Withdrawals and Returning Financial Aid Funds
What is a withdrawal?
When a student withdraws from all of their courses for a semester at the Alamo Colleges.
What is a Return of Title IV?
Title IV aid refers to financial aid funding administered by the U.S. Department of Education including the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and Federal Direct loans.
Federal regulations requires that the Student Financial Aid Office calculates the amount of federal financial aid a student has earned or not earned, based on what percentage of the semester the student attended.
Any unearned aid must be canceled and returned through a process titled 'Return of Title IV'. This cancelation will result in a balance on the student account that must be repaid. Failure to repay these funds may result in holds that prevent future registration.
How are students notified of a Return of Title IV?
If a student completely withdraws from all their courses, it is advised to check ACES regularly for changes to your financial aid and account balance.
Once the Return of Title IV has been calculated by the Student Financial Aid Office, a notification will be sent to the student email address if any amount is owed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Would dropping a class, rather than withdrawing, affect my financial aid eligibility as well?
While dropping individual courses does not result in a 'Return to Title IV' calculation like a complete withdrawal, excessively dropping classes should be avoided when possible.
Doing so may change your enrollment status, reducing your eligibility for certain grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. It may also negatively impact your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status. Students needing to drop a class, or complete a withdrawal, should consult a Financial Aid Advisor.
How is my Satisfactory Academic Progress affected by withdrawing?
Students are required to complete 67% of all courses attempted to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and remain financial aid eligible. Any time a student withdraws from all courses, or classes are dropped, it affects their calculated completion rate.
Completion Rate Calculation Example: A student has a total of 72 attempted credit hours at Alamo Colleges: 28 of those hours were withdrawn or dropped with no credit and 44 of those hours were earned credits. They would have a calculated completion rate of 61%: (44 ÷ 72) x 100 = 61%. This example does meets SAP requirements.