Leaves of Absence, Withdrawals, and Return of Funds

A student may request leaves of absence through the Office of Student Services for breaks in attendance 180 days or less in any 12-month period. In the case there is an approved break between classes, a leave of absence will be reported to the lender, but no loan repayment will be required. If additional circumstances arise that prohibit the student from returning to class as scheduled, the student should contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss options. For a break between classes of more than 180 days in any 12-month period, the university is required to report non-enrollment information to the lender, and the student will be required to begin repayment of any student loans (see your loan promissory note for further information). 

If a student finds it necessary to withdraw from the program, withdraw from a course or courses without an approved leave of absence, or take leaves of absence that exceed 180 days in a 12-month period, a federal student financial aid Return of Funds calculation will be performed. This calculation determines how much federal student financial aid has been earned and is based on the number of days attended during the term/payment period when the student withdraws. The amount of federal student financial aid funds to be returned by IWU to the funding source is based on the amount of those funds that the Return of Funds calculation determined were not earned by the student. The following is an example of the Return of Funds calculation:

• The student begins class on June 28 and the term/payment period runs until January 17.
• The student withdraws from the program on October 4.
• The term/payment period has 152 calendar days in it (not including break periods) and the student completed 86 days which is 56.6% of the payment period.
• The amount of the funds to be returned will be 43.4% of the federal student financial aid funds received.
• The portion of the federal student financial aid funds that the school must return is equal to the lesser of:
  • The institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
  • The entire amount of excess funds.

The Financial Aid Office will determine the amount of the return of funds that is owed by IWU and the amount, if any, that is owed by the student. For any loan funds that are owed by the student, the student (or the parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) repays in accordance with the terms of the promissory note (e.g., scheduled payments are to be made to the holder of the loan over a period of time). A letter will be sent to the student indicating the results of the Return of Funds calculation and the amount of the return of funds, if any. The student will earn 100% of the federal student financial aid funds received for the term/payment period if the return of funds calculation shows the student completed 60% or more of the term/payment period. Additionally, state grant awards may be recalculated if the student drops below the minimum amount of credits and/or if tuition and fee charges must be revised as a result of the schedule change.

Funds will be returned to the federal student financial aid programs in the following order: unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan, subsidized Federal Direct Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal TEACH Grant and other Title IV grants. The student will have 45 days to contact the Financial Aid Office to make arrangements to repay any federal grants that are owed by the student. Failure to make arrangements or to pay back the federal grants will mean the student is no longer eligible to receive federal student financial aid at any institution until full repayment.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from IWU’s refund policy. Therefore, a student may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. A student who requests the credit balance from his or her IWU student account and then makes registration changes may be required to repay funds to the university and/or to the student financial aid programs.