Policies on Removal of Institutional Charges & Financial Aid

Process for Leave of Absence or Withdraw

• Please note that for confirmed students, the withdraw date (date which the student fills out the withdraw/leave of absence form online) is the date that will determine the percentage of potential refund of charges and aid, not the last date of attendance. This form can be found in the MyGeorgeFox account > Student Resources > University Forms > Student Withdraw/Leave of Absence Form.
• For detailed information regarding the process and deadlines established for a Leave of Absence or Withdraw (either from a semester or from the university), please refer to the Withdrawal Process from the University in the George Fox University catalog.
• A Leave of Absence as defined by the university catalog is not the same as a Leave of Absence for Title IV purposes. The university does not have a Title IV Leave of Absence that would place the student back at the same spot in their program that they left.
• The registrar's office is the official notification office for students withdrawing from the university. Students who are withdrawing will be directed to the Student Withdraw/Leave of Absence Form located on the MyGeorgeFox portal.

Removal of Institutional Charges

Students enrolled in traditional undergraduate courses fall or spring semester who reduce their course load but don’t withdraw completely from the term, generally receive a full reduction of tuition related charges during the first two weeks of the semester, after which there is no adjustment. (There is no adjustment within the 12 to 18 credit tuition “block”.)

All other students who drop or withdraw from classes, on or after the first day of the session, will receive a removal of tuition, room, and board consistent with the following policy.

Students Enrolled in Traditional Undergraduate Courses Fall or Spring Semesters

First week*	100% of charges and institutional aid removed. Federal financial aid reduction, % TBD, also required.
Second week	90% of charges and institutional aid removed, $25 drop fee assessed. Federal financial aid reduction, % TBD, also required.
Third week	75% of charges and institutional aid removed. Federal financial aid reduction, % TBD, also required.
Fourth week	50% of charges and institutional aid removed. Federal financial aid reduction, % TBD, also required.
Fifth week	25% of charges and institutional aid removed. Federal financial aid reduction, % TBD, also required.
Sixth week or later	all tuition charges and institutional aid remain, but Federal financial aid reduction is required up through 60% of the semester.

*Traditional Undergraduate fall and spring semester classes only. All others see below.

Students Enrolled in Graduate, Seminary, Accelerated Online Degree Programs and Traditional Undergraduate Summer Courses

0 to 6.364% of the session length, not meeting dates	100% of charges removed
6.365% to 12.727% of the session length, not meeting dates	90% of charges removed
12.728% to 19.091% of the session length, not meeting dates	75% of charges removed
19.092% to 25.455% of the session length, not meeting dates	50% of charges removed
25.456% to 31.819% of the session length, not meeting dates	25% of charges removed
31.82% of the session length or later, not meeting dates	0% removed - all tuition charges remain

IMPORTANT: In addition to the above tuition adjustments, some circumstances require financial aid to review your eligibility for aid.  When an adjustment is required, it will most likely NOT NET TO ZERO with your tuition adjustment. That means we may owe you a refund or you may owe a balance back to the university.

Adjustments of charges for summer graduate housing will generally be calculated as follows:

• Students are charged on a weekly basis for housing.
• Any portion of a week used is charged at the weekly rate.
• Housing is limited to out-of-area residents with limited availability.
• Charges are removed for weeks not used.
• The Office of Student Life determines weeks used.

If you would like to estimate the impact of dropping or withdrawing from a course, please visit class.georgefox.edu. Find your desired course and click "Withdraw Tuition Adjustment Estimator."

After the second week of the enrollment period, there is generally no adjustment of health insurance, student body fees, health and counseling fees, parking permit fees, registration fees, penalties and fines, and course fees.

Students are required to follow policies and protocols while on campus. Any student that fails to follow protocols or engages in behaviors that create safety hazards for themselves or others may be expelled and trespassed from campus. If such action is taken, there will be no refund of any sums paid or owing.

Students requesting medical or hardship financial considerations must do so in writing to the student accounts office within 30 days of Withdraw / Leave of Absence Form submission, otherwise the above percentages of tuition removal will be used.

For information regarding potential enrollment deposit adjustments, please see the enrollment deposit page for your program.

Note: No transcripts will be released until two weeks after the student's account is paid in full. This includes current charges, balances that are the result of financial aid funds returned, and fines that may be assessed after the student leaves.

Removal of Institutional Aid

If a student withdraws and, or is granted a removal of tuition, George Fox University generally allows the student to retain a percentage of the disbursed institutional financial aid equal to the percentage that they have been charged, but the resulting credit may not exceed the personal payments posted on the student account. (The type of institutional financial aid retained on account is at the discretion of the financial aid office.)

Removal of Federal Aid

Federal statute requires a financial aid office to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for Title IV funds for students who cease enrollment in all classes prior to completing 60 percent of a payment period or period of enrollment.

At George Fox, this means the Office of Financial Aid must recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for enrolled students who begin attendance and withdraw (stop attending) from all their classes before completing 60 percent of the semester. This requirement does not apply to a student who withdraws from some but not all their classes in the semester. A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from their program before completing the semester is not considered to have withdrawn. This applies to all programs (with or without modules). 

Official Withdrawal

An official withdrawal occurs when a student who has begun attendance decides to withdraw (stop attending) all their classes before the semester ends. The effective date of the withdrawal is the date the student submits the required withdrawal/leave of absence form located in MyGeorgeFox.

Failure to Earn a Passing Grade in All Courses - Unofficial Withdrawal

Any student who begins classes at George Fox and fails to receive at least one passing grade for the semester will be considered an unofficial withdrawal and be subject to the Return of Title IV calculation. Grades of "D", "F", "W", "WF", "NP" and "I" are considered to be non-passing grades for the purpose of this policy. 

For students in this situation, attendance records and academically-related activity for the student will be reviewed with the course instructors to determine the last date of attendance. The withdrawal date will be based on (1) the last date of attendance, as reported by the instructor, or (2) the midpoint of the semester for those students for whom the instructor does not report, or cannot determine, a last date of attendance. 

Students who are assigned a grade of "I" and do not receive a passing grade for other coursework in the same semester will be considered a withdrawal for the semester in question and a Return of Title IV calculation will be completed. If an updated grade is received within 45 days of the semester's end, the Return of Title IV calculation may be undone. Any return calculations will not be undone if a passing grade is received after the 45 day timeframe.  

Please see our Treatment of Grades and Courses in our SAP Policy for more information on how grades are treated for Title IV aid purposes. 

Withdrawing from Active Enrollment

Students withdrawing from ALL the courses that have started and remain registered for course(s) starting later during this same term, are NOT considered to have withdrawn from the University if the institution obtains a written confirmation from the student at the time of the withdrawal that he or she will attend a module that begins later in the same term.  The student must submit a “Confirmation of Future Attendance” form within 3 business days of ceasing enrollment in course(s) that have started for the term.

Without written confirmation of future attendance, an institution must assume that a student who has ceased attendance is a withdrawal and begin the Return to Title IV calculation.

Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)

The Title IV aid programs subject to the return of Title IV funds requirement include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal TEACH Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS Loans.

These policies apply to students who withdraw entirely or take an approved leave of absence from George Fox University without earning credit for the enrollment period, or to students who are asked to withdraw for academic, disciplinary, or financial reasons.

Students who are attending sessions within the semester and then withdraw from all current active sessions are considered as withdrawn unless they indicate in writing that they intend to attend future registered sessions within the semester. For information on this process, please see the Student Withdraw/Leave of Absence Form or contact the registrar's office.  

R2T4 Formula

Though financial aid is typically posted to a student’s account at the beginning of the semester, students earn the funds as they complete the semester. If a student withdraws during the semester, the amount of Title IV aid they earned up to that point is determined by the federal R2T4 formula. 

Earned Aid

Earned aid is the amount of Title IV aid the student is entitled to based upon the amount of the semester completed as of the date the student withdrew. A student’s earned aid may be either disbursed or undisbursed at the time of withdrawal. The amount earned is proportionate to the percentage of the semester the student had completed at the time they withdrew, excluding breaks of five days or more. In other words,

(Number of days the student is enrolled) divided by (Total number of days in the semester) = Percentage of semester completed (also the percentage of earned aid) 

Post Withdrawal Disbursement

A student may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement if the amount of Title IV funds earned is more than the amount disbursed at the time they withdrew.

If a student has an outstanding balance on their account for the current award year charges for tuition, room, and meal plan charges, and prior award year charges of $200 or less for tuition, room, and meal plan charges, George Fox may automatically credit a post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds to the student’s account. Otherwise, George Fox must obtain the student’s written authorization before crediting the post-withdrawal disbursement for other current award year educationally related institutional charges and prior award year educationally related institutional charges up to $200 if such authorization has not already been granted.

If a student does not have an outstanding balance on their account or the amount of the post-withdrawal disbursement is greater than the balance, George Fox must directly deliver any grant portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement to the student within 45 days of the date of the school’s determination the student withdrew. 

If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, George Fox may not credit the student’s account and the borrower may not receive the proceeds as a direct disbursement without first notifying the borrower and confirming they still wish to receive the loan disbursement. George Fox must send the notification within 30 days of the school’s determination that the student withdrew and allow the borrower at least 14 days to respond. A student (or parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) may choose to decline some or all the loan proceeds to reduce indebtedness. If no response is received within 14 days of notification, the award will be canceled. 

Unearned Aid

If the amount of Title IV aid earned is less than the amount disbursed as of the date the student withdrew, the difference is the amount of unearned aid that must be returned to the Title IV programs by George Fox, the student, or both.

The R2T4 formula is designed so all the unearned funds are returned by the school if the student’s institutional charges equal or exceed the amount of Title IV funds disbursed. It is also designed so the institution and the student must each return a share of the funds if the amount of Title IV funds disbursed exceeds the student’s institutional charges. 

School Share

George Fox’s share is determined first and is the lesser of the total amount of unearned aid or an amount equal to institutional charges multiplied by the percentage unearned. The percentage unearned is the complement of the percentage earned. 

George Fox must return the Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student's withdrawal.

George Fox is responsible for allocating unearned funds to the Title IV programs from which the student received assistance in the following order, up to the net amount:  

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
2. Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loans
4. Federal PELL Grant
5. Federal Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant
6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
7. Federal TEACH Grant 

Student Share

The student’s share is the difference between the total unearned aid and George Fox’s share. George Fox must notify the student of any unearned funds for which they are responsible for repaying within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew. 

If unearned grant funds are to be returned it is referred to as an overpayment. The maximum amount of grant aid a student must repay is 50 percent of the total federal grant funds received or scheduled to receive. George Fox’s notification must include that the student has 45 days in which to repay the overpayment in full or to enter into a satisfactory repayment agreement with George Fox or the Department of Education. Students are not required to return unearned grant funds of $50 or less.

If direct loan funds must be returned, the student (or parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) must repay the funds according to the terms of the promissory note.

It is possible that a student may still be responsible for unpaid institutional charges resulting from the University having to return unearned Title IV funds. In those cases, the student will be notified by the Student Accounts office once all institutional refund processes have been completed. 

Credit Balance

Once the R2T4 calculation is completed, if it is determined the student is entitled to a credit balance, they will receive notification via email at their George Fox email, and the funds will be disbursed to the student or parent as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after the date the R2T4 calculation is performed.