Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal Policy

The University defines withdrawing as a termination of all your enrollment for the term. If a student withdraws:

  • Prior to the scheduled census date for the term the student will receive a 100% tuition refund (less any non-refundable fees). 
  • Students that drop all classes on or after the first day of classes and before or on the census date of the term will have the Return to Title IV calculation performed on federal aid that has been offered or disbursed. All state and institutional aid that has offered or disbursed to the student account will be cancelled in its entirety. The student will need to return these funds to the university.
  • After the scheduled census date for the term, all federal (Title IV) aid will be adjusted according to federal regulations (Return of Title IV Aid).  State and institutional aid will not be cancelled.
  • If a student dis-enrolls prior to census, they must be enrolled at least half-time and attend at least one day of their classes in order to establish eligibility for federal aid programs. Pell grants require one credit hour of enrollment.

General Guideline for Return of Title IV Aid (R2T4)

Federal regulations state that a student is entitled to the amount of Title IV aid the student earned prior to his/her withdrawal date.

*excludes scheduled breaks of 5 or more days

If a student's percentage of aid earned is greater than 60%, no aid will be returned for the term in which the student withdrew.

Timing of Returned Federal Funds

There are two deadlines that the University are required to meet in the processing of returning of federal aid and in the post withdrawal disbursement of federal funds:

  1. The calculation of unearned aid and the return of funds must be made within 45 days of the date of determination that the student has withdrawn. 
  2. The required notification of the post withdrawal fund must be made within 30 days of the date of determination that the student has withdrawn.

Return of Unearned Aid

Title IV Aid

In most cases the Return of Title IV Aid calculation requires the school and the student to return the unearned portion of federal (Title IV) aid. The order of the unearned federal aid to be returned:

  • Unsubsidized Direct Loan*
  • Subsidized Direct Loan*
  • Federal Parent or Graduate PLUS Loan*
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants (IASG)
  • Other Federal Aid (excluding: Federal Work Study (FWS), Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership(LEAP) and Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (SLEAP))

*The student portion of grants are returned by the school in order to not create an over-payment.

*The student/parent portion of the loan is to be repaid in accordance with the terms of the Promissory Note.

Institutional and State Aid

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs institutional policy does not return institutional and state aid after the census date in the withdrawal calculation. If a student receives a tuition appeal refund for a withdraw or drop in a term that State/Institutional aid was received, that aid will be reversed up to the amount of the aid or refund, which ever is less.

  • Institutional Grant Aid
  • Colorado Student Grant (CSG)
  • Institutional Scholarships
  • Athletic Scholarships
  • Other State Aid

Other Aid

Return of Other Aid is determined by the donor.

  • Private Scholarships
  • Tuition Assistance

Post Withdrawal Disbursements

A post withdrawal disbursement (PWD) can occur when a student completely withdrawals and has been awarded aid that has not yet disbursed.   The student must meet the requirements of a late disbursement in order for this disbursement to be made.  There are two types of PWD:

  1. When a student has a PWD of grant funds:
    1. If the student owes a bill the grant funds may be disbursed without the authorization of the student, to that bill. 
    2. If the student does not owe a bill, we will require authorization by the student to disburse the funds to the student.
  2. When a student has a PWD of loan funds:
    1. We require authorization from the student and/or parent before we can disburse the funds.
  3.  All eligible PWD disbursements are applied to the student account first, and any resulting credit balance will be disbursed to the student as soon as possible and no later than 14 days from the date of disbursement.

Time frame for making a PWD:

   1.    A PWD of grant funds must be disbursed within 45 days of the date of the school’s determination.
   2.    A PWD of loan funds must be offered to the student within 30 days of the date of the school’s determination that the student has withdrawn.
   3.    Provide at least 14 days to respond to accept or decline funds. UCCS gives students 30 days to respond.
   4.    The disbursement of requested funds must be made no later than 180 days.

Official Withdrawals

When a student notifies the financial aid office of his or her intent to withdrawal from the university, the official date of withdrawal for the Return of Title IV calculation is the date the student notified the financial aid office, not the date the student completed the official withdrawal process for the university.

If a student decides not to withdraw after notifying the financial aid office, the student will be required to turn in a letter rescinding his or her intent to withdraw. If a student withdraws after submitting this request, the original date of intent will be used in the Return of Title IV calculation.

Module Withdrawals

When a student is only enrolled in session classes they are considered to be enrolled in modules.  The University uses a freeze date for module classes, the freeze date is always the main census date for the term. See the UCCS Calendar for census date.
When a student drops one module but not a module that starts later in the term, the R2T4 calculation will be processed. The student can submit a written notice that they will return for the later starting module to the Financial Aid Office and the return will not be done.

Unofficial Withdrawals

Students that stop attending classes and do not follow the Official Withdrawal Process for the University and receive all F's are considered an unofficial withdrawal for the term that they were enrolled in. For students that unofficially withdraw from the University, the student's last date of attendance, as determined by the grading policy, will be used in the Return of Title IV calculation. Once the last date of attendance has been determined the same policy discussed above will be applied to determine the unearned aid that will be returned.

Note: Once the last date of attendance has been determined, the withdrawal calculation is completed, the last date of attendance will not be adjusted. Please contact the financial aid office to discuss any exceptions.

Withdrawal Exemptions

The withdrawal exemption categories are as follows:

1. Withdrawal exemption for graduates/completers 

  • A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days in the period that he or she was scheduled to complete is not considered to have withdrawn. This exemption applies to all types of programs (including those with or without modules).

2. Withdrawal exemptions for programs offered in modules

  • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes one module that includes 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
  • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes a combination of modules that cumulatively contain 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules
  • A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution’s definition of a half-time student under 34 CFR 668.2(b) for the payment period

Balances Due

All students that withdraw officially or unofficially from the University will receive a letter from the Financial Aid Office explaining why their aid was reduced and how much was returned due to Return of Title IV calculation. The student will also receive a revised bill from Student Financial Services showing how much is due to the University.

To ensure you receive this information in a timely manner, please make sure your address and phone number are updated with the university.

Credit Balances will be disbursed to the student account as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the calculation of a R2T4.