Leaves of Absence, Withdrawals, and Return of Funds

A student may request leaves of absence through the Office of Enrollment Operations & 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 loan servicer, 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 loan servicer, 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 cause the student to be unable to return to the same term, 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 in which 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.

For courses that use Brightspace (LMS), Indiana Wesleyan will use the student's last date of engagement as the withdrawal date in the Return of Funds calculation. For courses that do not use Brightspace, Indiana Wesleyan will use the later of the notification of the intent to withdraw or the documented Last Date of Academically Related Activity (LDARA). The official notification of intent to withdrawal will be recorded by the Office of Learner Success and may include verbal or written communication. If the withdrawal date falls during a scheduled break within the term, the withdrawal date will refer back to the last date before the scheduled break began. The withdrawal date may never fall within a scheduled break of five days or more.

Due to extenuating circumstances, for students who are unable to officially withdrawal, the institution will use the last confirmed date of academic engagement as determined in Brightspace. For courses that do not use Brightspace, faculty will be contacted to determine LDARA. 

When a student withdraws, outstanding Title IV credit balances will be placed on hold until the Return of Funds calculation has been completed. If a credit balance exists on the student's account after applying any institutional refund policies and the Return of Funds calculation, the institution will disburse the credit balance to the student as soon as possible but no later than 14 days from the date the school performed the Return of Funds calculation.

The following are examples of the Return of Funds calculations for programs offered in standard term and nonstandard term academic calendars:

Standard Term:

• Return of Funds calculations will be performed on a payment period basis. The payment period is the term. 
• The student begins class on August 30, and the term/payment period runs until December 15. 
• The student withdraws from the program on October 4. 
• The term/payment period has 103 calendar days in it (not including break periods), and the student completed 36 days which is 35.0% of the payment period. 
• The amount of the funds to be returned will be 65.0% 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.

Nonstandard term:

• Return of Funds calculations will be performed on a payment period basis. The payment period is the term. 
• The student begins class on March 2 and the term/payment period runs until May 24. 
• The student withdraws from the program on March 20. 
• The term/payment period has 84 calendar days in it (not including break periods) and the student completed 19 days which is 22.6% of the payment period. 
• The amount of the funds to be returned will be 77.4% 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 loan servicer 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 if the return of funds calculation shows the student completed more than 60% of the term. 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 that IWU are required to return 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.

For a required repayment of grant funds by the student, the student will have 45 days to contact the Financial Aid Office to make arrangements to repay. 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. 

Title IV Funds that the school is required to return must be returned as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after determining the student withdrew.

A post-withdrawal disbursement is a disbursement that occurs after the Return of Funds calculation has been completed, and it is determined that a student received less federal student aid than the amount earned. The post-withdrawal disbursement of a federal grant for funds earned in excess of outstanding current (educationally related) charges must be made directly to the student within 45 days of the date of determination that the student withdrew. Students and/or parents (in the case of Direct Parent PLUS loans) will be notified in writing of eligibility for a post-withdrawal loan disbursement within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew. Students and/or parents will have 14 days to respond to the post-withdrawal offer. Post-withdrawal disbursements will be applied to outstanding allowable charges on the student account first and any resulting credit balance will be paid to the student and/or parent within 14 days of the disbursement.

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.