Return of Title IV or other Federal Student Aid - Effective Fall 2000
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This requirement applies to you ONLY if:
- You received federal student aid (TITLE IV, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, VETERANS ETC.), and
- You are withdrawing prior to completing 60 percent of the period for which the aid was provided.
Federal law requires aid recipients to “earn” most of the aid they receive by staying enrolled in college at least half time. Students who withdraw prior to completing 60 percent of the semester for which they received federal student aid may be required to return some of the aid they were awarded. The law assumes that the student used the Title IV or other federal aid such as Department of Defense student aid (e.g., Federal Pell, SEOG or TEACH Grants, Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, PLUS Loan or Federal Perkins Loan) to pay their institutional charges - tuition, fees, residence hall room and board (meal plan), and certain other institutional charges. Thus, if the student withdraws prior to completing 60 percent of the semester for which they were awarded aid, the unearned portion of the aid must be returned to the federal government.
First, SUNY Brockport will restore to the appropriate federal fund source, its required share of institutional charges that the student has paid. Second, if the amount returned by The College is not enough to repay the entire amount that the student has not “earned” by the length of their enrollment, the student will be required to return portions of amounts that they received to pay for non-institutional charges, i.e., books, supplies, off campus living expenses.
Title IV aid amounts that must be returned to federal aid sources, whether by SUNY Brockport or by the student, will first be applied to the federal loans. With respect to any amount the student owes after The College has paid back its share, the student will be permitted to repay the loans based on the original terms of the loans - usually a 10-year repayment term after a grace period and deferments if the student return to school. In addition, the student may be required to restore portions of grants such as Pell and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) that they have received. In the case of “unearned” portions of federally funded grants or scholarships, the student will be expected to pay 50 percent of the “unearned” portion immediately of to make satisfactory arrangements to repay that amount.
If the student is entitled to a refund from The College for amounts paid to cover institutional charges, any refund due to the student will first be applied to their obligation to return “unearned” aid before the student receives money back. Thus, portions of institutional refund may be applied on the student’s behalf to their outstanding Stafford, PLUS or Perkins Loans, or to the federal portions of their grant or scholarship, and not actually refunded directly to the student.
This policy is based on 34 CFR, Section 668.22 of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.