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Treatment of Title IV Aid When Students Withdraw

Federal law specifies how Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance a student has earned when they withdraw from the university. All federal aid programs (Title IV) are covered by this law, but please note that many state and private aid funds also require a pro-ration calculation if a student withdraws before the end of a term.

When a student withdraws before the end of a term, the amount of Title IV program assistance that student has earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If less assistance disbursed to a student’s account than the formula determines they earned, the student may still be able to receive those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than the earned at the time of withdrawal, the excess funds must be returned by SCSU and/or the student.

The following is the order in which Title IV funds are returned if applicable:

After the excess funds have been returned from the above Title IV funds, the non-Title IV fund grant earned amount will be calculated, if applicable. These include:

The amount of assistance that a student has earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if 30% of a student's period of enrollment was completed, the student earns 30% of the assistance the they were originally scheduled to receive. Once a student has completed more than 60% of the period of enrollment though, they've earned all the assistance that was scheduled for that period.

If a student did not receive all of the funds that the student earned, they may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the student's post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, SCSU must get the student's permission before it can disburse them. A student may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that the student does not incur additional debt. SCSU may automatically use all or a portion of the student's post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and housing and food charges (as contracted with the school). SCSU needs the student's permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that a student must return is called an overpayment. A student must make arrangements with SCSU or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. 

If a student plans on withdrawing from all courses for a semester, the student should download the withdrawal form from the OneStop forms page and submit it to the Registrar's Office. The student will be responsible to pay any outstanding balance that the student may owe to the university.

SCSU is required to perform the withdrawal calculation for students who decide to stop attending classes and never officially withdraw from the university. SCSU will determine the last date the student attended and perform the withdrawal calculation. If the student did not attend any of the classes, SCSU is required to return all of the funds. SCSU is required to return the unearned funds within 45 days from the date SCSU has determined the student has withdrawn.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when the student withdraws are separate from any refund policy that SCSU may have. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to SCSU to cover unpaid institutional charges. SCSU may also charge the student for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. For additional information, please see our Title IV Withdrawal page.