Institutional Tuition and Fees Refund Policy

A student who officially drops or withdraws from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston may receive a refund of tuition and fees as outlined on Pages 26 and 27 of the General Information Catalog.

Federal Student Aid Refund and Repayment Policies
Partial Withdrawal

Student's who receive federal student aid and are contemplating a reduction in course work, must notify Enrollment Services. Counselors will review the consequences of the partial withdrawal with the student as it applies to the federal student aid programs. This action may cause the student to lose funding for the semester, which might result in an unexpected financial obligation to the University. For example, student's who drop below half-time are no longer eligible for the Federal Direct Loan Program. If at the time of the partial withdrawal the loan proceeds are not fully disbursed, the student is not eligible for the disbursement even if a balance is due to the University.

Student's who drop below half-time enrollment are also required to complete an exit interview.

Complete Withdrawal/Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Students contemplating a complete withdrawal from the University are asked to contact Enrollment Services. Enrollment Services Specialists will review the consequences of the withdrawal with the student as it applies to the federal student aid programs.

Student financial aid is awarded to students under the assumption that they will complete the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of financial assistance that the student was originally scheduled to receive. The University will determine by completing the "Return of Title IV Funds" calculation for the semester/payment period the percentage of earned and unearned amounts within 45 days of the date of withdrawal and return any funds. If the student received less assistance than the amount earned, it may be possible to receive all or a portion of those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or the student.

A student who withdraws on or before completing 60% of the semester/payment period and received Title IV federal student aid (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Direct Loans, PLUS Loans and Federal Perkins Loans) will be required to repay the percentage of unearned financial aid, as determined by the federal "Return of Title IV Funds" formula derived from the 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (Return of Funds cites: HEA, Section 484B and 34CFR 668.22).

After the 60% point in the semester/payment period a student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during the period.

A student earns Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time he/she remains enrolled. The percentage of time during the semester/payment period that the student remains enrolled is the percentage of aid that the student earned for the semester/payment period. For example, if a student completed 30% of the semester/payment period of enrollment, then the student has earned 30% of the assistance that they were originally scheduled to receive. The percentage of unearned aid, which must be returned to the Title IV programs, is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester/payment period divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester/payment period.

If the student (school or parent) receives an excess of Title IV program funds that must be returned by the school, The University will return to the Title IV funds a portion of the excess as required by the return of funds calculation. The University must return this amount even if this amount of your Title IV program funds was sent to the student or parent as a refund. The student will then be required to repay the University for the amount reimbursed to the Title IV funds.

The student will be responsible to repay his/her unearned portion of assistance as determined by the refund calculation. This repayment will be made in accordance with the terms of the promissory notes. This means that students will make scheduled payments to the holder of the loans.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that must be returned is called an overpayment. The amount of grant overpayment that the student must repay is half of the grant funds they received or were scheduled to receive. Students must make arrangements with the University or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. Overpayments must be re-paid in full within two years of the date of determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22).

Federal Student Aid funds may not cover all unpaid institutional charges due to the University upon the student's withdrawal. In this case, students will have to make payments to the University.

Refunds are to be returned to the appropriate lenders or program accounts by the University in the following statutorily specified order provided the student received funds from the program:

• Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
• Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
• Other federal, state, private or institutional sources of aid
• The student

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

A student, who does not receive all of the funds that were earned during the semester/payment period, may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, a written notification from the student, or parent in the case of a parent PLUS loan is required before the loan funds are disbursed. The student may decline all or a portion of the loan funds to avoid additional debt. The University will apply the post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if you accept them) towards tuition and fee charges that may be outstanding, which will reduce the student's debt to the University.

Title IV post-withdrawal grant funds may be applied to a student's account to pay current tuition and fees without obtaining student permission. However, a written notification from the student is required before the University disburses directly to the student any Title IV grant funds that are part of a post-withdrawal disbursement.

Additional Resources:

Federal Student Aid Information Center: 1-800-433-3243 (1-800-4-FEDAID)
1-800-730-8913 (TTY Users)
www.studentaid.ed.gov