Withdrawing (Dropping All of Your Courses)

Official:

If you provide official notification of withdrawal, based on the requirements of the official withdrawal policy, you are considered to have officially withdrawn. For more information on the official policy, please refer to the Official University Withdrawal Policy.

Unofficial:

A student who does not officially withdraw, is considered to have withdrawn for the term if the student ceased attendance in all scheduled courses without completing all of the days in the period. Federal Title IV financial aid recipients who receive all “F” or a combination of “F” and “W” grades for the term are considered to have unofficially withdrawn from the University. There are special requirements for students enrolled in modules.

Students Enrolled in Short Courses (Modules)

Students enrolled in modules are considered withdrawn if they do not complete all of the scheduled days in a module that was used to determine the student’s eligibility for federal aid. Students are not considered withdrawn if:

• The student successfully completes one module or a combination of modules that contain at least 49% of days within the payment period. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or P
• The student successfully completes coursework that represents half-time enrollment. Successful completion is defined as earning a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or P

Students who meet at least one of the above criteria will be granted a R2T4 exemption and no adjustments to their federal aid will occur.

If a student returns to a later module within the same term, the student is treated as if they did not cease attendance. The Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be reversed.

Federal regulations require that you begin attendance in your courses to establish eligibility for the funds. The University is required to document that attendance began in courses where you drop, withdraw, or receive an “F” grade. Your program will be asked to document that attendance had begun. If attendance cannot be confirmed of any courses, all aid will be canceled for the term. If attendance is confirmed for some courses, but not all courses, aid may be reduced.

If you are planning to withdraw (drop all of our courses), it is recommended that you meet with a Financial Aid Advisor prior to withdrawing to discuss how it will impact your aid, and your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status.

In addition to notifying your program that you are withdrawing, you must complete the appropriate Registrar’s withdrawal form. Subsequently, meet with a Financial Aid Advisor to discuss loan repayment strategies, as well as, obtain the Financial Aid Advisor's signature on the withdrawal form.

Watch for a letter from our office notifying you of the amount that you'll need to pay back to the University.​

The University will apply the Return to Title IV Aid (R2T4) calculation to determine the earned and unearned portions of federal Title IV aid. The calculated amount of unearned aid depends on the amount of time you spent enrolled in the course(s).

The University will calculate the percentage of federal Title IV aid earned as follows:

The number of days attended is determined by counting the number of days that have passed from the beginning of your enrollment period and your withdrawal date. However, the number of days attended will exclude any scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days, such as fall or spring break.

If your withdrawal is official, the withdrawal date is date that you began the official withdrawal process. If your withdrawal is unofficial, your withdrawal date is the last date of any “academically related activity” in any of your courses, which are provided by your instructors.

Up through the 60% point in the term, a pro rata schedule is used to determine the amount of federal Title IV financial aid you earned at the time of withdrawal. If you withdraw up through the 60% point in the term in which federal Title IV aid was disbursed, you will be required to return all or a portion of the financial aid disbursed for the term. This applies to both official and unofficial withdrawals. The Bursar’s Office will bill your account for the amount owed. For example, if you complete 40% of the course, you will have earned 40% of the aid that disbursed.

If you withdraw after the 60% point in the term in which aid was disbursed, you will earn 100% of the federal Title IV aid. You will not be required to pay back federal Title IV aid.

Allocation of federal aid to be returned:

Once the amount of federal Title IV aid to be returned has been determined, it is returned by reducing aid received during the term from which you withdrew. Work-Study aid will be reduced to the amount that you earned during the current, and previous terms if applicable. Reduced aid will be allocated to the aid programs in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Direct Loans
• Subsidized Direct Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

All returns of federal aid will be performed no later than 45 calendar days after the school has determined that you have withdrawn.​

The University will also determine the earned and unearned portions of any state or institutional aid. This calculation is separate from the Return of Title IV (R2T4) aid calculation. You will be required to repay state and institutional aid based on your withdrawal date.

Pre-census:

If you withdraw on or before the census date, you will be required to return all state and/or institutional aid received for the term. The Bursar’s Office  will bill your account for the amount owed.

Under certain circumstances, you may begin the withdrawal process before funds have been disbursed to your student account. In this case, the University will apply the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation using funds that “could have been disbursed” to determine the earned amount of federal Title IV aid that could have been disbursed.

As a result of this calculation, if the R2T4 calculation determines that you earned any Pell Grant, FSEOG, TEACH Grant or Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant that could have been, but was not, disbursed, you will be notified in writing about the funds that can be disbursed to your student account.  You must confirm that you wish to accept all, or a portion, of the potential funds. Failure to reply by the deadline in the written notification will result in the cancellation of any potential post-withdrawal funds.

If the R2T4 calculation determines that you earned any Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loan, or Direct PLUS Loan funds, the prospective borrower will be notified in writing about the funds that can credited directly to the student’s account through a post-withdrawal disbursement. The prospective borrower must confirm that he or she wishes to accept all, or a portion, of the potential funds. Failure to reply by the deadline in the written notification will result in the cancellation of any potential post-withdrawal loan funds.

Drop/Add Late Registration (Tuition Refund Policy):

According to the Registrar's policy: Complete adjustment of tuition and fees will be made on drop/add changes through the first ten days of classes only. No refunds for any changes will be made for withdrawing from courses after the tenth day of classes. Charges will be assessed for the addition of courses. Students who believe they dropped a class within the term but who were still charged for that class should contact their school’s Admissions/Student Affairs office to file a formal appeal. If their respective school believes that the circumstances justify relief from the tuition charges, the school will work with the Registrar’s office to drop the student from that class. Please note that dropping all classes for a particular term is considered a withdrawal, whether or not the student officially withdraws from the University..

Tuition Appeals Policy:

If you feel that you have an extenuating circumstance that justifies an exception to financial obligations, contact your program to see if there is a tuition appeals policy and what the policy entails.

If you are granted a refund of tuition and fees, all or a portion of the refund will be used to repay financial aid, and any remaining tuition refund will be released to you. You are responsible for paying any additional charges on your account.

If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar's Office:

Phone: 303-724-8000
Email: Registrar@cuanschutz.edu

Your loans will enter the grace period after you withdraw, and if you are not enrolled at the end of the grace period, you will begin repayment of your student loans. If you received any loans, it is imperative that you complete Exit Counseling for each type of loan that you borrowed to know your rights and responsibilities.

Please visit the following websites to complete the required Exit Counseling:

studentloans.gov – to complete Exit Counseling for the following federal Title IV programs:

• Direct Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized)
• Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
• Direct Parent PLUS Loan

Student Debt Management  – to complete Exit Counseling for all institutional loans:

• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Nursing Loan
• Health Professions Student Loan
• Loan for Disadvantaged Student
• Medical Center Loan
• Medical Student Loan
• Nurse Faculty Loan Program

Withdrawing from all of your courses may also affect your eligibility for financial aid for future terms. Read the Satisfactory Academic Progress section.​​