Return of Funds Policy

Students are encouraged to read this policy carefully and contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions or concerns

Students who are considering withdrawing from classes should contact the Financial Aid Office to see how discontinuing enrollment or withdrawal will affect their current award and future financial aid eligibility.

Students who discontinue enrollment and/or do not successfully complete all Pell Grant eligible classes of a semester (aka term or payment period), i.e Fall 2021, will have their semester award recalculated based on the percent of the semester completed. 

 This policy applies to all students receiving financial aid who discontinue enrollment from Pell Grant eligible classes and/or fail all Pell Grant eligible classes in an enrollment term or are expelled from Stanly Community College. 

Discontinued enrollment is flagged by a withdrawal grade, “W”. The financial aid earned is based on the last date of academically related activity or published notification from the student requesting a class withdrawal.

Withdrawal grades are assigned if a student:

• Requests a withdrawal prior to the last date to withdraw, or
• has consecutive week(s) of absences, or
• is not meeting the requirements of the course.

Module Classes:

Classes that are 14-week, 12-week, 8-week or 4-week in length during an enrollment term are considered “Modules” and are included in the Return of Title IV funds calculation. 

Modules that are dropped before the student withdraws are not considered part of the Return to Title IV calculation; however the semester Pell award will be recalculated which may produce a balance due for the change in enrollment status.

Also, if the student withdraws from one Module but plans to attend a later module, they must provide written confirmation of intent (Intent to Enroll form) to attend the later module to avoid a Return of Title IV funds calculation.  

Exception:  Beginning on September 2, 2020, if a student successfully completes one or more modules that comprise 49% or more of the number of days in the term, they are not considered withdrawn for the purposes of determining Return of Title IV funds.

Return to Title IV Calculation:

Based on the last date of academic activity in the semester:

a)  The percentage of Title IV aid earned shall be calculated as follows:

Number of days completed by student divided by the 

Total number of calendar days in semester     

Equals the Percent of semester completed   

The percent of the semester completed is the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the student.                   

Note: The total number of calendar days in a term of enrollment excludes any scheduled breaks of more than five days.

b)  The percentage of Title IV aid Unearned (to be returned) is the 100% minus the percent of the earned aid.

c)   Unearned Title IV aid is returned to the following programs in the following order:

1.  Federal Pell Grant                                                        
2.  Federal SEOG         
3.  Other Title IV grant programs

d)  The Unearned aid percentage is applied to the semester institutional charges, i.e. tuition, fees and bookstore charges.

e)  When the total amount of unearned aid produces a balance due, the student is responsible for the amount due and if not paid will be subject to the Business Office collection policy.

Letters will be sent to the student’s home address on file with the Office of Records and Registration following withdrawal.

Institutional and student responsibility as it relates to the Return of Title IV Funds.

a)  SCC’s responsibilities regarding Return of Title IV funds include: 

1. identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the return of Title IV funds calculation for those students;
2. returning Title IV funds to the Department of Education.

b) The student’s responsibilities in regard to the return of Title IV funds include: 

1. becoming familiar with the Return of Title IV policy and how discontinuation of class enrollment or withdrawal affects eligibility for Title IV aid and Satisfactory Academic Progression;
2. returning unearned Title IV funds that were disbursed directly to the student as a result of the return of Title IV funds calculation.