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Return of Title IV Funds

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Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)

Post University disburses Title IV federal financial aid funds to eligible students after the start of each semester or term. 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. If 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.

TheUniversitywithdrawalpolicydefineswhenastudentisconsideredwithdrawn. For Title IV federal financial aid purposes, a student is withdrawn from the payment period if the student does not complete all the scheduled days in the payment period.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 Title IV eligible courses (in the case of programs offered in modules, does 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Students are considered withdrawn if they officially withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, receive an academic or judicial dismissal, do not complete all the scheduled days in the payment period, or do not earn a grade in any coursework for the term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 withdrawal date is when the University becomes aware the student has ceased attendance.

Students who have withdrawn or ceased attendance may meet the withdrawal exemption criteria, which allows a student NOT to be considered a withdrawn student for Title IV purposes, which means that no R2T4 calculation is required for that student. The University reviews each student’s circumstances to see if the student qualifies for any of the R2T4 withdrawal exemptions.

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 determines the Title IV federal financial aid earned.  For example, if a student completed 30% of the payment period, the student would 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 following 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 a student must return is called an overpayment.  The maximum amount of a grant overpayment a student must repay is any amount more than 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 arrange to return the unearned grant funds to the University or the Department of Education.

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)
  6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants (applicable for 2023-2024 and prior only)

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 notify students or parents (in the case of PLUS loans). Students and/or parents must authorize the University to release all or a portion of the loan amounts within 14 days of the notification. They 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.

When a student withdraws, the requirements for Title IV federal financial aid funds 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 that 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.