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Financial Aid Policies and Procedures

Financial Aid Refund and Repayment

When a student who is receiving financial aid withdraws from or drops classes for any reason, the resulting refund, credit, or cancellation of tuition, fees, dormitory charges, or meal plan charges must be credited first to the financial aid programs from which the student was receiving funds for that semester. The amount credited to each financial aid program is determined by the type of aid received, the number of credits the student had before and after the drop or withdrawal, the length of time the student was enrolled, and the amount of any adjustment to charges.

Please note that to officially withdraw from classes, a student must withdraw via the Web, or file for withdrawal with the Office of the Registrar/Bursar.

Federal Financial Aid Recipients Who Withdraw From All Classes:

Graduate and Professional Federal Title IV financial aid includes: Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loans and Federal Work Study. For students who withdraw from all classes for a semester, federal regulations require that the Financial Aid Office perform the Return to Title IV Funds calculation.

If the student has withdrawn within the first 60 percent of the semester, the student is considered to have "earned" the portion of disbursable Title IV funds equal to the ratio of the number of days the student was enrolled to the number of days in the semester. The calculation will require the return of all federal aid that exceeds the "earned" portion. The amount of aid returned to each program is dictated by the federal calculation.

The Return to Title IV Funds calculation also determines the amount of awarded but not yet disbursed aid, if any, that can be credited to the student's account. Students may not apply for additional federal aid after withdrawing from all classes.

If a return of funds is required, it must be distributed to the various financial aid programs in the following order prescribed by law:

  1. Federal Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan
  2. Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

Note that in certain circumstances a student may be required to repay a portion of a refund back to the federal government.

Federal Financial Aid Recipients Who Withdraw Below Six Credits

The Procedure Varies By Program

Federal Work Study: A student working under the FWS program who drops or withdraws below six credits must stop working immediately because he/she no longer meets the federal guidelines for FWS.

Direct Stafford Loans, and Plus Loans: If a student receives a refund, credit, or cancellation of any institutional charges and a loan has been disbursed to the student's account, an adjustment may be required. If a loan has yet to be disbursed, loan eligibility may change. In addition, any undisbursed second disbursement of a Direct Stafford Loan or Direct PLUS Loan must be cancelled.

All Federal Aid: Students may not apply for or be awarded additional federal aid after withdrawing below six credits.

Federal Financial Aid Recipients Who Drop Below the Level of Enrollment for Which the Aid Was Originally Awarded, But Who Remain Enrolled for at Least Six Credits

The Procedure Varies By Program:

Direct Stafford Loans, and Direct Plus Loans: If a student receives a refund, credit, or cancellation of any institutional charges an adjustment to these programs may be required to eliminate an over award.

Recipients of Pace University Scholarships and Grants Who Withdraw From Any Classes

If a student withdraws from any classes and receives a refund, credit, or cancellation of tuition, fees, dormitory charges or meal plan charges, any university aid the student has received that is applicable to the reduced charges will be adjusted if the withdrawal resulted in the student being enrolled in fewer than the minimum required number of credits for the type(s) of aid received. Most University scholarships and awards are applicable to tuition; other types of University aid are applicable to other combinations of charges. The amount of each type of aid reduced will equal the ratio of the reduced charges to the original charges.

In all cases, students who are considering withdrawing from classes may call or visit the Financial Aid Office for further details or to discuss their particular situation.