Enrollment Level & Aid

The Office of Financial Aid monitors your enrollment for aid adjustments at two critical times during each quarter.

Census Date: Tenth Instructional Day of the Quarter

Enrollment levels for students who were awarded financial aid will be re-checked after the tenth instructional day of the quarter to determine if grant aid needs to be adjusted upwards or downwards. If you adjusted your enrollment by doing the following, on or prior to the tenth instructional day of the quarter:

  • Added Credits: Your financial aid/grants will be revised, as appropriate, and your award amounts will be updated in ctcLink.
  • Dropped Credits: Your financial aid/grants will be revised, as appropriate, and your award amounts will be updated in ctcLink. This will occur even if your aid has already been disbursed. If your aid was already disbursed, you may owe a repayment of aid to the Office of Financial Aid, the Business Office, or both.

If your grant aid is revised in accordance with this policy, the number of credits you must complete for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be based on the revised credits for which you are funded.

Reminder: Late changes to your enrollment may cause problems and delays in receiving your aid. To avoid problems and delays, complete all registration activity at least seven (7) days prior to the start of the quarter and make no changes after that time.

Return of Title IV (R2T4): 60% Mark of the Quarter

The Office of Financial Aid administers the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) process. This policy applies to students who formally or informally withdrew from all of their classes on or after the first day of the quarter, and those who complete zero credits. In such cases, students may still owe funds to the college to cover unpaid institutional charges. Additionally, Peninsula College may seek repayment from the student for any Title IV funds the institution was required to return.

Return to Title IV (R2T4) Calculation: The amount of Title IV funds a student must return is calculated based on federal regulations and follows specific definitions and procedures.

Institutional Responsibilities & Deadlines

  • Peninsula College must return all unearned Title IV funds within 45 days of determining a student's withdrawal.

  • Students will be notified in writing if they owe a repayment.

  • If eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement, students (or parents, for PLUS loans) have 14 calendar days from the date of notification to accept the funds.

  • If no response is received or the offer is declined, Peninsula College will return any earned funds it holds to the appropriate Title IV programs.

  • Post-withdrawal disbursements must be made within 120 days of the student's withdrawal date.

Important Notes

  • The R2T4 calculation is separate from Peninsula College's institutional refund policy.

  • Title IV funds are awarded with the expectation that students will complete the entire enrollment period.

  • If a student withdraws from all courses—whether for personal, academic, or medical reasons—they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds aid originally awarded.

How Aid is Earned

The amount of Title IV aid a student earns is based on the percentage of the term completed before withdrawal:

  • Withdrawal before 60% of the term is completed: 

  • A pro rata schedule is used to determine the percentage of aid earned. The remaining unearned portion must be returned. This includes aid from:

    • Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)

    • Parent PLUS Loans

    • Pell Grants

    • SEOG Grants

    • Other Title IV programs

Withdrawal after 60% of the term is completed:

  • The student is considered to have earned 100% of their Title IV aid. However, Peninsula College must still perform an R2T4 calculation to confirm eligibility for any post-withdrawal disbursements.
Determining a Student's Withdrawal Date

The date of withdrawal used to determine whether or not a student owes a repayment of financial aid funds and the amount of the repayment is determined by:

  • For students in programs for which an outside entity requires attendance to be taken: 
    • The last date the student attended a class

For all other students:

  • The date the student withdrew or notified the Student Services Office of the intent to withdraw, whichever date is earlier

Or

If the student did not withdraw or notify the Student Services Office of the intent to withdraw, the last date of attendance is determined as followed:

  • If no instructors reported a last date of attendance, it will be assumed that the student completed 50% of the quarter (midpoint).

  • If all instructors reported different last dates of attendance that were exactly on or prior to the 60% point, the midpoint will be used as the last date of attendance. (If one or more last dates of attendance occurred after the 60% point, it will be assumed that the student earned 100% of his/her aid.)

  • If the last date of attendance reported by the instructor is the first day of the class session it will be assumed the student never attended. If it is determined that the student never attended one or more classes, a recalculation of Pell Grant and Campus-Based funds may be required. This recalculation may result in repayment of a portion or all financial aid funds the student received.

How the Repayment Amount is Determined

Under the federal government’s “Return of Title IV Funds” policy, students are considered to have “earned” the percentage of their Title IV aid (e.g., Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Subsidized Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Stafford Loan) that equals the percentage of the quarter completed in calendar days. For example, if a student completely withdraws from classes after completing 10% of the quarter, that student has “earned” 10% of his/her Title IV aid. The other 90% of the Title IV aid is considered “unearned.”

Students who complete more than 60% of the quarter prior to withdrawing are considered to have earned 100% of their Title IV aid, and therefore no repayment amount is calculated (no unearned funds). However, the school will determine whether the student is eligible for a Post-withdrawal disbursement.

Total Repayment Amount

The total repayment amount is determined by multiplying the percentage of “unearned” aid by the amount of Title IV aid received. Once the total repayment amount has been calculated, the next step is to determine the following:

  • the school’s share of the repayment amount

  • the student’s share of the repayment amount

  • the amount a student must pay to Business Services for tuition and fees as a result of the school’s share of the repayment

School’s Share of the Repayment

The school’s share of the repayment is either the percentage of “unearned” aid multiplied by tuition and fee charges OR the total repayment amount, whichever is less. Bookstore charges are not included in the calculation, because students have the ability to purchase their books elsewhere.

The school will return any unearned Title IV funds it is responsible for returning within 45 days of the date the school determines the student withdrew.

The school must return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student received aid during the quarter, as applicable, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

  • Unsubsidized Loans

  • Subsidized Loans

  • PLUS Loans

  • Pell Grant

  • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Student’s Share of the Repayment

The student’s share of the repayment is determined by subtracting the school’s share of the repayment from the total repayment amount. Any amount of unearned grant funds that a student must return is called an overpayment. The amount of a grant overpayment that a student must repay is half of the grant funds they received or were scheduled to receive.

Students who owe a “student’s share of the repayment” will receive a bill from the Office of Financial Aid and must make their payment to the Office of Financial Aid. Within 30 days of the date of the determination, the school will notify the student if a grant overpayment is due. If payment in full is not received by the Office of Financial Aid within 45 days after the date of the billing, the debt will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education.

Students May Owe a Balance at Business Services

If students received Title IV aid and the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of the institutional refund, the student will owe a balance at Business Services. For purposes of repayment of financial aid, the institutional refund is calculated by multiplying the amount of “refundable” tuition and fee charges paid by Title IV funds by the institutional refund percentage.

Students who owe a balance to Business Services for their tuition and fees will be billed by Business Services. Until the bill is paid, students will not be able to register for classes or obtain copies of their academic transcripts.

If Title IV aid paid all or a portion of tuition and fees and the school’s share of the repayment is less than the amount of the institutional refund, the remainder of the institutional refund will be paid in the following order: (1) repay Title IV grants owed by the student as the “student’s share of the repayment; 2) to the student.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

Students who are eligible to receive Title IV aid, but who did not receive all of their aid prior to making a complete withdrawal, may be eligible to receive a disbursement of financial aid funds, even though they have withdrawn. This is referred to as a “post-withdrawal disbursement.” To be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement, students must have a complete financial aid file in the Office of Financial Aid and meet all eligibility requirements.

Students who are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal loan disbursement will be notified in writing by the Office of Financial Aid within 30 days of the date of the school's determination that the student withdrew. The student must reply and accept the Post-withdrawal loan disbursement within 180 days of that date.

If the student is eligible for a Post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds, a check or refund will be sent within 45 days of the date of the school's determination that the student withdrew.

 

 

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