Official Withdrawal from St. Olaf
A student must contact the Dean of Students Office (verbally or in writing) to withdraw from St. Olaf College or take a leave of absence. For tuition refunds and financial aid refunds, the date of withdrawal is the date the student notifies the Dean of Students Office they are withdrawing. Room and board refunds are prorated based on the date the student moves out of the residence facility.
Unofficial Withdrawal from St. Olaf
Federal regulations require that records of financial aid recipients who earn failing grades in all their classes be reviewed. If courses are not completed (e.g., unofficial withdrawal, stopped attending), the College is required to refund financial aid to the appropriate sources according to federal or St. Olaf refund policies based on the last recorded date of attendance. Students are responsible for the entire cost of the term, including the portion previously covered by financial aid should they stop attending. Students are strongly urged to follow guidelines for complete withdrawal from the university. If there are extenuating circumstances, a petition to have the cost of tuition refunded can be made. Petition forms are available online through the Registrar’s Office website.
Refund Policy
Refund of Tuition, Room, and Board for withdrawals
Title: Refund of Tuition, Room, and Board
Procedure No: STO-55
Effective Date: 09-01-2017
Issuing Authority: Student Accounts Office
Contact: Student Accounts at tuition@stolaf.edu, 507-786-3296 or 866-640-4702
Last Updated: 03-23-2017
Purpose of Procedures:
To ensure tuition, room, and board are refunded appropriately to the student’s account in the event of a withdrawal from St. Olaf College.
Who needs to know these Procedures:
All St. Olaf College students.
Procedures:
Students must notify the Dean of Students Office regarding any withdrawal from St. Olaf. The Dean of Students Office will then contact the appropriate offices.
Full Withdrawal: Tuition Fall and Spring If the student withdraws before the first day of class, tuition, room, and board will be refunded 100%. A student’s deposit will be forfeited. If the student withdraws by the end of 10th day, tuition will be refunded 80%. Room will not be refunded. If the student withdraws within two weeks after 10th day, tuition will be refunded 40%. Room will not be refunded. Full withdrawals will result in a recalculation of federal, state, and institutional aid.
Full Withdrawal: Room Fall and Spring If the student withdraws before the first day of class, room charges will be refunded 100%. If a student withdraws after these dates the student will not receive any refund for room. Full Withdrawal: Board Fall and Spring If the student withdraws before the first day of class, board charges will be refunded 100%. If the student withdraws within the first 3 weeks of the term, board will be refunded 80%. If the student withdraws within the first 6 weeks of the term, board will be refunded 60%. If the student withdraws within the first 9 weeks of the term, board will be refunded 40%. If the student withdraws within the first 12 weeks of the term, board will be refunded 20%. Partial Drop (Going from Full-Time to Part-Time Enrollment) If a student drops from full-time to part-time before the first day of class, they will receive a full tuition refund but will be billed the part-time rate. Student’s aid is adjusted to reflect enrollment in part time. If a student drops from full-time to part-time after the start of the term but before 10th date, there will be no change to tuition charges or to institutional aid but Pell and state grant will be recalculated based on actual enrollment. If a student drops from full-time to part-time after the 10th date, there will be no change to tuition charges or to federal, state, and institutional aid. January Term Refund Policy There is no cost to the student for tuition, housing, or board plans if they are here for one full term in addition to January Term. Thus there will be no refund if the student does not participate in January Term. Summer Tuition Refund Policy If the student withdraws by the 4th day of class, an 80% refund will be available If the student withdraws by the 8th day of class, a 40% refund will be available Medical Withdrawal Students who withdraw for medical reasons may receive a pro-rated refund of tuition at any point throughout the semester and will be asked to provide the Dean of Students Office with documentation from a health-care provider. Private Music Lessons No refunds in fees will be made for absences from private lessons, except on account of illness of more than two weeks’ duration. Dismissal Students dismissed because of unsatisfactory work or infringement of college rules will receive refunds as determined by the administration. Federal Financial Aid Refunds – Return to Title IV Calculation A student recipient of Federal Title IV funds (i.e., Federal Pell, SEOG or TEACH grants or Perkins, Direct or PLUS loans) who withdraws from the College before completing 60% of the term is subject to the Return to Title IV (R2T4) Calculation to determine the percentage of Title IV funds required to be returned to the federal government. The R2T4 calculation is a federally mandated formula used to determine how much federal funding was “earned” up to the time of withdrawal. The Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the “earned” amount must be returned to the federal government by the College and/or the student. If the student received a refund from financial aid, which was to be used for education-related personal or housing expenses, may be required to return a portion of those funds to the College. This portion represents funds that were intended to pay education-related expenses through the end of the semester. The amount to be returned to the College will be determined by institutional costs, refunds the student might have received for non-college expenses and the funds that must be returned to the government. The amount to be returned to the federal government will be calculated from the date of official withdrawal from classes or, in the case of an unofficial withdrawal, the last date the student was involved in an academically related activity. An official withdrawal occurs when a student follows the published process for withdrawing from the College prior to the end of the term. To determine the amount of aid earned up to the time of withdrawal, St. Olaf’s Financial Aid Office will determine the percentage of the semester attended. The percentage used to determine the return of federal student aid funds is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than five consecutive days are excluded. The resulting percentage is then used along with the student’s college costs and total federal funds received (funds that were disbursed directly to the student account and possibly refunded to the student) or were eligible to be received, to determine the amount of aid allowed to be kept. Any unearned Title IV aid must be returned to the federal government within 45 days of the date of the determination of the withdrawal. St. Olaf’s Office of Financial Aid notifies the student with instructions on how to proceed if the student is required to return funds to the government. Any funds returned after the R2T4 calculation is completed and processed are then used to repay St. Olaf funds, state funds, other private sources, and the student, in proportion to the amount received from each non-federal source, as long as there was no unpaid balance at the time of withdrawal. All aid sources are repaid before any funds are returned to the student. Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. Financial aid returned by you and/or your parent or the College must be allocated in the following order: Post Withdrawal Disbursement A student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement if, prior to withdrawing, the student earned more federal financial aid than was disbursed. If a student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV funds, it will be processed and a refund will be issued to the student within 14 days of the creation of a credit balance on the student If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, St. Olaf College must get the student’s permission before it can disburse the loan. Students may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that s/he does not incur additional debt. A notice will be sent out to the student, and the signed, original document must be returned to the College within 14 days. St. Olaf’s College may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition and fees. However, the College needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other college charges. If the student does not give his/her permission, the student will be offered the funds. However, it may be in the student’s best interest to allow the College to keep the funds to reduce the student’s debt at the college. It is also important to understand that accepting a post-withdrawal disbursement of student loan funds will increase a student’s overall student loan debt that must be repaid under the terms of the Master Promissory Note. Additionally, accepting the disbursement of grant funds will reduce the remaining amount of federal grant funds available to the student should the student continue his/her education at a later time. Institutional Financial Aid Refunds If a student is receiving only St. Olaf grants or scholarships, the reduction is pro-rated, based on the percentage of the tuition refunded. For example, if 40% of the tuition is refunded, 40% of scholarships and grants will be refunded. For more information on the academic policies and procedures with regards to taking a leave of absence or withdrawing, please visit the Academic Catalog.
Return of Title IV Federal Student Aid