Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy
Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)
Students receiving federal financial aid must follow Howard Community College’s official withdrawal procedures as outlined in the College Catalog. In compliance with the Higher Education Act, HCC is required to calculate a Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds for any student who officially or unofficially withdraws from the college.
Official withdrawal occurs when a student follows the college’s established procedures and deadlines for withdrawing from courses, as outlined in the Schedule of Classes. Students may complete a withdrawal form and submit it to the Office of Records and Registration or withdraw through Self-Service. The official withdrawal date is the date recorded on the withdrawal form or, if using Self-Service, the date the student submits the request—unless the college receives information indicating otherwise.
Unofficial withdrawal happens when a student begins attending a course but then stops participating without formally withdrawing. In such cases, the instructor will report the student’s last date of attendance, which becomes the official date used for withdrawal purposes. If the student did not attend more than 60% of the course, they will receive a grade of “FW.” Unofficial withdrawals negatively impact both the student’s GPA and their Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) completion rate.
Calculating Earned & Unearned Aid
A standardized schedule is used to calculate the percentage of the semester a student attended, based on the official withdrawal or last date of attendance. This percentage is determined by dividing the number of days the student attended by the total number of days in the payment period. All calendar days, including weekends and holidays, are counted—except for breaks of five or more consecutive days.
This percentage is then used to determine how much of the student’s federal aid was earned versus unearned.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD):
If a student has not received all earned Title IV funds at the time of withdrawal, they may still be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
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Grants must be disbursed within 45 days of the withdrawal determination date.
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Loans must be offered within 30 days, giving the student at least 14 days to accept or decline the funds.
Post-withdrawal disbursements are first applied to any outstanding balance on the student’s account. Any resulting credit balance is handled in accordance with HCC’s credit balance policy.
Returning Unearned Aid:
If a student received more Title IV aid than was earned, the unearned portion must be returned to the appropriate federal aid program in the following order:
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Direct Unsubsidized Loan
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Direct Subsidized Loan
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Direct PLUS Loan
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Federal Pell Grant
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Federal SEOG Grant
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Other Title IV programs
HCC is responsible for returning the lesser of the unearned institutional charges or the unearned Title IV funds. The student is then responsible for repaying any remaining unearned amount. If a loan is part of the unearned amount, the student will repay it under the terms of the loan agreement. If the amount includes grant funds, the student is only responsible for repaying 50% of the unearned grant total.
Repayment of Unearned Grant Aid:
Students must repay any unearned grant aid directly to HCC within 45 days of notification. Failure to do so will result in the student being reported to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) as being in “overpayment” status, making them ineligible for additional Title IV aid until resolved.
Consequences of Withdrawal or Non-Attendance:
Students who withdraw or stop attending may:
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Become ineligible for further financial aid disbursements
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Be required to repay a portion of disbursed funds
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Owe a balance to HCC
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Be reported to ED as in overpayment status
Students who stop attending without officially withdrawing may still be subject to an R2T4 calculation based on the instructor-reported last date of attendance.