Financial Aid Resources

Students who withdraw from CBU or drop all courses during a semester

If you are considering dropping from or withdrawing from all your classes during a semester it is important that you are aware of the University’s tuition adjustment policies. This decision will likely impact your eligibility for financial aid that has been awarded and disbursed to your account in the Business Office. It will also likely impact your eligibility for financial aid in future semesters as part of your Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Read more about CBU’s Tuition Adjustment Policies

The federal government, through laws passed by Congress and regulations issued by the United States Department of Education, determines how much financial aid students may retain when they withdraw from all their classes in a semester.

A calculation, using a formula provided by the federal government, must be performed for students who receive Title IV financial assistance (Pell, FSEOG, and Direct Loans) and officially withdraw from all courses, drop all courses, are expelled, take an unapproved leave of absence, or fail to return from an approved leave of absence prior to the 60 percent date of the semester. All unearned aid must be returned to the federal aid programs as determined by the formula.

In order to keep all the financial aid issued in each semester, students must remain enrolled for at least 60 percent of the semester. After this point the student has earned 100 percent of the Title IV funds released for the semester. It is in your best interest to maintain attendance and complete at least one class each semester that you receive federal aid to avoid repayment of funds. (Different requirements apply to maintain satisfactory academic progress.)

The Return to Title IV calculation determines how much of the federal financial aid a student received for the semester was actually “earned” and how much must be repaid. The amount of financial aid earned is based on the student’s date of withdrawal from all classes.How the calculation works:

1. Number of days attended ÷ Days in semester = percent of semester completed 
2. Total $ disbursed X percent completed = Earned $
3. Total $ disbursed – Earned $ = $ to be returned

Students who drop courses but still are enrolled

Each federal, state and institutional financial aid program has requirements for enrollment. The Office of Financial Aid monitors your enrollment throughout the semester.

Adjustments to financial aid awarded for the semester will be done to reflect the number of credit hours for which a student is enrolled as of Census Day.   

Students who drop classes during late registration and through the close of business on Census Day, may need to return any financial aid disbursed based on their original financial aid award.

Students who fail all courses

If you fail to earn a passing grade in all courses attempted for the semester the Office of Financial Aid is required to determine if you actually attended your classes and failed to meet course objectives, or if by ceasing to attend your courses, you unofficially withdrew from the university. In this situation the Office of Financial Aid will request the last date of academically related activity from your instructors for the semester and use the latest date provided as you last date of attendance.  If no dates can be provided by your instructors, the Office of Financial Aid is required to use the 50 percent point of the semester as your last date of attendance in the Return to Title IV calculation.

Additional information regarding withdrawing from classes

These regulations are not the same as the University’s refund schedule which is determined by the Business Office as part of the Business Office Withdrawal Policy.

Read more about the CBU Business Office Withdrawal Policy here.

Scholarships

Scholarships are a form of gift aid that do not have to be repaid and may be awarded based on merit, need, or a combination of both. Scholarships are not awarded by the CBU Office of Financial Aid, although they are considered a resource when we determine your aid eligibility.

Scholarship Fraud

Many private entities offer scholarship search services. If you or your family do not have the time to do your own search and are willing to pay for the service, such agencies can be helpful. In order to verify their legitimacy it is best to check with the Better Business Bureau or the state attorney general’s office. When researching a scholarship opportunity, remember, if it’s “too good to be true,” it probably is. 

Please note — the majority of the information these private scholarship search services provide is available for free on the web. Other resources for this information may include your high school counselor or the financial aid staff at CBU. The U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission offer additional guidance regarding scholarship searches on their web pages: Looking for Student Aid and $cholarship $cams.

Financial aid disbursements will automatically occur only if you meet the eligibility requirements for minimum number of enrolled hours, actual enrollment versus anticipated enrollment for the term, financial aid standards of academic progress, and financial eligibility.

Disbursement of financial aid funds to the Business Office is scheduled each semester to begin after attendance has been reported approximately two weeks after classes start. Funds are disbursed only after all the requirements of the various programs have been met.

Refunds are prepared by the Business Office after all debt to CBU is paid. You should log into Banner web to see if your aid has been credited to your account.

When a refund from your student account is available it will be deposited to the bank account you have provided. Refunds via paper check can be mailed or picked up.

If you anticipate having a refund of financial aid funds, and you need those funds to pay for books and supplies, it is possible to obtain a book voucher from the Business Office. To receive this voucher you must have completed all of the steps needed to receive your financial aid and are waiting only for the processing of your application to be completed. This includes submitting verification materials, completing student loan entrance counseling and having completed the student loan Master Promissory Note (MPN). A book voucher is a credit applied to your CBU ID Card and can only be used at the CBU Bookstore. It cannot be used at off-campus or online bookstores.

You need to be enrolled at CBU in at least 6 hours as an undergraduate student and 5 hours as a graduate student for institutional, state, and/or loan aid to be disbursed. If you are enrolled in less than 6 hours, and you are eligible for the Pell Grant program, you may be eligible to receive this grant.

Your financial aid award is based your enrollment in classes at CBU. If you are registered for classes at another institution, these classes do not apply to your financial aid eligibility at CBU.

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) provides the authority for the financial aid administrator to exercise discretion in a number of areas when a student has special or unusual circumstances. This authority is known as professional judgment (PJ). It allows the financial aid administrator to treat a student individually when conditions exist that differentiate that student from a class of students. PJ decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis as the result of examining an individual student’s unique circumstances. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Parents’ loss of employment or change in employment status
• Student’s loss of employment or change in employment status
• Loss of untaxed income (Social Security benefits, pension, etc.)
• Divorce/separation or death of a parent
• Change in dependency status (dependent to independent only)
• Unusual medical/dental bills or disability-related expenses
• One-time income
• Other unusual debt/expenses (transportation related, child care, residency interviews etc.)

If you are experiencing a special or unusual circumstance, please contact the CBU Financial Aid Office and ask to speak to someone about extenuating circumstances.