Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Federal Funds

An official withdrawal is initiated, in writing, by the student. Typically utilizing the Semester Withdraw Form within the Registrar’s Office.

The Office of Financial Aid reviews posted grades every semester. If you receive all non-passing grades (F, W) and there is no record of academic activity they are determined to have unofficially withdrawn. Students are notified via their CMU email if they are considered an unofficial withdrawal. Students are given 14 days to provide proof, approved by faculty, of participation (attended class, posted in an online course discussion, etc.) Per Federal Return to Title IV regulations, a R2T4 calculation is performed using the 50% point (mid-point) of the term as the withdrawal date or last date of attendance (LDA) reported, whichever is greater.  

If a student receives financial aid, but never attends any class meetings, the Office of Financial Aid Office must return all disbursed funds to the respective federal, state, and institutional aid programs, which will result in a 100% Institutional Liability. Any funds received by the student are considered unearned and will be required to be repaid by the student. A hold will be placed on the student record, prohibiting registration for future semesters.

Short-term courses are courses that do not span the entire length of the semester. If a student withdraws and does not attend a subsequent short term class, it is considered a complete withdrawal and a R2T4 calculation must be completed. If at the time of withdrawal the student will attend another short term course within the same semester, then it is not considered a withdrawal. However, Federal Regulations requires the Financial Aid Office to request the student to provide written confirmation or email  to the Financial Aid Office within 5 days that they will be enrolling in an upcoming short term course. This confirmation  is required even if the student was previously registered for future courses prior to withdrawing.  

Title IV program funds will be returned as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after it is determined a student withdrew. 
Financial aid is returned in the following order: 

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans  
• Federal Direct Subsidized loans 
• Federal Direct PLUS loans 
• Federal Pell Grants 
• Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant 
• Federal SEOG 
• Federal TEACH Grants 

The R2T4 calculation is completed automatically by the Office of Financial Aid. The following explains the formula explains: 

Number of calendar days completed in the period
÷
Total number of days scheduled to complete in the period

The number of calendar days in the numerator and denominator includes all days within the session or term, except for institutionally scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days. Weekends are included in the calculation except where a break coinciding with a weekend exceeds five days.

Once the earned percentage has been calculated, it is then subtracted from 100 to get the unearned percentage. The unearned percentage is then multiplied by the Federal Financial Aid received or eligible to receive to determine the amount of Federal Financial Aid that is unearned and must be returned.

For official withdrawals, the calculation of the percentage of the semester attended is based on the eeffective date of the official withdrawal as recorded by the Registrar’s Ooffice.   

For unofficial withdrawals, the calculation of the percentage of the semester attended is based on the student’s last date of academic engagement, as reported by the faculty member. If this date is unavailable, CMU will perform the calculation using the midpoint of the payment period as the student’s withdrawal date.  

Note: Institutional scholarship funds, Federal Work Study and State funds are not subject to the R2T4 policy.   

Credit Balance: All Return to Title IV calculations that result in credit balances follow CMU’s Refund Policy, where all credit balances are refunded as soon as possible and no later than 14 days.  

The requirements for Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from the refund policy.

Return of Funds: If a R2T4 calculation results in an amount to be returned the student may still owe funds to CMU to cover unpaid institutional charges and will also be responsible for repayment of any remaining portion of their federal student loans under the terms of the promissory note. Students will be notified by email to begin exit counseling. 

CMU may also charge a student for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return.