Return to Title IV Policy

Read Return to Title IV Policy

In accordance with federal and state regulations students who complete zero credits, stop attending, or officially withdraw from all of their classes on or after the first day of the quarter may owe a repayment on a portion of the Financial Aid funds they received for the quarter. The policies apply to all federal and state Financial Aid except work study earnings. The last date a student attended class, officially withdrew, or notified Highline College of the intent to withdraw is used to determine the last date of attendance and used to calculate the repayment amount i.e. the amount of “unearned” funds.

Institutional Refund Policy

Partial Withdrawal: When a student withdraws from a class or classes during the colleges 100% or 40% refund periods, tuition and allowable fees are reduced by the amount of the institutional refund. For example, if a student withdraws during the 40% refund period, the student's refund of tuition and allowable fees are reduced to 40%.

Complete Withdrawal: When a student completely withdraws from all classes, the Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation is applied first and then the institutional refund policy is applied. If the college must return money to the Department of Education, as a result of the federal calculation, the student must repay the college for those returned funds. If the student is due a refund of tuition and allowable fees as a result of the institutional policy, the tuition refund amount will first be applied to any amount the student may owe the college. Any tuition refund balance after that is then sent to the student. See the section on Federal Funds Repayment Policy to learn more about the federal calculation policy.

Federal Funds Repayment Policy

Institutions must calculate a “Return of Title IV Funds” for all students who received any Title IV funds (Pell, Loans, or FSEOG) and complete zero credits, stop attending, or officially withdraw from all of their classes on or after the first day of the quarter. Under the federal government's "Return of Title IV Funds" policy, students are considered to have "earned" the percentage of their Title IV aid that equals the percentage of the quarter completed in calendar days.

Students who complete more than 60% of the quarter will have earned 100% of the aid they received and will not owe a repayment to the federal Title IV program.

Determination of the Withdrawal Date

The date the student withdrew determines the amount of repayment required. For an official withdrawal the ‘withdrawal date’ used in the Return to Title IV calculation is the date the student began the college’s withdrawal process (the date that the student officially notified the Office of Registration and Records of their intent to withdraw).

The date used to determine whether or not a student owes a repayment of Financial Aid funds is:

a) Official Withdrawal: The date the student notified the Registrar’s Office of the intent to withdraw or the actual withdrawal date.
b) Unofficial Withdrawal: If the student did not notify the Registrar's Office of the intent to withdraw or officially withdraw, the last date of attendance is determined as follows:

• The latest date a student attended class as reported by the instructors will be used as the last date of attendance.

Withdrawal on or after the following dates will not require a repayment of Federal Aid:

Quarter	Date
Fall 2021	11/15/2021
Winter 2022	2/23/2022
Spring	5/18/2022
Summer 2022	7/29/2022

The College’s and the Student’s Repayment Responsibilities

The school and the student share in the return of Federal Aid. To determine the school’s share of repayment the school must first multiply the “unearned percentage” by the amount of the student’s tuition and fee charges for the quarter. This amount is compared to the total amount of Title IV aid that must be returned. The school’s share of the repayment is the lesser of these two figures. The student’s share of the repayment is determined by subtracting the school’s share of the repayment from the total repayment amount. This result is multiplied by 50% to determine the amount of repayment the student is obligated to repay.

The unearned amount of aid is returned to the Department of Education in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loan,
2. Subsidized Direct Loan,
3. Pell Grant,
4. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.

If the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of Institutional Refund of Charges to the student, the student will owe a repayment to the school.

The Financial Aid Office will notify students who owe a repayment by email or in writing. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure street and email addresses are current. Students have 45 days to pay the full amount to the college Cashier’s office. Until the bill is paid, students are not allowed to register for classes or obtain copies of their academic transcripts.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

Students who are eligible to receive Title IV Aid, but did not receive their aid prior to withdrawing, may be eligible to receive a Financial Aid disbursement. This is called a “post-withdrawal disbursement.” To qualify for a post-withdrawal disbursement, students must have been eligible to receive the Financial Aid funds on the date they last attended school. This process is required for all Return of Title IV calculations, including students who have attended greater than 60% of the quarter. The Financial Aid Office sends the Pell Grant funds directly to students who are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. Students who had a loan originated before their withdrawal date will receive a letter by email or regular mail requiring you to respond affirmatively to receive the loan funds.

Return of Washington College Grant and College Bound Funds

State Aid recipients who withdrew from school or stop attending classes may be required to repay all or part of the State Aid they received. This includes Washington College Grant, College Bound Scholarship funds and Passport to College. Students who attend more than 50% of the quarter are considered to have earned 100% of the State Aid received. The repayment amount is determined by using the following formula:

• ([State Aid Award] x [Unearned %]) x 50% = [Repayment Amount]

Students who owe a repayment for state funds are reported to the Washington Student Achievement Council and will be ineligible for any future state funds until the repayment has been paid in full. The Financial Aid Office notifies students who owe a repayment by email or in writing. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure street and email addresses are current. Students should contact Washington Student Achievement Council’s billing service, Universal Accounting Services, to pay the state funds repayment at 1-844-870-8701. 

Withdrawal on or after the following dates will not require a repayment of State Aid:

Quarter	Date
Fall 2021 ​	11/7/2021
Winter 2022	2/16/2022
Spring 2022	5/11/2022
Summer 2022	7/24/2022

The college provides equal opportunity in education and employment and does not discriminate on the basis
of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, creed, religion, or status as a
veteran of war. Prohibited sex discrimination includes sexual harassment (unwelcome sexual conduct of
various types). Students who need disability accommodations should contact Access Services in Building 99, 1st
Floor, room 180, email: access@highline.edu, phone: (206) 592- 3857 TTY (206) 592-4853, VP (253) 237-1106.