Federal Law dictates the amount of federal aid that a student can earn if they withdraw from school. The aid programs that are covered by this law are Pell Grants, TEACH Grants, Federal Direct Loans, PLUS Loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), and Perkins Loans; these are called Title IV program funds. Eastern also uses the same procedure to determine the earned portion of state-supported funding.
The amount of financial aid that a student has earned is determined on a pro-rated basis on the length of time the student was enrolled. For example, if the student completes 30% of the semester, they earn 30% of the assistance that was originally awarded. Once a student completes more than 60% of the semester, they may receive 100% of the assistance that they were scheduled to receive.
If the student, Eastern, or a parent received less assistance than the amount that was earned, the aid amount will not be adjusted when the student withdraws. If the student, Eastern, or a parent received more assistance than the student earned, the excess funds must be returned to the federal or state government by Eastern and/or you.
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a Post-withdrawal disbursement. If your Post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, Eastern Connecticut State University must get your permission before the funds can be disbursed. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you do not incur additional debt. Eastern may automatically use all or a portion of your Post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the Post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow Eastern to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.
If the student, Eastern, or a parent receives, on the student's behalf, aid funds that must be returned, Eastern will explain to the student the amount that must be returned by the student, Eastern and/ or the student's parent.
The requirements for returning federal and state-funded aid when a student withdraws are separate from Eastern's tuition & fees refund policy. Therefore, you may still owe funds to Eastern to cover unpaid institutional charges. Eastern may also charge you for any funds that the University was required to return.
If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web at www.studentaid.ed.gov.
