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Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Federal law and regulations require the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) to calculate a return of Title IV funds for any student who withdraws or does not complete an enrollment period or payment period and who has received financial aid through the federal Title IV programs. This calculation is performed using a specific formula required by the U.S. Department of Education.

Title IV programs include Direct Unsubsidized loans and Graduate PLUS loans. Title IV funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire enrollment period or payment period for which the aid is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds received. The return of Title IV funds calculation is based on the percentage of the enrollment period or payment period completed and the amount of Title IV aid disbursed. The return of Title IV funds calculation is separate and different from the calculation for the refund of Tuition and Fees.

VCOM’s Tuition Refund Policy (PDF)

There are two required calculations: the amount of unearned aid the withdrawn student is responsible for returning and the amount of aid the school is responsible for returning. The Office of Financial Aid follows guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education to calculate the return of Title IV funds. The following paragraphs describe the procedure and basis for the calculations.

The calculation for return of Title IV funds is based upon the last date of attendance  determined by the Registrar's Office. The number of days completed is divided by the total number of days in the enrollment period or payment period to identify the percentage of time the student has completed. This will be the percentage of aid actually earned by the student at the time of withdrawal.

If more than 60% of the enrollment period or payment period is completed, there is no return of the Title IV funds for that period and the student is considered to have earned 100% of the Title IV funds received.

If the percentage is less than 60%, this percentage is multiplied by the total amount of Title IV aid to arrive at the amount of earned aid. The difference between the amount of earned aid and the total amount of Title IV aid is the amount of unearned aid.

The amount of unearned aid the school is responsible for returning

The institutional charges (tuition, fees, etc. for the entire enrollment period or payment period) are multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid to determine the amount the school is responsible for returning.

The amount the school is responsible for returning is compared to the total amount of unearned aid; the lesser amount is then returned to the student’s loans in the following order: Direct Unsubsidized loan, then Graduate PLUS loan. This amount is charged to the student’s account. Depending on the results of the Tuition Refund Policy, it is possible that the student would then owe VCOM for the remaining unpaid portion of tuition and fees.

The amount of unearned aid the student is responsible for returning

The student is responsible for returning any portion of the unearned aid that is not returned by the school. This is in addition to any refund money from the school that is required to be returned. For any unearned aid that comes from Title IV loans, the student does not have to return the funds immediately but instead is responsible for repaying those funds according to the terms of the promissory note.

A student's failure to return funds he/she is not eligible to receive will result in the student being ineligible for further federal financial aid. The school and the U.S. Department of Education may also seek legal action against the student to collect any funds the student is not entitled to retain.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

At the time of withdrawal, if less Title IV aid has been received than the amount earned, the student may be eligible to receive additional funds in a post-withdrawal disbursement. In this case the Office of Financial Aid will inform the student of eligibility for these funds. The student may then request the disbursement of these additional funds; the student may also decline some or all the funds to prevent the incurrence of additional debt.