Return of Title IV Funds, Policy & Regulations

A student’s federal financial aid eligibility must be recalculated and these regulations apply when a student fails to complete the period of enrollment for which he/she was charged due to one or more of the following situations:

• Change in a student's schedule, which results in fewer credit hours
• Course or courses dropped or withdrawn
• Cancellation of a class by the college
• Total withdrawal or expulsion from the college

As a recipient of Title IV aid, it is your responsibility to earn the aid provided for their period of enrollment.

Title IV aid is earned in a prorated manner on a daily basis up to the 60% point in the semester. Federal regulations state that a student must attend through the 60% point of the semester in order to earn 100% of their federal financial aid. Students are issued financial aid before 100% of their aid is earned. This is in “good faith;” meaning that students are expected to follow through by attending and completing all classes.

When a recipient of Title IV aid withdraws from an institution during the semester in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must determine the amount of the Title IV grant or loan assistance (not including Federal Work-Study) that the student earned as of the student’s date of withdrawal. Federal regulations mandate that a school perform a “Return to Title IV” calculation for federal aid recipients who withdraw from all classes or receive financial aid unearned ‘F’. This calculation determines how much federal aid a student has earned up to the date of withdrawal. If more assistance is received than what is earned, the unearned funds must be returned. The requirements for the “Return to Title IV” calculations are separate from GTC’s refund policy.

Students who find it necessary to withdraw from GTC must do so in writing to the Student Records office, Web Advisor via GTC4me or at one of the satellite campuses.

This policy applies to students who withdraw or are withdrawn from Greenville Technical College, and refunds are determined by a student's withdrawal date and is computed as follows:

• The date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process (as described in the Greenville Technical College Catalog)
• The first day of the period where a student receives all failing grades and attendance cannot be confirmed in all classes (Determined using attendance tracking in BlackBoard)
• The student’s last date of attendance at a documented academically related activity (Determined using attendance tracking in BlackBoard)

In accordance with federal regulations, when financial aid is involved, return of funds are allocated in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
2. Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
3. Federal Direct Plus Loan (Parent)
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
6. Other Title IV assistance
7. Other federal sources of aid
8. Private and alternative loans
9. Sponsorships
10. Tuition waivers
11. GTC scholarships and grants
12. Outside or community scholarships
13. LIFE Scholarship
14. SCNBG
15. Other aid or assistance
16. SCLTA
17. Student

Non-federal financial aid recipients will have funds returned to the sponsoring program or agency in the following order:

1. Private and alternative loans
2. Sponsorships
3. Tuition waivers
4. GTC scholarships and grants
5. Outside or community scholarships
6. LIFE Scholarship
7. SCNBG
8. Other aid or assistance
9. SCLTA
10. Student

Greenville Technical College Office of Financial Aid responsibilities in regard to the Return of Title IV funds include

• Providing each student with information given in this policy
• Identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students
• Returning any Title IV funds that are due to the Title IV programs as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days from the determination of a student's withdrawal
• Offering a post-withdrawal loan disbursement within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew and issuing a post-withdrawal grant disbursement within 45 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew, if a student has eligibility for the Title IV funds

The student’s responsibilities in regard to the Return of Title IV Funds include

• Returning to the Title IV programs the dollar amount of any funds disbursed directly to the student subsequently determined to be ineligible via the Return of Title IV Funds calculation