Withdrawals

The Enrollment Services Office cannot tell you whether you should withdraw or not. The decision on withdrawal rests with the student.

If I withdraw from all classes, will I owe money back to ABAC?
Since a calculation is made based on the percentage of the semester you have completed, the Enrollment Services Office cannot give you a specific amount upon your inquiry. You may owe a portion of your financial aid award back to ABAC and/or to the U.S. Department of Education.

If a student withdraws completely, the Enrollment Services Office is responsible for determining the amount of federal and state aid that a student earned during the semester. This determination is performed by using 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 (s)he did not earn based on the date (s)he 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 ABAC)
Federal Plus
Federal Pell Grant
Academic Competitiveness Grant
National Smart Grant
Federal SEOG Grant

The Enrollment Services Office will perform this calculation after notification of the student’s withdrawal. After the calculation is completed, the Student Financial Services Office will notify the student if (s) he owes monies back to the institution.

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 schedule adjustment (drop/add), your financial aid will be adjusted. After that time, your enrollment hours are frozen and a withdrawal from some of your courses will affect neither your financial aid nor your tuition and fees charges.

If I withdraw from some of my classes, how will my HOPE Scholarship be affected?
If you withdraw from some or all of your classes during the schedule adjustment (drop/add), your HOPE funds will be adjusted. After the drop/add period, if you withdraw from some or all of your classes, your HOPE funds will not be adjusted.

Will my future financial aid be affected by withdrawing from all or some of my classes?
As stated in ABAC’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, you must successfully complete 67% of the hours that you attempt and maintain a specific grade point average. Grades of W, F, WF, I 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 Enrollment Services 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. Learning support classes are also counted toward the required 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 Enrollment Services Office at the end of the term will contact the instructors to receive 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 stopped attending classes and did not officially withdraw, thus earning all ‘Fs’, the Enrollment Services Office 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 ABAC’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy?
You will receive a letter regarding your failure to maintain progress that will include information on how to submit a financial aid appeal.