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Return of Title IV Aid (R2T4)

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Students who receive federal Title IV financial aid and withdraw from all classes–officially or unofficially—are subject to a federal Return of Title IV regulations. Federal Title IV programs include Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal TEACH Grant.

Official Withdrawal: A student is considered officially withdrawn when they follow the university withdrawal procedures through the Office of Student Retention. The student's withdrawal date is the date the student initiates the official withdrawal process. The last date of attedance is the date used to calculate the Return of Title IV aid.

Unofficial Withdrawal: Students who cease attendance and receive grades of F in all classes, or a combination of Fs and any of the following grades in all classes for the semester–WF, I, IP, U, W–are considered unofficially withdrawn. The determination that a student has unofficially withdrawn is made after grades are posted at the end of the semester. The withdrawal date for unofficially withdrawn students is the latest reported date of attendance or academic activity, as reported by the student’s professors. 

The Return of Title IV aid calculation determines the amount of earned and unearned federal Title IV aid, based on the student’s last date of attendance. Students earn Title IV aid as they attend classes during the semester. Only when a student has attended past the 60 percent mark in the semester have they earned all of their federal Title IV assistance for the term.

How R2T4 is calculated

During the first 60% of the semester, a student earns Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time they remain enrolled. 

Earned Title IV Calculation

  • Divide the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the entire semester
  • Calendar days are used in the determination of percentages
  • School/holiday breaks of 5 days or longer are excluded
  • Students must repay the difference between the total Title IV funds disbursed and the percentage of funds they "earned" based on this calculation
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