Return of Title IV Funds

The Federal Government has established a Return of Title IV Funds policy. Financial aid is awarded to students contingent upon attending their classes for the term and successfully completing the semester. If the student fails to do this, they may be responsible for repaying part or all of their financial aid.

A student receiving federal financial aid (Title IV Funds) may have their financial aid adjusted based on their date of official or unofficial withdraw. Title IV Funds consist of Federal Direct Loans, Pell Grants, and SEOG Grants. EICC will return Title IV funds to the Department of Education for students who withdraw before the 60% point in any given semester.

These refunds will be made to the appropriate federal programs according to CFT Section 668-22.

Official and Unofficial Withdrawals


A student is considered to have withdrawn if they do not complete all of the days they were scheduled to complete within the semester. The determination of a withdrawal depends upon the original dates they enrolled in for the semester. 

There are two types of withdrawals: official withdrawals or unofficial withdrawals.

A student is considered to have officially withdrawn when they follow the college’s defined process to withdraw from classes. A complete withdrawal is defined as dropping all classes for a given semester. A student’s official withdrawal date is defined as:

  1. The date the student signs and turns into the registration office a drop card OR
  2. The date the registration office receives a written letter, fax, or email from the student requesting to be withdrawn from all classes OR
  3. The date a student phones the registration office requesting to be withdrawn from all classes OR
  4. The date the student withdraws from all classes on the E-Bridge system

A student is considered to have unofficially withdrawn when:

  1. The student does not complete the official withdrawal process AND
  2. All of the student’s instructors report that the student is no longer attending classes.

A student’s unofficial withdrawal date is defined as: The midpoint (50%) of the semester, unless the financial aid office is able to document attendance beyond the midpoint of the semester. The time frame for midpoint may differ for students enrolled in shortened sessions and/or summer courses.

An unofficial withdrawal will result in all F’s being recorded on your academic transcript.

Consequences for Withdrawal and Financial Aid


A student who officially withdraws earns aid based on the number of calendar days they attended. Earned aid is calculated from the beginning for the semester until the official withdrawal date, up to the point that 60% of the semester has passed. (Scheduled breaks that are at least five days long are excluded from determining the percentage of the term completed.) After the 60% point, all aid is considered earned.

The Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be performed according to federal regulations by taking the “Nth” calendar day of the term that the student officially withdraws divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester (excluding breaks of 5 days or longer).

The time frame for the 60% point of the semester may differ for students enrolled in shortened sessions and/or summer school.

For unofficial withdrawals the Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be performed according to federal regulations by using the mid-point of the semester (50% point) unless the financial aid office is able to document attendance beyond the midpoint of the semester (excluding breaks of 5 days or longer).

Procedure for Repaying the US Government


If it is determined through the Return of Title IV Funds calculation that the student owes a repayment of grant funds to the US Government, they will remain ineligible for federal and state aid until they resolve the repayment. In addition, if the student owes a balance on their account at EICC due to this calculation, they must pay their balance due before future registration.

The student must contact the business office within 45 days of receiving written notification of their repayment obligation. If they do not contact the business office, they could be turned over to the Department of Education for collection. The student will remain ineligible for federal or state aid until the college receives notification from the Department of Education that they have reestablished their eligibility.