Section 5: Financial Aid:

Refund Policies

The university refunds tuition and fees according to these policies and in accordance with applicable federal regulations. Students receiving federal financial assistance will have funds returned to the appropriate lending agencies in accordance with applicable federal guidelines. Federal aid that may have been awarded to students may be adjusted by reducing or reallocating or returning funds to federal programs if disbursement has already occurred.

Students who drop courses during the drop/add period will receive an account credit. Any resulting credit balance on their student account and if eligible to be released to the student is processed within 14 calendar days from when the account shows the credit balance. Students may submit any questions and/or inquiries regarding a credit balance on their student account by submitting an email to refund@mail.waldenu.edu.

When a recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds withdraws from an institution during a term or payment period, the university must determine the amount of Title IV grant or loan funds the student earned as of the student’s withdrawal date. Federal regulations established by the U.S. Department of Education require the Office of Financial Aid to apply a formula, entitled Return to Title IV (R2T4), to determine the percentage of federal financial aid a student has earned up through the last date of academically related activity in any or all courses or competencies during the term or payment period. The Title IV programs included in this policy are the Federal Pell Grant, Federal TEACH Grant, Federal Direct Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG).

Course-based students who withdraw, drop, or do not otherwise complete all of the courses that they are scheduled to attend in the term, and Tempo Learning® students who withdraw officially or unofficially, may have disbursed funds returned to the federal government. This includes students who stop engaging in academically related activities in any or all courses or competencies during the term or payment period.

Students withdrawing from any course(s) in the term or competencies prior to the completion of 60% of the days scheduled to attend in the quarter/semester or payment period may find that funds are owed to the university as a result of the R2T4.

The following enrollment changes in Course-Based Programs that may trigger an R2T4:

• Drop or withdrawal to zero credits (withdrawal through university policy).
• Official Leave of Absence during the term.
• Lack of engagement in academically related activities for at least 14 consecutive days or more in a term.
• For consecutive enrollment within a term, withdrawal from an earlier course with no confirmation of return in a later course. The later course would have to begin no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the course the student ceased attending.
• For consecutive enrollment within a term, dropping, not attending, or withdrawing from a later course, even after the completion of an earlier course.
  • Beginning for withdrawal dates of July 1, 2021, or later, students are excluded from this withdrawal rule if they successfully complete the following:
    • Earn a passing grade in the earlier course or combination of courses greater than or equal to half-time enrollment (3 credits graduate, 6 credits undergraduate);
    • Earn a passing grade in courses that when alone or combined contain 49% of the days in the term, excluding scheduled breaks of 5 or more consecutive days and all days between courses; or
    • Meet graduation requirements.

Note: Students do not qualify for these exemptions if they fail the earlier course(s).

• For consecutive enrollment within a term, failure to participate in more than 60% of the days scheduled to attend in the term, along with failure to earn a passing grade in the last course in the term, even after passing an earlier course.
• Failure to participate in more than 60% of the days scheduled to attend in the term along with failure to earn a passing grade in all courses attempted in the term.

The following enrollment changes in Tempo Learning® Programs that may trigger an R2T4:

• Official withdrawal from the program.
• Administrative withdrawal due to lack of participation for 30 consecutive days.
• Administrative withdrawal for not submitting a Customized Learning Plan (CLP) by Day 14 of the subscription period.
• Administrative withdrawal for failure to meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements.
• Failure to return from a Leave of Absence.

Please Note: Graduating during the financial aid payment period is not considered a withdrawal for R2T4 even though the student may not have completed all of the days in the financial aid payment period.

The last date of academically related activity, as determined by the university, is used as the financial aid withdrawal date to determine the completion percentage for R2T4.

The calculation of the percentage of federal financial aid earned includes all financial aid disbursed or that which could have been disbursed to a student. This percentage is calculated by taking the number of calendar days completed by the student in the term or payment period divided by the total number of calendar days the student is scheduled to attend in the term or payment period (scheduled breaks of 5 consecutive days or more are excluded from the calculation). The percentage is then multiplied by the amount of Title IV financial aid awarded in the payment period to determine the amount earned. If the federal aid disbursed is greater than the percentage of federal aid earned, the difference must be returned to the appropriate Title IV program.

Students who complete more than 60% of the term or payment period are considered to have earned 100% of the federal financial aid disbursed to them for the term or payment period.

If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned prior to their last day of participation, a post-withdrawal disbursement may be due. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds that did not disburse, the student must give permission before the funds can be disbursed. Students will be notified of their post-withdrawal disbursement eligibility via email to their Walden University email account within 30 days of the withdrawal determination date.

There may be some Title IV funds that a student may have been scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed once the student withdraws because of other eligibility requirements.

The Office of Financial Aid returns federal financial aid funds to programs in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loans (other than Direct PLUS Loans)
2. Subsidized Direct Loans
3. Direct PLUS Loans (parent or graduate)
4. Federal Pell Grants
5. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
6. FSEOG
7. TEACH Grants

Regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to complete a student’s R2T4 calculation and return Title IV funds as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date the university determines the student withdrew. Regulations also require the Office of Financial Aid to determine if the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV funds within 30 days of the date the university determines the student withdrew.

The student will be notified via email to their Walden University email account when the R2T4 calculation is completed and what federal aid was returned. In addition, any student that had federal Direct Loans disbursed will be sent exit counseling information.

The withdrawal date for federal financial aid purposes is not the same as the withdrawal date processed by the Office of the Registrar to determine tuition adjustments. The requirements for Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from Walden’s refund policy.

Federal student aid may not cover all charges due to the university that result from the return of funds upon the student’s withdrawal, and students may owe a balance to Walden. Any student with a remaining balance should log in to their the Payment Gateway (course-based payments and Tempo Learning® payments) to make payment arrangements.

If a student who withdraws, officially or unofficially, from a program with courses that do not span the entire length of the quarter or semester, later participates in the same program prior to the end of the term, they will be treated as if they did not cease attendance. If an R2T4 was processed, it will be undone and federal financial aid funds that were returned will be re-disbursed according to applicable federal eligibility guidelines. 

If a student who withdraws from a Tempo Learning® program reenters within 180 days, they are treated as if they did not cease attendance. If an R2T4 was processed, it will be undone and federal financial aid funds that were returned will be re-disbursed according to applicable federal eligibility guidelines.

If a student ceases to attend after an R2T4 has been undone, a subsequent R2T4 may be required for the same period.

Prior to withdrawing or making any enrollment changes, students should contact the Office of Financial Aid to determine if the change will result in a return of funds and to understand the financial options to get back on track for future terms.

Tuition reductions are applied to the current term and may not be retroactively applied for any reason (see also Tuition Reduction Benefits). Students should review their current billing statement to ensure that their tuition reduction has been applied appropriately. If students have any questions, they should contact their enrollment specialist.

Refunds resulting from a student’s withdrawal from courses and/or the university are based upon the effective withdrawal date (as confirmed by the Office of the Registrar).

Residency fees are nonrefundable after 10 calendar days before the residency start date.