UW-L Financial Aid Policies
Policy on Return of Federal Financial Aid Funds
Students who receive Financial Aid should be aware that in some
cases, they may have their Financial Aid adjusted due to credit
drops and withdraws. These adjustments could affect the overall
refund a student will receive and may cause the student to owe a
university bill.
When a student
drops credits:
When a student drops or adds credits during the 100% tuition
adjustment period for that course, their Financial Aid award may
have to be adjusted.
The
Federal Pell Grant will be adjusted based on the
new credit load. The student’s Financial Aid budget will also be
adjusted based on the credit load change. If these changes
creates an over award, some of the aid may be returned. After
the 100% adjustment period, there will be no aid adjustments for
a credit drop/add unless the course has not started yet or the
drop is backdated to the 100% tuition adjustment period. If a
student drops credits after the 100% tuition adjustment period
and has not accepted their aid, they are still eligible for that
aid since they were eligible at the time of awarding. At the
time of initial awarding, a student must be awarded based on
their current enrollment status.
When a student
withdraws:
Federal law specifies how a school determines the amount of
federal financial aid students have earned and how much must be
repaid to the federal aid programs when the student withdraws
from school during the semester. According to federal
regulations, the amount of aid earned will be calculated on a
pro-rata (percentage) basis. The percentage earned equals the
number of calendar days completed before withdrawal divided by
the total number of calendar days in the enrollment period.
Pro-rata return of Federal funds is required if the withdrawal
occurs before sixty percent (60%) of the semester has elapsed.
When a student has received federal financial aid in excess of
the percentage earned, the funds must be returned to the federal
financial aid programs. The student may be responsible for
repayment of unearned financial aid, in addition to any fees
owed to the University. Amounts to be repaid will be added to
the student's University bill. Processing of the withdrawal and
calculation of any amounts to be repaid, will be completed when
all account adjustments are received in the Business Services
Office. The student will receive bills according to the
University's regular billing schedule. Payments for any amounts
due are to be made to the UW-L Cashiers Office. Loans are to be
repaid to the lender per the terms of the loan agreement. The
student's university records will be restricted, and the student
will not be eligible for further federal financial aid until all
amounts are paid in full.
The Financial Aid Office is not able to calculate or estimate
the amount of funds to be returned, if any.