Withdrawals

Should you withdraw before the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is received, a financial aid offer cannot be made since we are unable to retroactively offer aid for that period of enrollment. Additionally, the deadline to apply for financial aid is typically 1-2 weeks before the last day of your enrollment in the academic year. Be aware, we must receive and be able to make a financial aid offer before the last day of your enrollment in a given term.

There are two types of withdrawals, official withdrawals and unofficial withdrawals.

• The official withdrawal date is determined by the Office of the Registrar based on when a student drops all of their classes, or notifies a university official of their intent to withdraw. 
  

• Unofficial withdrawals occur when students failed to attempt and/or participate in their classes as reported by their instructors at the end of each semester. UWSP’s F grade policy requires that all F grades be reported with the corresponding week the student last participated in the class. The withdrawal date is the Friday of week of the highest F grade received.
  

The “Return to Title IV” calculation has several steps. Below is the pertinent information involved in the calculation.

• The school determines the amount of Title IV financial aid that has been disbursed to your account versus the amount of Title IV financial aid that could have been disbursed to your account. In most cases the full amount of aid will have disbursed. In the instance that your aid has not been disbursed you may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.

• The school determines the amount of time you attended versus the total days of the semester. Breaks of five or more days during the semester are removed from the total days of the semester.  The calculation is represented as a percentage of aid the student has earned.

• The school multiplies the percentage of aid earned by the total amount of disbursed aid and aid that could have disbursed.  This is the amount of aid the student has earned.

• The school takes the amount of aid the student has earned and subtracts it from the total aid disbursed for the student. This is the amount of aid the student has not earned.

• The school determines the amount of institutional charges that have been applied to the students account. This amount is multiplied by the percentage of aid earned. This is the amount of unearned institutional charges.

• The school reviews the amount of unearned aid versus the amount of unearned institutional charges, which is typically done within 30 days from the date the school determined the student withdrew (officially and unofficially). The lesser of the numbers is the amount of aid that is returned. The school has 45 days from the date the school determined the student withdrew (officially and unofficially) to return this amount. The least desirable aid is returned first, in ascending order of desirability as follows:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan

2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
   

3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan

4. Federal Pell Grant

5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
   

7. Other Federal, State, Private, or Institutional Aid
   

If a student did not receive all of the funds earned, the student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the school is required to get the student’s permission before these can be disbursed.  The student may decide to decline some or all of the loan funds so additional debt is not incurred. The school may use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and meal plan charges. The school is required to get the student’s permission for any post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If the student does not give permission, the student will be offered the grant funds. Please note, there are some Title IV funds that may be scheduled to be received and cannot be disbursed to the student after withdrawal because of other eligibility requirements. You will not be allowed to register at UWSP with a past due balance. Please contact the Student Financial Services office for inquiries about your past due balance.

The federal refund formula is rather complex. If you need to withdraw from all of your classes, you are encouraged to speak to a financial aid advisor before doing so to determine how it may affect your financial aid and your Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Worksheets used to calculate the amount of "return of Title IV funds" are available upon request.