Return of Title IV Refund Policy

The calculation of the Return to Title IV Funds is determined by the date that the student withdraws. For R2T4 purposes the student’s withdraw date is defined as:

• The date the student began North Central Missouri College’s withdrawal process; or
• The date, as determined by the school, the student otherwise notified the institution (in writing or orally) of intent to withdraw; or
• For unofficial withdrawals in general, NCMC will use the midpoint date unless it can be determined that the last date of an academically related activity provided by the instructor is beyond the 60% point in the term.

Note:  Notification of intent to withdraw is defined as written or oral notification from the student that he or she intends to withdraw from or cease to attend his or her course(s). The Registrar’s Office is the designated office that receives withdrawal notifications. Designated officials within this office are the Registrar and the Assistant Registrar. Intent to withdraw does not include informal conversations with college faculty or staff or with a designated official while they are not acting in their official capacity. Students cannot rescind their official withdrawal.

The term “Title IV Funds” includes the following programs:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Direct PLUS Parent Loan

In accordance with federal regulations, Title IV funds are returned and allocated in the following order:

1. Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
2. Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
3. Federal Direct PLUS Parent Loan
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
6. Other Title IV programs

North Central Missouri College will perform the R2T4 calculation within the regulatory timeframe and return any funds necessary to Title IV programs upon completion of the calculation.  If a student is required to repay unearned aid, NCMC will return the funds on the student’s behalf. The student will then be responsible to repay NCMC the amount of the return.

A request to leave a class after the end of the published add/drop period is considered a withdrawal. A grade of “W” is assigned in classes when students formally request a withdrawal by the deadline for a session. The withdrawal deadline is 2 weeks prior to finals week in a 16-week semester, the Thursday before the final week of a 4- or 8- week session, and the 7th weekday of an intersession class. When a student withdraws from all coursework for a term, enrollment status is changed to “Withdrawn” and the withdrawal date is entered on the Academic tab in the Student Workflow.

Students may initiate the withdrawal request by filling out the Request to Withdraw electronic  which is accessible in the myCOMPASS portal. The form populates the student’s current classes and the student can then indicate the class or classes in which he or she wishes to withdraw. 

Beginning 2011-12, the midpoint of the semester is used as the withdrawal date for students who stop attending classes without notifying NCMC.

For unofficial withdrawals in general NCMC will continue to use the midpoint date unless it can be determined that the last date of an academically related activity provided by the instructor is beyond the 60% point in the term.

Faculty members are required to submit a last date of an academically related activity for any student who fails a class. Dates are entered on the grading roster at the time final grades are submitted. The Registrar’s Office communicates with the FAO when final grades are posted for each term, session, or module. Then, the Associate Director of Financial Aid runs unofficial withdrawal reports from the Report Manager for the following groups of students:

• any student who earned all F/X/W or combination thereof;
• any student who earned all F/X/W or combination thereof, and enrolled in at least one module course and standard term course;
• any student enrolled in all modular courses who earned all F/X/W or combination thereof.

If the total amount of Title IV assistance that the student earned is greater than the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed, as of the student’s withdrawal date, the difference is treated as a PWD.

If the R2T4 calculation shows the student is entitled to a PWD of Title IV funds, NCMC will notify the student in writing no later than 30 days of the  Date of Determination (DOD) regarding the available disbursement. The student has 14 days from the date of notification to respond to the College.

If the student timely requests the funds, the Business Office will disburse the funds in the manner specified by the student. The Business Office will credit a student’s account with a PWD for current charges for tuition and fees up to the amount of outstanding charges. Any excess funds will be refunded to the student directly.

Federal grants will automatically be disbursed to the student unless written notification is received from the student, no later than 14 days of the date of notification, that the student chooses to decline the disbursement.

Direct Loan disbursements will automatically be cancelled unless written notification is received from the student, no later than 14 days of the date of notification, requesting for the disbursement to be made. Direct Loan PLUS Parent loan disbursements will also be cancelled unless written notification is received from the parent borrower within the same 14-day timeframe requesting for the disbursement to be made.

In the event that the student responds after 14 days of the date that the notification was sent, NCMC reserves the right to decide whether or not to make a PWD. If the College decides not to make this PWD, it will inform the student in writing.

View NCMC’s Cost of Attendance (COA)

After the R2T4 calculation is completed, NCMC is required to return the lesser of the unearned aid percentage applied to institutional charges or the unearned aid percentage applied to the total.

Once the College returns the correct amount of aid, any amount of the total unearned aid that remains, becomes the student portion of the R2T4. The student portion of the R2T4 is calculated by subtracting the amount of the College’s return from the total unearned aid.

Usually, the student is required to pay the difference between the amount of unearned aid and the amount returned by NCMC. However, the College will also return the student’s portion of unearned aid and will then bill the student directly for any account balance created when the Title IV aid is returned.

Once the R2T4 calculation has been completed, the Associate Director will ensure the unearned aid is returned no later than 45 days from the date of determination.

Additionally, the Associate Director will notify the student of the results of the calculation and the aid that was returned through a letter in the mail. Along with the letter, a statement will also be sent, of any outstanding balance now due to the College as a result of the adjustment to the student’s Title IV aid.

Unearned Title IV funds are returned on behalf of the student and the returned funds are considered a debt to NCMC. After all unearned aid has been returned and a balance is created on the student’s account, the student must contact Student Accounts to pay their outstanding bill or set up a payment plan. Stops will be placed on their account that will prevent them from enrolling in future courses and from receiving an official transcript. General payments are applied to the oldest charges first. Details about payment options, hours, and locations can be found on NCMC’s Cost and Refunds webpage.

Federal regulations outline the timeframes for return and disbursement of Title IV aid as follows:

• No later than 30 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, perform the Return of Title IV Funds calculation
  • For an official withdrawal, the date of determination of the withdrawal date is the same as the withdrawal date.
  • For an unofficial withdrawal, the date of determination of withdrawal must be made no later than 30 days after the end of the payment period.
• No later than 30 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, notify the student if there is a post-withdrawal disbursement due to the student of loan funds or grant funds, if applicable.
• No later than 45 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, return the school and/or student owed funds to the appropriate Title IV program account.
• No later than 45 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, pay a student a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds
• No later than 180 days of the date of determination of the withdrawal date, pay a student a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds, if student requested funds within 14 days of notification by the school of their availability.

NCMC has not adopted a formal policy regarding Title IV-approved leaves of absence.