Withdrawal Information
Withdrawal from the University
Withdrawal from the University is defined as dropping all classes on or after the earliest start date of any of your classes taken during the session/semester. This means all regular Ohio University classes for which you are registered, whether on one campus or multiple campuses. You must go to the student services office in your college or regional campus student services office to initiate the withdrawal process.
Deadlines to add, drop and withdraw are published in the Academic Calendar. To find specific deadline dates, such as last day to drop or last day to withdraw, click on the calendar icon in your weekly schedule in MyOHIO Student Center. Please note: these dates can vary on a class-by-class basis depending on the class start date and end date.
If you are receiving financial aid, a change in your enrollment status or your withdrawal from the university may result in your having to repay programs from which you received financial assistance. In addition, you may owe fees to the university after funds are returned to the financial aid programs.
A student is not eligible for a refund until all Federal Title IV programs and other grants and scholarships are reimbursed as required and all outstanding balances with the university have been cleared.
Reduction of Registration Fees
Official cancellation from the University, dropping all classes before the first day of classes, entitles the student to a 100 percent reduction of tuition and fees. Official withdrawal between the first day of the semester and the Friday of the second week of the semester entitles the student to an 80 percent reduction of tuition and fees. There is no reduction of tuition and fees for withdrawals after the Friday of the second week of the semester. Deadlines to add, drop and withdraw are published in the Academic Calendar.
Reduction of Registration Fees - Flexibly Scheduled Classes (Classes offered in Modules)
Flexibly scheduled classes are classes that do not meet for the full session/semester. Therefore, the last day to add, drop, or withdraw from classes might be different from the dates listed in the Academic Calendar. Deadlines to add, drop, and withdraw can be viewed on Course Offerings or by clicking the calendar icon in your weekly schedule in MyOHIO Student Center.
Unofficial Withdrawals
If you stop attending the University and do not officially withdrawal, it is considered to be an unofficial withdrawal. The date of withdrawal will be the last date of academic participation. If the last date of attendance is not known, the midpoint of the semester will be used as the withdrawal date. There will be no fee reduction.
Resources
- Withdrawal from the University / Cancellation of Registration
- Withdraw Contact List
- Ohio University Catalogs Academic Policies and Procedures
- Tuition and Fees
- Housing and Residence Life Withdraw Information
Unofficial Withdrawals
If you stop attending the University and do not officially withdrawal, it is considered to be an unofficial withdrawal and will be subject to the above withdrawal policies and policies for financial aid eligibility. The date of withdrawal will be last date of academic participation. If the last date of attendance is not known, the midpoint of the semester will be used as the withdrawal date. There is no adjustment for tuition.
Federal Aid (Title IV) - Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)
Federal law specifies how schools must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).
You are considered to have withdrawn for Return of Title IV purposes if you do not complete all the days in the payment period (semester) that you were scheduled to complete with the following exceptions:
- A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that he or she was scheduled to complete is not considered to have withdrawn.
- In a program offered in modules, a student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes (grade of A, B, C, or D) –
- One module that includes 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules;
- A combination of modules that when combined contain 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules; or
- Coursework equal to or greater than the coursework of a half-time student (undergraduate-6 credit hours, graduate-5 credit hours) for the payment period;
- For a payment period or period of enrollment in which courses in the program are offered in modules –
- A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time that would have been a withdrawal of the date that he or she will attend a module that begins later in the same payment period or period of enrollment; and
- That module begins no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending.
- Students will receive an email request to confirm enrollment in future modules in the same semester.
Percentage of Title IV Aid Earned
Though your aid is posted to your account at the start of each period, you earn the funds as you complete the period. If you withdraw during your payment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.
The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
The percentage of aid earned is calculated by dividing the number of days completed (numerator) by the number of days in the payment period (denominator). Scheduled breaks of less than five consecutive days, including those that take place between modules, are included in the total number of days in the period, and breaks longer than five days within or between modules are subtracted. For example, the payment period for fall semester is 106 days (111 days less 5 days for Thanksgiving break). If you withdraw 15 days into the semester, you have earned 14.1% of your federal aid (15 days/106 days = 14.1%)
Modules
You are enrolled in modules if you enroll in a course or courses that is shorter than the entire length of a full semester. A module is any class that does not span the full length of the semester. These classes are also referred to as flexibly scheduled classes.
For module enrollment the total number of days in the payment period (denominator) of the R2T4 calculation will only include the days in a module if the student attended the module or if the student’s classes in that module was used to determine the amount of the student’s eligibility for Title IV funds for the payment period. Return of Title IV (R2T4)-Modules [PDF] includes additional information and examples.
Please contact our office if you have any questions or to request an R2T4 review specific to your circumstances.
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement
If not all of the funds that you earned have been disbursed, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, your school must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. Your school may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission (some schools ask for this when you enroll), you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.
There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any Direct Loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.
Return of Title IV Funds
If you receive (or your school or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or the entire amount of excess funds. The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds. If your school is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount.
If it is determined that Title IV funds need to be returned, by Federal Law they will be returned in the following order: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Federal SEOG, and TEACH Grant. Unearned Title IV funds must be returned to the Title IV program no later than 45 days after the date the school determined the student withdrew. Students will be notified by mail when the process is completed. If the R2T4 calculation results in a credit balance on the student account, the refund will be processed as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the R2T4 calculation is performed.
Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You do not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that Ohio University may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. Ohio University may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return.
Unofficial Withdrawals
If you stop attending the University and do not officially withdrawal, it is considered to be an unofficial withdrawal and will be subject to the above withdrawal policies. The date of withdrawal will be the last date of academic participation. If the last date of attendance is not known, the midpoint of the semester will be used as the withdrawal date for the Return of Title IV Funds calculation. If you never began attendance for the semester, all Title IV aid will be returned to the appropriate program.
If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on the Federal Student Aid site.
State and Institutional Grants
If you officially withdrawal through the last day to receive partial fee adjustment of registration fees for complete withdrawal, 80% of the grant funds will be returned to the appropriate program. After the last day to receive a partial fee adjustment for complete withdrawal, 100% of the grant funds will remain on your student account.
Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships
If you officially withdrawal through the last day to receive partial fee adjustment of registration fees for complete withdrawal, the scholarship funds will be returned to the appropriate program. After the last day to receive a partial fee adjustment for complete withdrawal, the scholarship funds will remain on your student account.
College of Osteopathic Medicine Loans and Scholarships
Financial aid consisting of College of Osteopathic Medicine Scholarships, Loans for Disadvantaged Students, or Primary Care Loans is subject to a special University Policy. For official withdrawal during the first 15 calendar days of the semester, 100% of the scholarship funds will be returned to the appropriate program. For withdrawals after the first 15 calendar days of the semester, 100% of the scholarship funds will remain on your student account.
Military Tuition Assistance Funds
Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the period for which the assistance is awarded. If a student withdraws, the student may not be eligible for the full amount of TA funds awarded.
The amount of assistance earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
The TA eligibility will be calculated using the following formula:
Number of days completed/Total days of the course (start to end date) = Percent of TA earned
When a student officially withdraws from a course, the date of withdrawal will be used as the last date of attendance. If a student stops attending a class (unofficial withdrawal), the last date of attendance will be determined by the last date of participation within the course.
Adjustments for TA may result in an unpaid tuition balance. Payment for unpaid tuition is the responsibility of the student.