Return of Title IV Funds
The law specifies how Northeast must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are:
- Federal Pell Grants
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
- TEACH Grants
- Stafford Loans
- PLUS Loans
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs)
- Federal Perkins Loans
Withdrawals
When you withdraw during your payment period or period of enrollment (your school can define these for you and tell you which one applies), the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.
How Funds are Earned
The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30 percent of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30 percent of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all of the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a Post-withdrawal disbursement. If your Post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, your school must obtain your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don't incur additional debt. Your school may automatically use all or a portion of your Post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the Post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges.
If you do not give your permission (some schools ask for this when you enroll), you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.
There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you may not receive any Direct Loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the thirtieth day.
Return to Title IV-Funds Owed
If you receive (or your school or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:
- Your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
- The entire amount of excess funds.
The school must return this amount even if it didn't keep this amount of your Title IV program funds. If your school is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount.
Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time. Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive.
You do not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that your school may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges.
Your school may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. If you don't already know what your schools refund policy is, you can ask your school for a copy. Your school can also provide you with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school.
Refunds
Questions
If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 80004FEDAID (800-433-3243). TTY users may call 800-730-8913.
Information is also available on Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/
Non-Discrimination Policy
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX, Educational Amendments of 1972 of the Higher Education Act; and, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Board of Trustees of Northeast Mississippi Community College has adopted this policy assuring that no one shall, on the grounds of race, color, age, national origin, or sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination in any program or activity of the College. Northeast Mississippi Community College adheres to the principle of equal educational and employment opportunity without regard to race, sex, age, color, creed, or national origin. This policy includes the qualified handicapped and extends to all programs and activities supported by the College. The Section 504 Coordinator is Leigh Ann Stewart, Wright Hall 662.720.7192 and the Title IX Coordinator is Liz Roark, 662.720.7223.