Roane State Community College

This policy is implemented in accordance with the United States Department of Education’s federal regulations governing Title IV aid, 34 CFR 668.22 and applies to all students at Roane State Community College (RSCC) who receive Federal Financial Aid. Title IV programs include: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loans.
Students are awarded Title IV assistance under the assumption that the student will attend the entire period for which assistance is awarded. If a student withdraws officially, unofficially, or never attends, they may no longer be eligible for the amount of aid originally awarded. Financial aid awards will be recalculated if the student fails to begin attending a scheduled course or in the event the school cancels a scheduled course. A Return to Title IV will be calculated if the student withdraws, whether officially or unofficially.
Refund exceptions occur when the school grants either a 100, 75, or a 25 percent institutional refund, but does not retroact the withdrawal date. If the student withdraws before or at 60% of the term, the R2T4 is computed as normal. If the student withdraws after 60%, the student has earned their aid for the semester. Institutional refunds do not affect the R2T4 in regard to the student’s original charges.
The Return to Title IV Calculation is based on the premise that a student “earns” federal financial aid for each calendar day the student attends classes. The percentage of Title IV aid unearned is to be returned to the appropriate program and shall be calculated using the Department of Education’s Return of Title IV program.

Effective Summer semester of 2021, R2T4s for students enrolled in modular courses only will not be processed if the student successfully completes (successful completion means earning a passing grade) 49% (no rounding) or more of the days in the payment period or successfully completes at least half-time enrollment (6 credit hours).

The amount of unearned assistance is determined by subtracting the percentage earned from 100%.

Roane State Community College is obligated to return these funds (within 45 days of the date it determined the student withdrew), including those that may have been previously been applied to the student account for institutional charges. Students are also obligated to return unearned funds beyond the institutional portion to the Department of Education. All recipients owing a repayment are immediately placed on hold in the Roane State system. This stops all future transactions at the college until the student repays their obligation or makes satisfactory payment arrangements. Students who owe a balance to the Department of Education will be reported as an overpayment.
The Department of Education requires that unearned funds be returned in a manner that is in the best interest of the student. Based upon federal guidelines, unearned Title IV funds are returned in the following order: Unsubsidized Direct Loan 
Subsidized Direct Loan 
Federal Pell Grant
Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Definitions

Withdrawal: Occurs when the student completes the official withdrawal process (drops or withdrawals from all scheduled courses)

Unofficial Withdrawal: Occurs when a student ceases to academically engage in registered classes and does not complete the official withdrawal procedures, or is reported by the course instructor as stopped attending. A last date of attendance is reported for any student receiving a grade of “F” in a registered course and is based on the last date of academically related activity associated with the course.

Canceled Course: Occurs when the institution cancels a course for the semester.

Date of Withdrawal: Is the date on which the official withdrawal occurred or the last date of reported academically related activity whichever is the earliest.

Days in the term: The number of days in the term include calendar days beginning with the first scheduled day of your registered courses for the term and end with the last scheduled day of the registered courses for the term minus any scheduled break of more than five (5) calendar days.

Calculating Earned Aid

To calculate the percentage of Title IV Aid that a student has earned, divide the number of days the student attended by the total number of days in the term.
The percentage of term completed is the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the student.
A student who receives less Title IV aid than earned will be offered a disbursement for the amount of earned aid that was not received. Any PWD made must meet required conditions for late disbursement (34 CFR 668.164(j)).
Example:
Classes begin on January 12 and the exam period ends on May 3. The student begins attending all scheduled courses and withdraws on February 1. The semester includes a scheduled break of nine (9) days for spring break.

Step 1: Determine the number of days in the semester (denominator):
 Number of calendar days in the semester minus the scheduled break of greater than five (5) days = 104  scheduled days.
Step 2: Determine the number of days the student attended:
                    January 12 to February 1 (including weekends) = 21 days
Step 3: Determine the percentage of aid earned:
                    Divide the number of days attended (21) by the number of scheduled days (104)
                    21/104 = .20192 or 20.02%.
Step 4: Determine the amount of federal aid earned:
                    Multiply the total federal aid that was disbursed or could have been disbursed by the percentage of aid earned as                   calculated in Step 3.
Step 5: Compare the amount earned to the amount actually disbursed prior to withdrawing:
                    If more aid was disbursed than was earned, determine the amount that must be returned.
                    If less aid was disbursed that was earned, the student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
Step 6: Determine how much the school must return plus the amount the student must return. The amount of unearned aid that must be returned by Roane State is the lesser amount of unearned Title IV aid or the amount of unearned charges for the term. The student is responsible for repaying any amount the school must return which creates a debt to the college.