Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Refund/Withdrawal Policy for Students Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

In the event that a student who has been awarded Federal Title IV financial assistance completely withdraws (or stops attending all classes) from Kapiʻolani Community College, a Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be completed. The Financial Aid Office will adhere to all Institutional and Federal Withdrawal and Refund Policies, as described in the Kapiʻolani  Community College catalog, schedule of classes, and Federal requirements.

The official complete withdrawal date will be calculated based on the last date of attendance in classes as indicated by the instructor(s) or the date the form was completed (if no date is given).

Any student who does not complete the academic term for which Federal financial aid has been awarded (e.g.: receives all “F” grades or earns no credits for the semester) will be determined to have unofficially withdrawn from the university. Instructors are instructed to include a last date of attendance in their grade reporting. If it is deemed that a student has unofficially withdrawn, the Financial Aid Office will use the latest date the instructor gave to determine the Return of Title IV Funds calculation. If no date is given, the Financial Aid Office will use the mid-point of the semester to determine the Return of Title IV Funds calculation.

The Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation determines the following:

• How much aid did a student “earn”? This is based on a pro-rata schedule of enrollment up through the 60% point in an enrollment period (if you withdrew or stopped attending classes at the 30% period of enrollment, you essentially earned only 30% of the aid you received/are eligible for).
• How much aid will the student and school need to return to the Federal aid programs? Essentially, any “unearned” aid must be returned to the Federal aid programs.
• Which program funds need to be returned?
• Is the student due a post-withdrawal disbursement (aid that was not disbursed to you but could have been disbursed) and how will that affect the student and their future eligibility?

The Federal Return of Title IV Funds formula requires a student and the institution to return Federal funds if the student completely withdraws or stops attending classes on or before completing 60% of the semester. The percentage of Federal aid to be returned (unearned aid) is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester. The University will hold you (the student) responsible for the entire amount of unearned aid, including the amount the school (institution) was required to return.

The order in which the funds will be returned is as follows: Federal Unsubsidized Stafford, Federal Subsidized Stafford, Federal Perkins, PLUS, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant, and Federal SEOG. If it is determined that a post-withdrawal disbursement is in order (aid that was not disbursed but could have been disbursed), the student will be notified of the disbursement, by an amended award notification letter. The student will have an opportunity to accept/decline the offer and must respond within 14 days from the date of the award or forfeit the disbursement. Students should know that acceptance of the offer may affect their academic progress for future financial aid purposes and if loan funds are involved an obligation of repayment is assumed.

Any institutional refund due to the student based on the regular UH tuition and fee refund policies will be applied to the institutional share of the refund. If the UH refund does not equal the amount of the institutional share of the refund to the Federal financial aid program, the student will be billed (responsible) for the amount which is not covered.

Additionally, if a student receives both Federal financial assistance and a tuition waiver (TWHAW) or Kapiʻolani Grant (Opportunity, Centennial, International, Pacific Islander), the student shall be required to repay the pro-rated value of the tuition waiver that the university may have had to pay to the Federal programs.