Financial Assistance Withdrawal Policy

You've worked hard to save for a college education. Tuition Insurance protects your financial investment in education. Should a student unexpectedly need to withdraw before a semester ends, we will completely reimburse costs for tuition, housing, and other feeds as outlined in your policy. Learn more about how Tuition Insurance works.

Official Withdrawal

Withdrawing from all courses is considered withdrawing from the University. If you withdraw before classes begin or do not have any federal aid please refer to the Student Accounts Withdrawal and Refund Policy. If you withdraw before 60% of the semester is complete (approximately 8-9 weeks into the semester) and you have received federal (Title IV), state and/or institutional, then your financial aid award will be recalculated, according to the percentage of the semester you completed. The Federal Title IV formula for calculating this percentage is:

(Days enrolled) – (Official breaks of five days or longer) = Total number of class days in the semester

Unofficial Withdrawal

If a student stops attending classes without notifying the University, we will be required to recalculate your federal (Title IV), state and/or institutional using the last date of an academically related activity in which the student participated, as documented by the student's instructor(s). If our office is unable to obtain the last date of an academically related activity, we will be required to recalculate your federal (Title IV), state and/or institutional, using the midpoint of the semester. If our office is notified that a student is a "No Show" for the semester, then the student has earned 0% of their federal, state and institutional financial aid.

If the Office of Student Financial Assistance is required to return funds to federal loan programs the student could have remaining institutional charges for the term.

Returning Aid

If you have been awarded Title IV (federal), state or institutional aid, OR you withdraw before completing 60% of the semester, some portion of your financial aid award must be returned. The above formula determines what portion of the aid must be returned and the table below indicates the order in which the aid is returned.

Refunds to Federal Title IV Programs are made in this order:

  1. Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
  2. Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
  3. Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
  4. Federal Parent PLUS Loan
  5. Federal Pell Grant
  6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
  7. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
  8. Other federal sources of aid
  9. Other state, private or institutional aid

It is important to discuss withdrawal and refund on an individual basis, as well as its implications for federal student loan repayment and future eligibility for financial assistance. If you wish to discuss your specific concerns further or have special circumstances that need to be addressed, please contact our office at 203-371-7980.

Classes Offered in Modules

Modules are courses that do not span the entire payment period (semester); an example of module courses is two 8-week classes within a 16-week semester.   

When does R2T4 Apply:

Student does not complete all the scheduled days on which Title IV aid was based in the payment period or period of enrollment and does not:

  • complete graduation requirements 
  • successfully complete a module or combination of modules that include at least 49 percent of the countable days in the payment period or period of enrollment  (however if a student has a pell grant it will be adjusted based on enrollment status) 
  • successfully complete at least half-time coursework