Financial Aid - Late Drops and Withdrawals

The following information is provided to give you a general overview of the policies on Refunds and Return of Title IV Funds. Prior to dropping or withdrawing, students are encouraged to seek individual counseling by visiting the Financial Aid Office.

If you receive financial aid, the effects of each action listed below apply, regardless of the tuition refund policy. *

Late Drops
The Registrar's Office approves late drops for special circumstances. A late drop results in the course/s being removed from your class schedule, as if you were never registered in them. As a result, you may be ineligible for all or a portion of your financial aid, depending on the number of hours that you are dropping and the number of hours remaining. This action may affect all types of aid awarded. Here are questions to ask when considering petitioning for a late drop:

• What aid did I receive that is dependent on the number of hours I am enrolled in?
(Please refer to the Program Eligibility Charts. **)
• How much will my awards be reduced if this drop is approved?
• What will the tuition credit be for the drop?
(This amount will be applied towards the amount of aid owed back.)

Official Withdrawal
If you withdraw on or before the 60% point in time of the semester, which is calculated using calendar days, a portion of the total Title IV funds awarded must be returned, according to the provisions of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The calculation of the return of these funds may result in the student owing a balance to the University and/or the Federal Government.

This calculated amount will be returned to the Title IV Programs in the following order:

1. Federal PLUS Loan
2. Federal Grad PLUS loans
3. UnSubsidized Federal Stafford loans
4. Subsidized Federal Stafford loans
5. Federal Perkins loans
6. Federal Pell Grants
7. Academic Competitiveness Grants
8. SMART Grants
9. Federal SEOG
10. Other grants or loan assistance authorized by Title IV of the HEA

Things you should consider before withdrawing from one or more of your courses:

If your last date of attendance is on or before the 60% point in the semester, you may owe funds back to your federal financial aid program/s if withdraw from all of your courses.

If your aid has not been disbursed when a withdrawal occurs, you may lose eligibility for all or some of your financial aid program(s) if you are no longer enrolled in the minimum required credit hours for the program(s).

Withdrawn and medically withdrawn classes do not count as completed hours and may affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress and renewal requirements for individual aid programs.

Additionally, students who repeatedly withdraw from all classes may loss eligibility for aid due to not meeting the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Questions to ask:
1. Will I meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress if this withdrawal is approved? If not, what do I do?
2. Will I meet specific renewal requirements for specific programs for the next year?

Unofficial Withdrawals
Federal law requires that SHU evaluate federal aid recipients who fail to earn any credit during a semester, in order to determine if the student stopped attending classes on or before the 60% point in the semester. Professors are required to provide attendance information for all students who receive an F, I, N, or U grade.

Students who are reported to have stopped attending all of their classes prior to the 60% point of the semester will be identified as students who “unofficially withdrew” from classes. A calculation of the return of federal aid will be done as described under the Withdrawal section above, which may result in the student owing funds back to the university. Aid for future terms may be put on hold until the student provides a signed written statement, explaining why he/she unofficially withdrew from classes.