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Withdrawals

Withdrawal from Vanderbilt University


Students who withdraw from Vanderbilt University will have their tuition and fees adjusted according to the applicable Tuition and Fee Refund Policy published by the Office of Student Accounts. Students who received financial assistance for their enrollment period will have their financial aid award revised according to federal, institutional, organizational and/or state regulations and/or policies associated with the funding type received.

Return of Federal Title IV Funds

Federal regulations require a specific refund calculation for all students receiving Federal Title IV funds. The length of time during which a refund must be calculated is up to 60 percent of the payment period (semester/term). If a student withdraws on or before the 60 percent point in time, a portion of the Federal Title IV funds awarded to a student (Pell Grant, SEOG,  Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized loans, Federal Direct Parent or Graduate PLUS Loans) must be returned, in accordance with the provisions of the Higher Education Act, as amended. The return of these funds may result in the student owing a balance to the University and/or to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Vanderbilt University Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships (OSFA) is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period. When a student receives failing, incomplete, or missing grades for a term, they may be considered to have unofficially withdrawn (stop attending/drop out) without proper notification. If this is verified by Vanderbilt University, a calculated portion of the student's Title IV aid will be returned according to federal regulations. This may result in the student owing a balance to Vanderbilt University.

Aid awarded through the Federal Title IV Student Financial Aid programs must be recalculated in these situations. The recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV Funds formula:

Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student may be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, this may create a balance due to Vanderbilt.

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to their student account, the institution may owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 120 days of the student's withdrawal.


The return of federal funds is allocated in the following order:

Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
Subsidized Federal direct Loans
Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans
Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
Federal Pell Grants
Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grants
Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants
TEACH Grants
State or Scholarship Programs where a return is required

 Return of Vanderbilt Funds

The Vanderbilt University Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships (OSFA) will recalculate institutional financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, stop attending (unofficial withdrawal) or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The percentage for the adjustment will follow the Tuition and Fee Refund policy as published by the Office of Student Accounts. Students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, stop attending (unofficial withdrawal) or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term will receive a revised Award Notification from the OSFA.