Withdrawal From Term
A student is considered to have withdrawn from a term (fall, spring, or summer) if the student does not complete all the days in the term for which the student was scheduled to complete.
If a student is attending only courses offered in modules, (courses that do not span the full length of a term, such as but not limited to 8-week modules) completes the first module then drops or fails to start the courses scheduled to attend in a module that begins later in the same term (withdrawing between modules) will be considered withdrawn from the term using the last day of academically related activity.
If a student provides written confirmation at the time of their withdrawal of their intent to attend courses registered in a module that begins later in the same term (example would be an eight-week module in the term that had not yet started), they would not be considered withdrawn. If, however, the student fails to return as intended, the student would be considered withdrawn from the term and the last day of attendance or academically related activity would be the withdrawal date and the payment period would be the modules scheduled to attend at the time of the written confirmation.
Nearing the end of a module, a student absent from all courses within the module and begins attendance in the next module within the term will not be considered administratively withdrawn from the term.
William Penn University takes attendance throughout the term and therefore the student’s last day of academically related activity is used as the student’s last day of attendance.
A student who officially withdraws or is administratively withdrawn during a term may not re-enter the University until the start of the next term.
For official or administrative withdrawals (see below) from the University, all courses a student begins attendance will have a grade of a “W”.
Official Withdraw
An official withdraw is when the student notifies the University of their intent to leave school prior to completing all the days in the term they were scheduled to attend. The student should contact the Director of Financial Aid, in PAC 204 or by email.
Official notification may be in written form, via telephone, in person, or through email.
Administrative Withdraw
Students who fail to attend at least one of their courses for two consecutive calendar weeks or are asked to leave the University are considered to be administratively withdrawn from the University.
When a student has failed to attend any of their courses for two consecutive calendar weeks, the University will make every effort to contact the student in an effort to re-engage them in their courses prior to administratively withdrawing the student.
Academically related activities do not include activities where the student may be present but not academically engaged such as:
- Living in the dorms
- Participating in the school’s meal plan
- Logging into an online course without active participation
- Participating in academic counseling or advisement
- Presence in intercollegiate athletic participation courses (PHLA 150-170) or presence in fine art ensemble courses such as but not limited to Jazz Ensemble, Marching/Pep Band, William Penn Singers, and Concert Band.
Unofficial Withdraw
Indicators of an unofficial withdrawal would include, but are not limited to:
- Students registered in only one module or full term courses and do not have a passing grade in at least one course.
- Students registered in two sequential modules and do not have a passing grade in at least one course in the second module.
- Students registered in a combination of modules and full term courses and do not pass at least one full term or second module course.
All “F”, “NC”, “I” grades or a combination of “F”, “I”, “NC”, and “W” grades are not considered passing and would result in a 0.00 term grade point average and may be considered as an unofficial withdraw. A student present one of the scheduled days of final exams (see academic calendar for exam dates) would not be considered unofficially withdrawn.
Return of Title IV Funds Policy
The student’s failure to begin attendance in courses they were registered for and/or fail to submit paperwork required by the University at the time of their last day of attendance may result in an adjustment to the student’s financial aid assistance prior to completing the withdraw calculation.
The student who fails to begin attendance in any courses scheduled to attend which results in a change in enrollment status will have, if awarded, Pell, SEOG, Federal Work Study, any state, and institutional funds recalculated prior to the return calculation being performed. If the student has SEOG or Federal Work Study as part of their award, cost of attendace will be recalculated to determine if the student remains eligible for those funds prior to the return calculation being performed.
When a student withdraws, the amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive may be affected. The Return of Title IV funds to the federal government is based on a calculation which determines how much aid the student is eligible to receive and how much the student is no longer eligible for because they are no longer enrolled in school. This calculation is applicable until the student has completed more than 60% of their payment period of the term. The student’s university bill will be charged what the student is no longer eligible to receive. Title IV, HEA funds may not cover all unpaid institutional charges due to the institution upon the students withdrawal.
- A payment period for students in at least one course spanning the full term would be the full term. (Fall and spring terms = 16 weeks each; summer term is 12 weeks)
- A payment period for a student in only one module would be the length of the module (fall or spring term = 8-week modules; summer term has a 4 or an 8-week module).
- A payment period for a student in a combination of two modules would be the length of the combination (fall or spring term have two 8-week modules to equal 16 weeks; summer term has a 4 and an 8-week module to equal 12 weeks). A student who dropped all courses in the second module while attending the first module would have a payment period of the one module as described above.
Once the student has completed more than 60% of their payment period of the term, all financial aid is considered earned. Calculations are made throughout the entire payment period to determine the percent.
To calculate the percent of the payment period completed for federal financial aid funds, take the number of calendar days the student attended in their payment period for the term and divide that by the number of calendar days in the payment period for the term (less scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days). Students may need to repay financial aid that they received but did not earn since they did not complete the term.
When determining the amount of state, institutional, and outside financial aid the student is eligible to receive, the same percent used for calculating Title IV (federal) funds will be used.
Examples:
1. Student resided on campus and enrolled full-time for courses that spanned the full 16 weeks. The student, after attending all courses, withdrew from all courses on day 35. The original charges of $12,500 for tuition and $3,500 for room/board for the term total of $16,000. The funds disbursed (credited) to the student university billing account were: $1,732 Federal Direct Stafford Loan, $500 state funds, and $6,000 institutional funds on day 10 of the term. The balance due of $7,768 ($16,000- (1,732 + 500 + 6,000)) was paid in full by the student on day 20.
- There are 107 days in the payment period (16 weeks times 7 days per week = 112 less a schedule break of 5 days for Thanksgiving break).
- 35 divided by 107 = .3271; rounded to 32.7% completed of their payment period for the term.
- Apply the percentage completed, 32.7% to:
- Title IV (federal) aid disbursed: $1,732 times 32.7% = $566.36 earned and $1,165.64 charged back to the student’s university billing account and returned back to the student’s lender of the loan.
- State aid disbursed: $500 times 32.7% = $163.50 rounded to $164 earned and $336 charged back to the student’s university billing account and returned back the state authorization agency.
- Institutional aid disbursed: $6,000 times 32.7% = $1,962.00 to earned and $4,038 charged back to the student’s university billing account and returned back to the University.
- The original tuition charges of $12,500 for the term will be refunded at the rate of 50% (see “Institutional Refund Policy” section, in the Academic Catalog, for full details). The original charges of $3,500 for room/board will be refunded at a rate of 63% (see “Cost of Attendance” section, in the Academic Catalog, for full details). A total of $8,455 will be refunded back to the student’s university account for tuition and room/board.
- A credit of $2915.36 ((1,165.64 + 336 + 4,038) – $8,000) is owed back to the student.
2. Student resided off campus and enrolled half-time (six credits) for courses that only span the first 8 weeks of the term. Student, after attending all courses, withdrew from all courses on day 35. The original charges for the term were $2,250. The funds disbursed (credited) to the student’s university billing account were: $1,732 Federal Direct Stafford Loan and $500 state funds on day 10 of the term. The balance due of $18 ($2,250 – ($1,732 + 500)) was paid in full by the student on day 20.
- There are 56 days in the payment period (8 weeks times 7 days per week = 56 and there are no scheduled breaks of 5 or more days)
- 35 divided by 56 = .6250; rounded to 62.50%
- As 62.50% is over 60%, therefore no refund or return of funds is required.
- The original charge of $2,250 for the term will be refunded at the rate of 0% (see “Institutional Refund Policy” section, in the Academic Catalog, for full details).
3. Student resided off campus and enrolled six credits in the first eight-week module and six credits in the second eight-week module of the fall term. Student began attendance in the six credits in the first eight-week module and withdrew from all courses on September 25, day 35 of the term. The original charges for the term were $5,100. The funds disbursed (credited) to the student’s university billing account were: $1,933 Federal Pell and $50 Federal SEOG on day 11. The balance due of $3,117 ($5,100 – ($1,933 + $50)) was paid in full by the student on day 16.
- Since the student did not start all the courses registered for in the term, 12 credits (full-time), only began 6 credits (half-time) their Pell and SEOG will be recalculated to half-time prior to doing the return calculation.
- Federal Pell was recalculated from $1,933 to $967
- Federal SEOG was recalculated from $50 to $25
- There are 107 days in the payment period (16 weeks times 7 days per week = 112 less a schedule break of 5 days for Thanksgiving break).
- 35 divided by 107 = .3271; rounded to 32.7% completed of their payment period for the term.
- Apply the percentage completed, 32.7% to:
- Title IV (federal) aid disbursed: $992 times 32.7% = $324.38 earned and $667.62 charged back to the student’s university billing account and returned back to the Federal Pell grant program.
- The original charges of $5,100 will be adjusted to $2,550 (the six credits attended) for the term will be refunded at the rate of 0% % (see “Institutional Refund Policy” section, in the Academic Catalog, for full details).
- A credit of $891.38 ((1633.62 (1933-967+667.62) +25) – $2,550) is owed back to the student.
The University is required to perform the Title IV return calculation as soon as possible but no later than 30 days from the date of the University’s determination that the student withdrew. The date of determination is as soon as possible but no later than 14 days from the student’s last day of academically related activity.
If, according to the calculation, the student has Title IV (federal) funds that must be returned to the federal government they will be returned in the following order:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Federal PLUS (Parent) Loan
- Federal PLUS (Graduate) Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal SEOG
The University is required to return Title IV funds as soon as possible but no later than 45 days from the date of the University’s determination that the student withdrew. Grants and scholarships will be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Students will be notified, in writing, of any adjustments made.
Post Withdrawal Disbursement
If the student or parent (the parent only if there is a Parent PLUS loan) did not have all their eligible Title IV (federal) funds disbursed on to the student’s billing account prior to the student’s last day of academically related activity, they may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. Inadvertent over payments, funds disbursed to the student’s billing account after the student’s last day of academically related activity, fall in this category.
If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes federal loan funds the student is eligible for (meaning the University received a completed loan authorization form from the student and/or parent (the parent only if there is a Parent PLUS loan) and the loan was originated by the University prior to the student’s last day of academically related activity), the University must obtain the written permission by the student and/or parent (the parent only if there is a Parent PLUS loan) before the funds can be disbursed or retained in the case of an inadvertent over payment. The student and/or parent may choose to decline some or all their federal loan funds. If the student/parent fails to acknowledge the consent form, the funds will be cancelled and/or in the case of inadvertent over payment returned to the federal aid program.
William Penn University may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV (federal) grant funds for tuition, fees, room/board (if contracted with the University), and if a written permission from the student for other allowable charges (such as but not limited to prior-year charges not to exceed $200).
Refer to the Academic Catalog under “Institutional Refund Policy” for a description on adjustments to tuition and fees and refer to “Cost of Attendance” section for a description on adjustments to room and board charges.
Withdrawing Due to Active Duty
A student called to active duty, or the spouse of a member if the member has a dependent child, and needing to withdraw from all classes at William Penn University must contact the Registrar’s Office as well as the Director of Financial Aid to begin the withdraw process.
The student will receive 100% refund of the following charges: tuition, fees, room/board (if applicable).
Financial aid will be refunded as follows: 100% of all state, institutional, and outside financial assistance returned to the appropriate sources. All Title IV (federal) student financial assistance will be processed per the Return of Title IV Funds Due to Student Withdrawal Policy (see above). The student and/or parent (the parent only if there is a Parent PLUS loan), may request, in writing, to have 100% of federal funds returned. In short, you may choose not to use federal funds for the payment period which you are withdrawing from since all tuition, fees, room/board (if applicable) are being removed from your University bill.
Other Options for Active Duty
In the event that a student has completed a sufficient and significant portion of the coursework (as determined by the instructor) a grade may be assigned.
In the event that an instructor wishes to allow the student to complete the course at a later date, an incomplete, “I”, grade shall be assigned.
In no event may a student receive both a refund and a grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, or I.
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