Return of Aid after Drop or Withdrawal

We understand that unexpected events occur in life that will cause a student to drop a class or withdraw from all classes. 

Definitions:

• Drop - if a student drops a class prior to the end of the add/drop period it may or may not affect the student's financial aid.  A student should consult with their financial aid counselor prior to dropping one or more classes.
• Withdrawal - Federal regulation requires financial aid to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was disbursed.  The following policies will help you to understand that a withdrawal may not only affect you academically, but also financially.  We encourage you to read all the information below prior to making your final decision.

Important:  The tuition and fees refund policy is set by Western State College of Colorado and is separate from the federal regulation to repay unearned aid.  Whether or not you receive a tuition/fee refund has no bearing on the amount you must repay to the federal aid programs.  Please refer to the refund policy below:

Refund Percentage:

•  100% - Through the end of the official Drop Period.
•   50% -  For the period between 15 and 25% of the term.
•   25% -  For the period between 25 and 50% of the term.
•    0% -   For the period after 50% of the term.

Please refer to the Class Schedule for dates of the official Drop Period

Student Fails to Begin Attendance

If a student receives financial aid, but never begins attending classes, the Financial Aid Office must return all disbursed funds to the respective federal, state and institutional aid programs.

Types of Withdrawals

For financial aid purposes there are two types of withdrawals: official and unofficial.

• Official: An official withdrawal will be recorded once the withdrawal process has been completed by the student.  The current academic year's policy for a Complete Withdrawal can be found in Western’s college catalog.
• Unofficial: Federal financial aid regulations consider a student to be an unofficial withdrawal if the student receives all failing grades for the term.  If the student has not completely withdrawn and has failed to earn a passing grade in at least one class for the term, federal regulations require the school to determine whether the student established eligibility for financial aid by attending at least one class or participating in any Western academic-related activity.  An unofficial withdrawal calculation will be performed and funds returned to their respective federal and institutional aid programs if:
  
       a)  there is not documentation supporting the student's last day of attendance
       or
       b)  the documentation indicates the student stopped attending prior to the 60% point of the term.

Student Notification of Repayment to Federal Programs

A notification letter outlining the amount repaid to the federal program(s) will be mailed to the student's permanent address.  Western will repay the amounts to the appropriate federal program(s) on the student's behalf, and will bill the student's account.

Additional Financial Aid policies affected by withdrawal

A student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to continue to receive federal assistance.  If a student received financial aid, and completely withdrew from the term in which assistance was awarded, the student will not be eligible to receive future aid from Western until an appeal is submitted to and approved by the Western’s Financial Aid Office.