for any reason, you are required to officially withdraw. Refer to the College Catalog for Official Withdrawal Procedures.

If you do not officially withdraw from classes and Missouri Western determines that you are no longer attending, Missouri Western is required to calculate the percentage of aid that you did not earn and return those funds to the appropriate program(s).

If Missouri Western determines that you never attended classes, you are required to repay all funds received immediately. If funds are not repaid, you must be reported to the Department of Education for collection and your eligibility to receive Federal Financial Aid will be terminated. You will remain ineligible to receive Federal Financial Assistance at any post-secondary institution until these dollars are repaid.

Calculation of Earned and Unearned Federal Aid

Missouri Western will calculate the percentage of the enrollment period completed and multiply this by the amount of aid that was disbursed as of the date of withdrawal to determine the aid that was earned. To determine the unearned portion, Missouri Western will subtract the earned amount from the aid disbursed as of the date of the withdrawal.

Missouri Western must return the amount that is equal to the total institutional charges for the period of enrollment multiplied by the percentage of the Title IV aid that was unearned. The student will be responsible for returning the amount that is equal to the funds received times the percentage of the Title IV aid that was unearned. In addition, the student must also repay Missouri Western the percentage of unearned aid that the school returns to Title IV programs.

Example:

Order of Return
Unearned Federal Financial Aid must be returned to Title IV Programs in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Loans
• Subsidized Loans
• Perkins Loans
• Plus Loans
• ACG
• SMART
• Pell Grant
• FSEOG
• Other

Example (continued from above):

Missouri Western will return $600 to the Lender (60% of $1,000). The student is responsible for repaying the loan balance of $400 ($1,000 - $600) within the terms of their loan. The student is responsible for repaying 1/2 of their grant responsibility of $800 ($1,200 - $400). The student must repay in full, $400 to the Federal Grant Program within 45 days, or make arrangements with the school to repay these dollars, or make arrangements with the Department of Education to repay these dollars (within 45 days).

The student must repay Missouri Western the $600 that Missouri Western returned to the Lender. Missouri Western will notify the student of their responsibility within 30 days of being notified of the student's withdrawal or that the student has ceased attending classes.