REFUND POLICIES

• Tuition deposits and application fees are non-refundable.

• Room deposits are non-refundable except in cases of academic dismissal or excessive financial burden.

• Refund of all tuition and fee payments, other than nonrefundable deposits, is allowed for those students who officially notify the Office of Student Records that they will not be attending before the first day of classes.

• On or after the first day of the semester, refunds will be issued on cancellations, withdrawals, and adjustments that have been properly filed in writing in the Student Records Office. The effective date of these changes will be the date on which the form is received by the office. If done by letter, it is recommended to send the notice by certified/return receipt mail.

• Refund of residence hall payments, other than nonrefundable deposits, is allowed for those students who officially notify the Director of Residence Life of their non-residence status prior to the first day of the residence contract. Any student whose contract for residence is accepted and who, thereafter, voluntarily changes to another residence not under the supervision of the College, but who continues to attend the College as a full-time student will remain obligated for the entire semester’s room and board charge. Any student whose contract for residence accommodations is accepted and who, thereafter, officially withdraws from the College as a full-time student may receive a refund in accordance with the institutional refund schedule. A resident who breaks the yearly contract between semesters will be assessed a $300 contract breakage fee.

• If the financial aid awards exceed the institutional charges for the semester, a refund of the excess funds is processed within 14 days of the credit balance being created. Students will be notified via Hilbert College email when their refund check will be available. Checks that are not picked up within seven days are mailed. Refunds resulting from Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans are made payable to the parent borrower, and are mailed directly to the parent.

• Full-time and part-time students who completely or partially withdraw during the first four weeks of the semester are granted an adjustment in tuition charges according to the following schedule.

INSTITUTIONAL REFUND SCHEDULE

Notice: After the end of the drop/add period, no adjustments are made for partial withdrawals of full-time students.

FEDERAL REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO REFUNDS/REPAYMENTS OF FEDERAL (TITLE IV) AID

All schools that participate in any of the Federal Title IV financial aid programs must determine how much Title IV aid a student has received and not earned at the time of withdrawal, as well as how much of the aid has to be returned and by whom. The amount of aid earned is calculated on a pro rata basis through 60 percent of the payment period.

For students enrolled in 8 week modules, a student must successfully complete 49% of the days in the payment period to avoid a return of federal funds.

RETURN OF UNEARNED MILITARY TUITION ASSISTANCE (TA)

If Military Tuition Assistance funds are used to pay for your education and you officially or unofficially withdraw from a course prior to completing 60% of the course, the Department of Defense requires that Hilbert College return any unearned TA funds to the department based on how much of the course you completed.

Unearned TA funds will be returned on a prorated basis through at least the 60% portion of the period for which the funds were provided.  The percentage of TA earned equals the days completed before withdrawal, divided by the total number of days in the course.  In cases where Tuition Assistance funds are returned to the military, you will be responsible for any balance on your Hilbert College student account.

If you withdrew due to a military service obligation, you may be eligible for an exception.

RETURN OF FUNDS FORMULA

There are six basic steps to the formula for calculating the amount of funds that must be returned to the Title IV programs.

1. Determine date of withdrawal and percentage of payment period attended by the student. A student’s withdrawal date is one of the following: The date the student began the withdrawal process prescribed by the institution;
   • The date the student otherwise gave (in writing or orally) official notification to the institution of his or her intent to withdraw;
   • If the student never began the withdrawal process or otherwise gave notice of intent to withdraw, the midpoint of the payment period or period of enrollment or the student’s last day of academically related activity if it can document the student’s attendance;
   • If the student did not begin the withdrawal process or otherwise give notification (including notice from someone acting on the student’s behalf) to the institution of the intent to withdraw because of
   • Circumstances beyond the student’s control (e.g., illness, accident, grievous personal loss, etc), the date based on the circumstances related to the withdrawal;
   • If a student who was granted an approved leave of absence fails to return from the leave of absence, the date the institution determines the approved leave of absence began; or
   • If a student takes an unapproved leave of absence, the date the student began the unapproved leave of absence.

2. Calculate amount of Title IV aid earned by the student.

3. Compare amount earned and amount disbursed to determine amount of unearned.

4. If amount earned is greater than amount disbursed, determine late disbursement.

5. If amount earned is less than amount disbursed, determined amount of Title IV aid that must be returned.

6. Calculate portion of funds to be returned by institution and student. A student who owes a grant repayment remains ineligible for further Title IV assistance until the grant is repaid, unless the student and the institution agree on satisfactory repayment arrangements.

The following is the refund distribution schedule:

• Unsubsidized FFEL/Direct Stafford Loan

• Subsidized FFEL/Direct Stafford Loan

• Federal Perkins Loan

• FFEL/Direct PLUS

• PELL Grant

• Federal SEOG

• Other Title IV Programs

Examples of these refund calculations are available in the Student Finance Office.

STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY

Prior to leaving the institution, the student should seek both academic and financial advisement. After completing the official withdrawal form (available in Self-Service under Student Record Forms), the student’s record will be processed using the date of withdrawal. If the student does not officially withdraw, yet ceases to attend all his/her registered classes for the semester, the faculty will provide the last date of attendance. The student’s record will be processed using this last date of attendance if it surpasses the midpoint of the semester. If the student receives a check from the institution as a result of financial aid/loans exceeding the tuition costs and withdraws, the student may be responsible to repay a portion of that refund to the Title IV programs. The institution will review the refund in proportion to the length of attendance and determine what the student needs to repay.

INSTITUTION’S RESPONSIBILITY

After determining that a student receiving Title IV funds has withdrawn (officially or unofficially), the institution will process the appropriate refund calculation as mandated by the Federal regulations. The resulting action will be summarized and notice of this action will be mailed to the student. If the student must repay a portion of the refund received prior to the withdrawal, the institution will notify the student of the liability.

The institution will perform due diligence in securing the monies to return to the Title IV programs. This action will disqualify further Title IV funding until the monies are returned as requested. The institution will respond to any questions or concerns regarding this regulation.