Withdrawals FAQs
The Financial Aid Office cannot tell you whether you should withdraw or not. That decision rests with you.
Since a calculation is made based on the percentage of the semester you have completed, the Financial Aid Office cannot give you a specific amount upon your inquiry. You may owe a portion of your financial aid award back to Clayton State University and/or to the U.S. Department of Education.
If a student withdraws completely, the Office of Financial Aid, in conjunction with the Bursar’s Office, is responsible for determining the amount of federal and state aid that a student earned during the semester. This is done by a specific formula from The Department of Education that is called the ‘Return of Title IV Funds Calculation’. This calculation determines the amount of aid that a student earned at the point the student withdrew. If a student was disbursed more federal aid than earned, the student and the institution will share in the returning of unearned funds to the appropriate federal and/or state agency.
If the amount of aid that the student received was more than the amount the student earned based on the Return of Title IV calculation, the student and/or the institution is responsible for repaying the amount of aid they did not earn based on the date they withdrew. The order of funds that the institution and student must return is as follows:
- Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan (not available at Clayton State)
- Federal Plus
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal SEOG Grant
The Office of Financial Aid will perform this calculation after notification of the student’s withdrawal from the Register’s Office. After the calculation is completed, the Bursar’s Office will notify the student if they owe monies back to the institution and/or the federal agency.
If you drop some or all of your classes during the schedule adjustment (drop/add) it is not considered a withdrawal and your financial aid will be adjusted. After the schedule adjustment period, it is considered a withdrawal and your enrollment hours are frozen and no financial aid already disbursed to your student account nor your tuition and fees charges are adjusted.
If you withdraw from some or all of your classes during the schedule adjustment (drop/add), your HOPE funds will be adjusted. After the drop/add period, if you withdraw from some or all of your classes, your HOPE funds will not be adjusted.
As stated in Clayton State University's Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, you must successfully complete 67% of the hours that you attempt and maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Grades of W, F, WF, I, IP count as attempted hours but not as completed hours.
For example, John has attempted 86 hours but has only successfully completed 43 hours. After dividing the 43 completed hours by the attempted 86 hours, the completion rate is only 50%. This calculation includes all hours that have been attempted, not just the current semester.
Please note that the Financial Aid Office cannot tell you if your financial aid will be affected by your withdrawal from some or all of your classes. When your academic progress is reviewed again, you will be notified by mail if you do not meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
Yes, learning support classes ARE counted as attempted hours even though they are not calculated in your institutional grade point average. Learning support classes are also counted toward the required 2.0 grade point average for financial aid purposes.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requires all colleges/universities participating in Federal Title IV programs to verify the attendance of all students receiving financial aid and receive the grade "F" in all classes enrolled for a term. DOE makes the assumption that students receiving "Fs" in all classes have really unofficially withdrawn and, therefore, may not be eligible for all of the aid they originally received. In order to comply with this regulation, the Office of Financial Aid will contact all instructors to identify the last date of attendance/activity for every student who earned all “Fs.” If a student completed the term and actually earned all ‘Fs’, no action will be taken. However, if a student actually stopped attending classes thus earning all ‘Fs’, a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation must be performed to determine how much money, if any, the student owes back.
According to federal law, the Financial Aid Office must recalculate Federal Title IV financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw from all classes, drop out, take a leave of absence, or stop attending for any reason prior to completing more than 60% of a quarter/semester. This calculation is called a Return to Title IV. In other words, when a student receives financial aid, it is like receiving payment for a job for a given time before the work is completed. If the person does not complete the job, then he/she is only eligible for payment for the portion completed. The R2T4 calculation determines the amount of aid earned for the portion of the term completed. If the student received more aid in the beginning than they actually earned, the unearned portion may need to be repaid in whole or in part.
You will receive an email at your Clayton State University email account that will contain information on how to submit a financial aid appeal.