Withdrawal and Title IV Federal Funds Review
If you withdraw, either officially or unofficially, from all classes before completing the term and have received Title IV federal funds, we are required to review your eligibility for those funds. Using a federally mandated formula, we will determine how much of the federal funding was “earned” up to the time of your withdrawal. Any Title IV funds disbursed in excess of your “earned” amount must be returned to the federal government. Withdrawing before completing 60% of the term will result in the return of a portion of your federal financial aid. This process, known as a “Return of Title IV Aid,” may require us to revise your financial aid offer to reflect the results of this review.
Determining Aid Earned
To calculate the amount of aid you earned, the Office of Financial Aid will determine the percentage of the term you attended based on one of the following:
- The date you, or an administrator, withdrew from all classes (official withdrawal), or
- The last date of academically related activity if you stopped attending all classes without officially withdrawing or notifying DePaul, resulting in FX grades (unofficial withdrawal).
This percentage is then applied to your institutional costs and the total federal funds you received (disbursed directly to your student account and possibly refunded to you) or were eligible to receive. This calculation determines the amount of aid you are allowed to keep.
We are required to return any unearned Title IV aid to the federal government within 45 days of determining your withdrawal.
Returned Title IV Aid Allocation
Returned financial aid funds are reduced and returned in the following order:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Federal TEACH Grant