Frequently Asked Questions
Withdrawals and Failing Courses
|
The Financial Aid Office cannot tell you whether you
should
withdraw or not. That decision rests with you. |
If I withdraw from all classes, will I owe money back to
Clayton State University?
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, 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 University)
Federal Plus
Federal Pell Grant
Academic Competitiveness Grant
National Smart Grant
Federal SEOG Grant
If I withdraw from some of my classes, how will my
financial aid be affected?
If you withdraw from some
or all of your classes during the drop/add period, your
financial aid will be adjusted. After that time, neither your
financial aid nor your tuition and fees charges are adjusted.
Will my future financial aid be affected by withdrawing
from all or some of my classes?
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.
Are learning support classes counted in these
calculations?
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.
What happens if I receive all F's for a given term?
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requires all
colleges/universities participating in the Federal Title IV
program to verify the attendance of all students receiving
financial aid that receive the grade "F" in all classes enrolled
for a term. DOE makes the assumption that students receiving
"F's" in all their classes are really "no show" students at the
school and therefore not eligible to receive financial aid. In
the effort to be in compliance with DOE, if a student received
“Fs” in all their classes for a term, the Office of Financial
Aid at the end of the term will contact the instructors to get
either the last date of attendance or the last date of activity
for that student. If a student actually earned all ‘Fs’, no
action will be taken. However, if a student actually attended
classes and did not officially withdraw, thus earning all ‘Fs’,
the Office of Financial Aid will perform a Return to Title IV
(R2T4) calculation to determine how much money, if any, the
student owes.
What happens if I do not meet Clayton State University's
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Policy?
You will receive a letter and an email
will be sent to your Clayton State University email account that will
include information on how to submit a financial aid appeal.