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Title IV Repayment
Title IV Overpayment and Return of Title IV funds Policy
*Contact the Office of Financial Aid BEFORE you withdraw from classes!*
Overview
Overpayments occur when students receive more financial aid they should have received by regulation. Overpayments have a variety of causes; the most common ones are:
- The student made an error on their financial aid application and, once that error was fixed, their eligibility decreased.
- The student was paid at more than one school/institution for the same semester.
- The student was paid at full-time status (12 or more units) for their first disbursement in a term, but they dropped to less than half-time status (0.01 to 5.99 units) for their second disbursement.
- The student was paid Pell Grant but withdrew before completing 60% of their coursework for the term (or 49% of the modules within the term if they took short-term classes)
- The student was paid Pell Grant based on enrollment but all of their grades were NS (“no show”)
Enrollment Status
Drops in enrollment status are the most common reasons for an overpayment, so it is important to understand how Solano Financial Aid looks at enrollment status.
In fall and spring, Pel Grant is disbursed in two equal disbursements—one at the beginning of the term and the other in the middle of the term. Just prior to the second disbursement, Solano takes a snapshot of the student’s enrollment to determine final enrollment status for use in determining eligibility. That date is known as the Pell Recalculation Date (PRD) or “freeze date” as student’s hours are “frozen” at that level for financial aid purposes.
Pell recipients can find the scheduled disbursement dates in their mySolano portal. The second disbursement date in the primary term will be the freeze date.
On the freeze date, final adjustments are made. If a student’s enrollment status has increased since the first disbursement, the amount of the second disbursement will be increased accordingly. Likewise, if a student’s enrollment status has decreased since the first disbursement, the amount of the second disbursement will be decreased.
For example, a full-time student is awarded a Pell Grant $3,000 for fall. On the first disbursement, they are in 12 units, so they are paid $1,500 for that disbursement. Their enrollment status at the time of the second disbursement will determine the amount of their second payment:
Early Withdrawals / Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations
Federal financial aid is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.
- If a recipient of Title IV grants or loan funds withdraws from Solano Community College after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grants or loan assistance earned by the student must be determined.
- If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned.
If the student received less Federal Student Aid than the amount earned, Solano Community College offers a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. This is called a Post-withdrawal disbursement.
In order to earn the total amount for the term, students must complete 60% of their coursework (or at least 49% of the length of their modules if attending short-term classes). If they withdraw before that point in their term, their eligibility will be recalculated and they may have to return a portion of their federal financial aid funds.
Note that the specific dates will differ by term and student coursework! Contact the financial aid office prior to withdrawing if you are trying to ensure that you have been enrolled long enough to earn all of your aid for the term.
It is sometimes difficult to determine when a student withdrew, especially if they have failing grades. We will assume that students who fail all classes (earning all F’s and W’s) only attended 50% of the semester. A calculation for repayment will be made based upon that assumption. If such a student actually attended past the 50% point of the semester, the course instructor must submit written verification to the Financial Aid Office within 45 days of the student’s repayment notification or the end of the semester (whichever is earlier). The date for withdrawal that the instructor provides will be used in a revised R2T4 calculation.
Return amounts
The Return to Title IV (R2T4) funds calculation requires two (2) separate amounts to be paid as follows:
Portion A (Student Return)
This is the amount that the student must return to the government. You MUST repay the full amount to SCC Cashier Office within 45 days. If unpaid after 45 days, the outstanding amount will be referred to the USDOE Debt Collection Agency.
Students who owe repayment of Federal Title IV financial aid funds will NOT be eligible to receive any additional financial aid disbursements at any postsecondary institution until repayment has been made in full.
Portion B (Institutional Return)
Solano will return this amount to the government and will charge the debt on your MySolano Student Account for repayment.
- You may be eligible to continue receiving financial aid disbursements if you owe this portion
- Owing this debt to the College will block/prevent you from enrolling/registering in future terms, accessing transcripts and grades
Overpayments
We are required to send information about overpayments to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) within 45 days. Once the overpayment has been reported, the student will not be eligible to receive financial aid at any postsecondary institution until the amount has been repaid.
Initially, an overpayment will show as a debt on the student account at Solano. Students can pay back the balance to Solano through the Cashier Office and we will return that money to the government on their behalf.
Federal overpayments not paid before the earlier of 60 days after the student’s last date of attendance or the end of the aid year (June 30) will be referred to the Collection Agency for the U.S. Department of Education. At that point, the student may make repayment arrangements directly with the U.S. Department of Education to regain financial aid eligibility by calling 1-800-621-3115 or by going to https://myeddebt.ed.gov/borrower and selecting the “Contact Us” link.
State overpayments (e.g. Cal Grants) must be paid to Solano Community college who will return the funds to the appropriate state agency.
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