The Financial Aid Office determines the amount of aid ‘earned’ by the student for a term using a federal formula known as Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds. The R2T4 calculation is done if the student withdraws (officially or unofficially) from a term and had received or may receive federal financial assistance in the form of a Federal Pell Grant, TEACH Grant, Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Direct Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), or Federal Parent or Graduate PLUS loans.

 The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned is unearned aid which is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester (based on the withdrawal date) divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester (scheduled academic breaks of five consecutive days or more are excluded).

 After all Title IV aid return requirements have been satisfied, any credit balances on a student’s account will be first applied to any federal grant repayments or overpayments, then to any outstanding institutional charges, and finally any remaining credit balance will then be refunded to the student. If the calculation results in a return of aid, the student will owe the school for the funds returned to the federal government. Occasionally a post-withdrawal disbursement will be made if a student shows eligibility for Title IV aid that had not previously disbursed.  

Distribution Priority for Return of Title IV Funds

Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
Federal Parent PLUS Loan
Federal Pell Grant Program
Federal SEOG Program
Federal TEACH Grant
Federal Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant
State, Private, or Institutional Aid
The Student

Withdrawal Date

If a student does not complete the Official Withdrawal form and drops a course, ceases attending, never began attendance, or receives no passing grades for the semester the student is an Unofficial Withdrawal.  A student’s official or unofficial withdrawal date is determined by:

• the date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw;
• the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution (unofficial);
• or the last date of attendance by the student at a documented academically related activity.

If a student withdraws before completing 60% of the semester, they may have to repay unearned federal financial aid funds that were previously disbursed. The amount of aid earned is based on a proration of actual calendar days in the semester.

The Financial Aid Office Staff can assist students with determining how much, if any, unearned aid they will have to repay. The resulting balance owed must be resolved before the student can resume attending UM.

Students who stop attending classes and earn a term GPA of 0.0 are considered to be unofficial withdrawals. Just like students who officially withdraw, if the school cannot document that the student attended through 60% of the semester, then they have not earned all of their aid. The unearned portion must be repaid before a student can resume attending UM.

Any combination of 'F', 'NF', 'W', 'WF', 'WP', 'I' or 'MG' grades will result in a term GPA of 0.0. If a student receives all 'NF' grades they will have to repay all of their federal financial aid. However, if a student passes just one class they are not considered to be an unofficial withdrawal.

Students who receive a Federal Pell Grant are required to begin attendance in all their courses. Just because a student withdraws does not mean it can be assumed that they began attendance.

The student's instructors must confirm in writing that the student began attending or else the Federal Pell Grant funds may have to be returned. The onus is upon the student to secure the confirmation from the instructors. A form, the Verification of Attendance for Federal Pell Grant Reinstatement, is provided to the student to facilitate this process.

If a student is granted a Retroactive Withdrawal by the University the student is still considered an unofficial withdrawal for federal aid purposes. Therefore, it does not change the amount of unearned aid that the student has to repay.

The only way to change the amount owed to the school is to secure confirmation from an instructor of a later date of class participation. A form is provided to the student to facilitate this process.

Per the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy (SAP), students are required to earn at least 67% of the credits attempted cumulatively. Withdrawing from the university at any point after the term begins will result in W grades and will lower their percentage for the Pace calculation.

Appeals for Hardship Withdrawals and SAP appeals are separate processes with different burdens of proof. If a student is requesting a Hardship Withdrawal and is also on financial aid suspension, separate appeals will need to be submitted, each with its own supporting documentation attached.

Once a student's enrollment status falls below half-time (6 credits) they begin what is known as their "grace period". If they do not begin attending at some institution at least half-time before six months are up (9 months for Federal Perkins Loans), their loans will enter repayment. If they do begin attending half-time within the six months, they have not used up their grace period and will still have a full grace period before repayment begins the next time they drop below half-time.

Students who enter repayment and then return to school will not have a grace period for those loans. However, any new loans they take out will have an associated grace period.

Any student who anticipates entering repayment on their loans needs to complete Loan Exit Counseling to learn about their rights and responsibilities as a borrower.