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Return to Title IV Funds Information & Policy

Regulations governing federal, Title IV, student financial aid require DC3’s Office of Financial Aid to perform a Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds calculation whenever a determination has been made that a federal student aid recipient has withdrawn prior to the end of a period of enrollment ( 34 CFR 668.22 ).

Current and future financial aid eligibility can be affected by dropping credit hours once the term has begun. As part of monitoring each student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), the financial aid office tracks the number of attempted vs. completed credit hours.

We encourage you to review our SAP policy or contact our office before dropping courses during any given term.



  • A student is considered to have withdrawn if he/she drops a course after the add/drop period. These dates can be found here
  • When a student drops a class, whatever charges were incurred from being enrolled in this class, will be refunded in full. Withdrawing from a class, after the 100% drop date means that the charges will stay on your account.
  • DC3 recalculates Pell eligibility and fund amounts at any time during the semester when enrollment changes (add/withdrawals)
  • Changing your enrollment status (adding or dropping classes) in a semester could affect your loan amount eligibility later in the academic year.
  • Students who withdraw/fail/or receive I’s for all courses within a semester will have their federal aid recalculated according to the policy listed here (include link to the R2T4 policy)
  • The DC3 Financial Aid Office will send an email with detailed information as to whether or not there will need to be any funds returned, or if there is an unpaid balance through the business office

A student receiving federal financial assistance who completely withdraws from classes at DC3 will be subject to the following refund policy required by federal regulation. The policy only applies to students receiving assistance through:

  • Pell Grant
  • Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • Subsidized Direct Loan
  • Unsubsidized Direct Loan
  • Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
  • Any other Federal (Title IV) program

This policy assumes a student “earns” his or her financial aid based on the period of time the student remains enrolled through the semester. Upon withdrawal, the Financial Aid Office will determine the date of the student’s withdrawal on record in the Office of the Registrar and will calculate the amount of financial assistance the student “earned” while enrolled in classes according to the following formula:

Number of Calendar Days Enrolled Divided by Total Number of Calendar Days in the Semester (excluding breaks of at least five days)

Number of Calendar Days Enrolled Total Number of Calendar Days in the Semester

Students at DC3 earn their federal financial aid based on the percentage of the term that they have completed. Students who wish to officially withdraw from DC3 must initiate withdrawal procedures no later than the 12th week of the semester in the Academic Advisors Office in Student Services. Completed withdrawal forms and final processing will be performed in the Registrar’s Office.

A student, who completely withdraws at or before 60% of the term, may have to return a portion of their unearned federal financial aid. They may owe tuition, fees or a repayment of federal funds. A Return of Title IV Funds calculation determines the percentage of financial aid students have earned. This is based on the number of calendar days students attended, divided by the number of calendar days in the enrollment period. For example, if a student completed 20% of the payment period, they earn 20% of the federal funds that they were originally scheduled to receive. A student that has not completed 60% of the term may have to return a portion of their unearned financial aid. In order to determine the amount of the semester a student completed, the Return of Title IV Funds calculation will use the student’s last date of attendance.

For students who officially withdraw, the date of withdraw will be considered the student’s last date of attendance for calculation purposes. For students who do not officially withdraw, it is assumed that the student attended 50% of the enrollment period, unless otherwise documented by their instructors. Students who do not earn any passing grades, and have a combination of I, W, or F grades for which a last date of attendance cannot be verified or does not reflect completion of the semester are considered to be “unofficial withdrawals”. Their federal aid eligibility will be recalculated as described in this policy. DC3 must return funds, based on calculations, up to the total net amount from each source, in the following order:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
  2. Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
  3. Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
  4. Pell Grant
  5. Federal SEOG
  6. Any other Title IV programs