There are different kinds of academic withdrawal. You can request a course withdrawal when you want to stop attending one course or a semester withdrawal to be removed from all your courses. Before you start the withdrawal process, you should understand how your financial aid may be affected.
If you withdraw from a course or courses, you may:
Have a reduction in your financial aid
Have to return some of the financial aid you already received
Have to start making student loan payments
If you have questions about the impact that a course or semester withdrawal will have on your financial aid eligibility, please contact the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office at finaid@niu.edu or 815-753-1395.
Withdrawals and Return of Funds Calculation
If you withdraw from some or all your courses, you may have reduced financial aid eligibility for that semester. According to federal regulations, you'll only be eligible for the amount of financial aid earned based upon how long you attended the course or courses. This applies whether you follow the semester withdrawal procedure or simply stop attending class (called an unofficial withdrawal).
Pell Grant
There is an attendance requirement for the federal Pell Grant program. Federal regulations require you to begin attendance in every class for which you receive Pell. If you never attend your class or classes, the amount of your Pell Grant may decrease.
Reduction to NIU Charges
If you complete a semester or course withdrawal, your tuition and fee charges may be reduced. The amount of any reduction depends on when you complete the withdrawal. The Office of the Bursar will determine any changes to your bill. Learn more about withdrawal and reduction to NIU charges.
If you unofficially withdraw (stop attending without following the withdrawal procedure), you won't qualify for a reduction in charges, and your financial aid may be reduced.
Loan Repayment Status
If you withdraw from all your courses or attend less than half-time, your status in the National Student Loan Data System will change to repayment. Since you'll no longer have an in-school status or qualify for an in-school deferment, you'll have to start paying back your loans. If this is the first time you've entered repayment status, your grace period (a short time when you don't need to make payments) will begin on the date of your withdrawal.
Returning Financial Aid Funds
If you receive federal loans or grants and you withdraw before completing at least 60% of the semester, funds may be returned to the Department of Education.
In addition, if you received a refund from financial aid that was to be used for education-related personal expenses or housing expenses, you may have to return some of it. Specifically, you may have to return the amount that would have paid for your education-related expenses for the rest of the semester, after you withdraw.
Return Calculation
We are required to perform a return calculation a formula set by the federal government, to determine if funds need to be returned. We complete the return calculations for course and semester withdrawals as they occur throughout the semester. We use the day the withdrawal process started as the withdrawal date.
At the end of a semester, if you haven't requested a withdrawal or earned a passing grade in at least one course, we'll review your attendance. If we can't verify your attendance in at least one course, we'll consider you to have unofficially withdrawn, and we'll use the official withdrawal date to complete the return calculation to see if any money needs to be returned.
Appeals
If we determine that you haven't attended a course as of a certain date, but you can provide proof that you did attend the course, you can appeal the decision. You'll need to provide proof of a course activity (a graded test or assignment, for example).
Receiving Funds After Withdrawal
If you accept federal financial aid but withdraw before the funds have been disbursed, you may not be eligible for those funds. It depends on when your aid was accepted and if you meet the definition of attendance. You may still be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. If you are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, and you withdraw before your SAP appeal is approved, you won't be eligible to receive the funds.
Loans
Loans will be prorated based on the amount of financial aid earned (how many days you attended class) according to the Return of Title IV calculation.
Grants
The return calculation will also determine if you should receive any of the federal grant funds you accepted before you withdrew. Any amount owed to you will be disbursed within 45 days of your withdrawal date. We will automatically use the grant funds to pay for your tuition, fees, and other eligible NIU charges. If there is a credit balance, a refund will be issued to you.
Credit Balance
If you receive a disbursement (payment) of federal loans or grants you withdraw and it's more than what you owe the university, you'll have money left over in your account. This is called a credit balance, and it will be paid to you within 30 days after the completion of the return calculation.
University Withdrawal – Officially withdrawing from all courses for a semester.
Course Withdrawal – Officially withdrawing from one or more courses but maintaining enrollment in at least one course.
Unofficial Withdrawal - Ceasing to attend all courses without officially withdrawing or earning credit in at least one course.
NIU performs the federal return calculations for University Withdrawals and Unofficial Withdrawals.
University Withdrawal calculations are processed throughout the semester as students withdraw.
The withdrawal date is the date the student initiates the withdrawal process.
Unofficial Withdrawals are identified at the end of the semester by reviewing grades and attendance. Attendance is reviewed for students who do not officially withdraw but fail to earn a passing grade for a semester. If NIU cannot document attendance in at least one course, the return calculation is required.
The withdrawal date is the midpoint of the semester unless a later attendance date can be documented.
Students who have a combination of grades that are all W, WP, WF, N, F, I, U or any other NIU grade that does not result in earned hours, are reviewed.
Title IV (Federal) funds are offered based on the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the funds were offered. When you drop, withdraw or cease to attend class, you may no longer be eligible for the full amount of the funds you were originally scheduled to receive. The Federal Return of Title IV (R2T4) Funds policy mandates that students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all classes are only eligible for the amount of aid earned up to the time of withdrawal.
If NIU determines you withdrew from all courses or stopped attending at least half-time, we must update your status in the National Student Loan Data System. You will no longer have an in-school status or qualify for an in-school deferment. If the student has never entered a repayment status, the grace period will begin as of the reported withdrawal date.
Under NIU reduces (refunds) original tuition and fee charges when you drop or withdraw from courses based on the date of the drop/withdrawal. Learn more on the Office of the Bursar website.
Tuition and fee restricted aid including but not limited to the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant, the Illinois Veterans Grant, the Illinois National Guard Grant, the Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver, NIU Tuition waivers and offers will be reduced if the aid exceeds remaining tuition and fee charges.
You might also become ineligible for part or all the assistance from other sources, such as merit-based scholarships and scholarships from private donors. The donor or organization will be contacted to determine how they want funds to be handled.
A student recipient of Federal Title IV funds (i.e., Federal Pell, SEOG or TEACH grants or Perkins, Direct or PLUS loans) who withdraws from the school before completing 60% of the term is subject to the Return of Title IV Calculation to determine the percentage of Title IV funds required to be returned to the federal government. The Return of Title IV calculation is a federally mandated formula to determine how much federal funding was "earned" up to the time of withdrawal.
The Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned to the federal government by the school and/or you. If you received a refund from financial aid, which was to be used for education-related personal expenses or housing expenses, you may be required to return a portion of those funds to the school. This portion represents funds that were intended to pay your education-related expenses through the end of the semester. The amount to be returned to the school will be determined by your institutional costs, refunds you might have received for non-school expenses and the funds that must be returned to the government.
The amount to be returned to the federal government will be calculated from the date you officially withdrew from classes or, in the case of an unofficial withdrawal, the last date you were involved in an academically related activity. An official withdrawal occurs when a student follows the published process for withdrawing from the school prior to the end of the term.
Federal programs included in the Return Calculation are the Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, TEACH Grant, Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loan, Direct Grad PLUS Loan and the Direct Parent PLUS Loan.
Earned Aid is based on the percent of the term attended and Unearned Aid on the percent not attended. A student who withdraws at the 40% point of the semester has earned 40% of eligible aid and 60% of eligible aid is unearned. The number of completed days (days prior to withdrawal date) is divided by the number of days in the term to determine the percent completed. Students who attend through or past the 60% point have earned 100% of eligible aid.
Eligible aid is the aid that has been or could have been disbursed.
R2T4 calculations:
Total eligible aid x the earned percentage = earned aid
Total eligible aid – earned aid = aid that must be returned
Total Institutional Charges x unearned % = amount NIU will return
Aid that must be returned – amount NIU returns = amount reported as a student return
Any unearned Title IV aid must be returned to the federal government within 45 days of the date of the determination of your withdrawal. Any unreturned loan funds must be repaid in accordance with the terms of the student's promissory note(s). Funds are returned by repaying the following sources in order up to the net amount received from each source:
Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loans (other than PLUS loans)
If you have accepted Title IV, HEA financial aid by the date of the withdrawal, but the financial aid has not been disbursed, you may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the amount disbursed is less than the amount you earned, and for which you are otherwise eligible, you are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement for the earned aid that was not received.
Under these circumstances, an R2T4 calculation must be performed to determine whether the student is actually eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. NIU must make this determination within 30 calendar days after you withdraw.
The following conditions apply when processing a post-withdrawal disbursement:
You must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress according to NIU and federal policy.
You must have accepted aid by the date of the withdrawal.
If, before your withdrawal date a loan offer has been accepted, the loan must also have been originated by NIU.
If you are eligible for a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of loan funds, the funds will be offered to you within 30 days of the date we determined you withdrew. You will be given a minimum of 14 calendar days to respond to the post-withdrawal disbursement offer. Generally, accepted loan funds will be disbursed within two weeks of the date you respond and all information and documents, including entrance counseling and the master promissory note if required, are complete. Loan funds accepted must be disbursed within 180 days of the date we determined you withdrew.
Any Title IV grant funds you are due as part of a post-withdrawal disbursement will be disbursed within 45 days of the date we determined you withdrew. NIU may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition and fees. However, NIU needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds.
If Title IV funds that are part of a post-withdrawal disbursement create a credit balance, the balance will be issued to you within 14 days.