Refund Policies

Reductions in Charges and Financial Aid, including Federal Student Aid

The following programs are exempted from this policy because they are not federal aid eligible programs, their charges are not posted per semester, and adjustments are according to their program agreements:

• Professionals Programs
• Certificate Programs
• English as a Second Language Training
• Non-Degree Guest Students

Withdrawal Exemptions (No R2T4 Required) A student is not considered to have withdrawn for federal aid purposes, and no “Return of Title IV Funds” (R2T4) calculation is required, if they meet any of the following criteria:

• Graduation: The student completes all requirements for graduation from their program before the end of the period.

Because MIU programs are offered in modules (sequential blocks of coursework within a semester), students may be exempt from a formal R2T4 calculation if they meet the following criteria

• Half-Time Completion: The student successfully completes semester credits totaling at least ½ time (6 credits for undergraduates / 4 credits for graduate programs).
• The 49% Rule: The student successfully completes one course (or a combination of courses) that spans at least 49% of the number of days in the payment period.

Note: In these cases, aid may still be recalculated based on enrollment status changes (e.g., dropping from full-time to half-time), but the formal withdrawal process does not apply.

For example, if an undergraduate student enrolls for 18 credits and stops after completing 6 credits, the semester charges and aid are recalculated for ½ time enrollment:

*The cash refund received by the student may be retained up to the amount already received if the loan was disbursed before the change.

**If the recalculated charges and aid result in a lower allowable refund than the student already received, the student must repay the exceeded refund amount to the University because the reduced loan amount will be returned by MIU to the federal source.

Semester Reductions: University Withdrawal (R2T4 Process Applies)

If the above criteria are not met (Withdrawal Exemptions) the semester charges (tuition, fees, housing, and meals) are reduced or recalculated (as is financial aid, including federal aid) in proportion to the time attended. For example, a student may be scheduled to attend 120 days of the semester, but stops after 20 days (16.6%):

NOTE: The reduction and return of federal funds often results in a balance due to the University. In the example above, the student’s initial $2,000 cash refund was based on full-time enrollment. Because the withdrawal reduced earned aid to only $413, the student is responsible for repaying the $1,587 difference to MIU Student Accounts. This occurs because the University must return the unearned portion of the loans to the federal source. Any unearned loan amounts not returned by MIU on the student’s behalf remain the student’s responsibility to repay according to the terms of their promissory note.

*The Federal Pell Grant must be reduced prior to the application of the % time attended if the student attended less than full time credits, then the federal grants and loans are earned by the student in proportion to the % of time attended, grants first, loans second (detailed below).

** If the student received a portion of the refund allotted for full time enrollment and later stops attending, the student is responsible for repaying the University for the funds received in excess of the funds which were earned.

University Withdrawal: Ceasing Participation

The university withdrawal process begins when a student ceases to attend a course before completing that course, and there is no written confirmation of the student’s intent to attend an additional course which starts within 45 days that semester, or a student fails to begin attendance in a course for which the student was scheduled where there was no prior notification about changing the scheduled semester enrollment. The Registrar Office monitors student attendance through regular reports by professors and course administrators for students who are scheduled to attend a course and are not present. Both the professor or course administrator and the Registrar official will attempt to contact the student about the student’s intent for that course and for the rest of that semester. Unless the student provides written intent to continue to attend a later course which starts within 45 days that semester, the student’s status becomes “university withdrawal:”

• The last date of participation is the official withdrawal date.
• The last date of participation must be documented by the University from its own records of any academic participation (a student’s statement of intent to withdraw or about the last date of attendance is not sufficient).

The Registrar’s official provides documentation, along with any relevant communication with the student and professor, to the Financial Aid Office for the withdrawal calculation (potential reductions in charges and financial aid, including federal aid):

• The Financial Aid Office determines the percentage of time completed, i.e., by the number of days completed divided the number of days in the enrollment period.
• The number of days in the enrollment period is determined by the student’s pre-semester portal view, which lists the semester courses, credits, dates, charges, and itemizes financial aid (including federal aid) for the semester.
• The enrollment period is from the first date of the first class in the semester to the last day of the last class, not including any scheduled breaks of five or more days.
• The days completed is determined as the number of calendar days from the start of the first course for that student in that semester to the last day completed (if multiple sequential blocks are started and stopped, those unattended days are also excluded).
• The semester charges (and financial aid, including federal aid; see below) are recalculated to be the percentage of time attended multiplied by the original semester charges (and financial aid; see below). After 60% there is no reduction.

Enrollment Period - Modular School

Before the withdrawal from a course, the scheduled semester courses define the start date and ending date for the semester. Any scheduled breaks of five or more days are excluded. The total number of days constitutes the length of the enrollment period.

If the student notifies the Registrar of a reduced or increased class schedule before the withdrawal date (or, for a completed block, before the last date of that course that block), this requires a reset of semester charges and financial aid, including federal aid, based on the new credit load, with a new period of enrollment prior to a university withdrawal calculation.

Days Completed

The days completed are from the first date of the enrollment period to the first withdrawal date and if there is a break of five or more days, then again from the next attended block course starting date to the second withdrawal date.

Example: Student enrolls in four thirty-day blocks for one semester with no scheduled breaks of five or more days: 120 days in the semester. The student completes 20 days in the first block then stops and provides written confirmation of intent to skip the second block and attend the third block. After ten days of the third block, the student stops participating and provides no confirmation of intent to participate in the third block. The student attended 20 days in the first block and ten days in the third block for a total of 30 days completed out of 120-day semester, or 25% of the semester.

Reductions Due to Withdrawal

Reductions in Federal Pell Grants - Prior to the Withdrawal Calculation

Prior to the calculation of reduction of charges (or of financial aid, including federal aid), if a student has a Federal Pell Grant, it must be reduced to the earned amount as of the withdrawal point, based on the number of credits attempted.

Reductions in University Charges and Scholarships

The calculated percentage completed is applied to university charges and scholarships as they exist in the university’s accounting system at the time of withdrawal for the applicable enrollment period.

Reductions and Return of Federal Student Aid

The total amount of semester federal aid (except Federal Work Study) that was disbursed or could have been disbursed (if all the requirements had been met) multiplied by the percent completed is equal to the earned federal aid, and the remainder is unearned.

If the earned federal aid was not disbursed at the time of withdrawal but could have been disbursed because all the requirements had been met, the University will contact the student to provide the opportunity for the student to approve the disbursement of the earned federal loans.

The quantity of disbursed federal aid that the University must reduce and return to the U.S. Department of Education is the lesser of:

• The total federal aid the student did not earn; or
•  The unearned portion of the student’s original institutional charges

The reduction and return is prioritized as follows:

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans (Parent or Graduate)
• Federal Pell Grants
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)

Deadlines for Returning Funds and Notifications

• Return of Funds: Unearned Title IV funds will be returned as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after the date the school determined the student withdrew.
• Post-Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD) Notification: The University will notify the student (or parent for PLUS loans) of eligibility for a PWD of loan funds within 30 days of the determination date. Grant funds will be disbursed within 45 days of the determination date.
• Student Response Time: the student will be given at least 14 days from the date of the notification to accept or decline a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds.
• Withdrawal Date Determination: For “unofficial” withdrawals, the University will determine the withdrawal date within 14 days of the last day of attendance, or within 30 days of the end of the period if the LDA is a the end of the semester. For official withdrawals the Date of Determination is the date the student begins the institution’s official withdrawal process.

Withdrawal Procedures and Financial Responsibility

• How to Withdraw: To begin the official withdrawal process, students must submit notification to the Registrar’s Office. This can be done in person at the office or via email at withdrawals@miu.edu.
• Financial Impacts The reduction and return of federal funds may result in a balance due to the University for which the student is responsible. If a student receives a refund of federal student loans for personal expenses prior to withdrawing, they are typically eligible to keep those funds and repay them according to the terms of their promissory note. However, this only applies if the disbursed unearned federal aid is less than the amount of aid the college was required to return.
• Notification of Changes The University will provide the student with a revised award letter showing the recalculated charges and aid. This communication will include an explanation of any subsequent actions the student must take to resolve an outstanding balance or overpayment.