Clicky

Select Page

Return of Title IV Funds

  1. Home
  2. Student Services
  3. Student Accounts

Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)

Post University disburses Title IV federal financial aid funds after the start of each semester or term to eligible students. Title IV federal financial aid is disbursed based on the assumption that a student will complete each payment period for the Title IV federal financial aid awards. In the event the student does not complete their payment period, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) requires the University to determine when a student withdrew, and if the student has earned the amount of Title IV federal financial aid they have received. The University meets this obligation by calculating a Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4). For Post University students, a payment period is defined as one semester or two consecutive 8-week terms.

The University withdrawal policy defines when a student is considered withdrawn. For Title IV federal financial aid purposes, the University considers a student withdrawn from the payment period if the student does not complete all the scheduled days in the payment period. This includes students who fail to earn grades or withdraw from all courses and do not confirm future enrollment.

Students are considered withdrawn if they officially withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, receive an academic or judicial dismissal, do not complete all the scheduled days in the payment period, or do not earn a grade in any coursework for the term or semester in accordance with the University’s withdrawal policies.

For students who officially withdraw, the date of withdrawal is the earlier of the student’s official notification to the university or the date the student began the official withdrawal process. Students who wish to officially withdraw must follow the published withdrawal policy. For students who do not provide official notification, the date of withdrawal is the date the University becomes aware the student has ceased attendance.

The amount of Title IV federal financial aid the student earns is determined by a specific formula. If the student (or the parent on the student’s behalf) receives more Title IV federal financial aid than the student has earned, Post or in some cases, the student must return the Title IV federal financial aid funding. If the withdrawal occurs before a student completes 60% of the payment period, the amount of Title IV federal financial aid is determined on a pro rata basis. If the student completes more than 60% of a payment period, the student will have earned 100% of the Title IV federal financial aid.

The formula is a calculation of the number of calendar days attended divided by the number of total calendar days in the payment period excluding any scheduled breaks of 5 consecutive days or more. The resulting percentage is used to determine the Title IV federal financial aid earned.  For example, if a student completed 30% of the payment period the student will earn 30% of the Title IV federal financial aid originally scheduled for the student to receive.  If the student received excess Title IV federal financial aid funds that must be returned, the University must return a portion of the excess funds equal to the lesser of:

  • The institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the excess Title IV federal financial aid funds; or
  • The entire amount of excess Title IV federal financial aid funds.
  • The University must return the amount even if it did not keep the amount of the Title IV federal financial aid funds.  If the University is not required to return the remaining amount, the student may be required to return the remaining amount.
  • For any loan funds that a student must return, the student or the parent (in the case of PLUS loans) must repay the loan funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the master promissory note.  Therefore, students and parents may not be required to repay any loan funds immediately, but instead, students and parents will need to make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
  • Any amount of unearned grant funds that a student must return is called an overpayment.  The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that a student must repay is any amount in excess of the grant funds a student received or was scheduled to receive. A student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. A student must make arrangements with the University or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

If students earn less than the amount of Title IV federal financial aid funds disbursed, the University must return a portion of those funds to ED. The University makes the return of funds in the following order no later than 45 days from the date the University determines the student has withdrawn, in accordance with the withdrawal policy stated above.  The University will return any unearned funds in the following order:

1.  Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans

2.  Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans

3.  Direct PLUS Loans

4.  Federal Pell Grants

5.  Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)

If students are eligible for additional disbursements of Title IV federal financial aid funds because they received less Title IV federal financial aid than the amount that the student or parent (in the case of PLUS loans) has earned, students or parents may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. The University will credit Pell and FSEOG grant funds from post-withdrawal disbursements to the students’ accounts to pay for tuition, fees, and room and board, or any other authorized institutional charges, or will make a disbursement directly to the students. If post-withdrawal disbursements include loan funds. the University will send students or parents (in the case of PLUS loans) a notification. Students and/or parents must authorize the University to release all or a portion of the loan amounts within 14 days of the notification and may also authorize the University to apply the funds to outstanding balances. For the students to receive post-withdrawal disbursements, they must meet all eligibility requirements. Any excess funds remaining after a return of Title IV federal financial aid funds or post-withdrawal disbursement will be refunded to the students.

The requirements for Title IV federal financial aid funds when a student withdraws are separate from Post University’s tuition refund policy. Therefore, if the University must return funds on the student’s behalf, they may still owe the University for tuition, fees, and room and board charges which result from the return of Title IV federal financial aid funds.  The amount of funds the University returns on the student’s behalf will no longer cover these charges.