Refunds

Lebanon Valley College is required by federal statute to determine how much financial aid was earned by students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The Title IV programs that are covered by this statute are: Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Federal TEACH Grants, and in some cases, certain state grant aid to students.

For a student who withdraws after the 60% point-in-time, there are no unearned funds. However, a school must still complete a Return calculation in order to determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.

The calculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:

Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the last date the student attended or actively participated in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study, divided by the total days in the term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

Aid to be returned = 100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind, that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution.

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 45 days of the date of determination of the student’s withdrawal (for grant funds) or within 180 days of the date of determination (for loan funds, which we will request approval for in writing).

The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of determination of the student’s withdrawal.

*Note: Some or all instruction for all or part of the Academic Year may be delivered remotely or in hybrid format. Tuition and the comprehensive fee have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event instruction occurs remotely or in hybrid format for any part of the Academic Year.

*Temporary or permanent changes to the method of delivery of instruction, regardless of when they are implemented, are not grounds for refunds under this policy.

Refunds are allocated in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
• Subsidized Federal Direct Loans
• Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loans
• Federal Pell Grants for which a Return of funds is required.
• Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a return of funds is required.
• Federal TEACH Grants for which a return of funds is required.

There may be some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that you cannot earn once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first two weeks of your program before you withdraw, you will not earn any Stafford loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the second week. If you receive (or Lebanon Valley College or your parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, Lebanon Valley College must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

• your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
• the entire amount of excess funds.

The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.

If Lebanon Valley College is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the unearned amount. You must make arrangements with Lebanon Valley College or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

NOTE: The federal government requires that all full-time students make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate. Please review the Academic Progress policy and requirements.

Lebanon Valley College follows guidelines for Title IV programs (above) when calculating the amount of unearned institutional charges to be refunded. Charges eligible for a refund are tuition, room, board*, private music lessons, and overload charges.

Once you have completed more than 60% of the period of enrollment, you have earned all of the charges billed for that period.

*All meal plans for Annville students include flex dollars to be used in LVC dining facilities. If a student withdraws prior to the semester’s end, LVC will refund unused flex dollars. In the case of student withdrawal, the flex dollars will be considered separate from the remainder of the board plan, for refund purposes.

Note: Some or all instruction for all or part of the Academic Year may be delivered remotely or in hybrid format. Tuition and the comprehensive fee have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event instruction occurs remotely or in hybrid format for any part of the Academic Year.

Temporary or permanent changes to the method of delivery of instruction, regardless of when they are implemented, are not grounds for refunds under this policy.

Full tuition is refunded if withdrawal notification is received before the second day of class. Full tuition is refundable if the course is canceled by the College. See the current refund table below for specific dates for partial refunds. Students receiving federal financial assistance (Title IV) and who are enrolled in traditional term courses will receive a refund according to federal policy with respect to Title IV aid as noted above for full-time students.

Note: Some or all instruction for all or part of the Academic Year may be delivered remotely or in hybrid format. Tuition and the comprehensive fee have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event instruction occurs remotely or in hybrid format for any part of the Academic Year.

Temporary or permanent changes to the method of delivery of instruction, regardless of when they are implemented, are not grounds for refunds under this policy.

Students enrolled in one or more non-term courses (modules) and courses that do not span the entire semester will receive a refund of institutional charges according to the current refund table. Students receiving federal financial assistance (Title IV) also follow federal policy with respect to Title IV aid with the following clarifications:

• If a student fails to complete all modules scheduled for a semester, the student is considered a withdrawal at the time the student ceases attendance.
• If a student withdraws from a module but indicates in writing to the College that he or she will attend a later module during the same semester and that module begins no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending, the student is not considered a withdrawal. If the student fails to attend the later module, the date of withdrawal reverts to the original withdrawal from the prior module. The later module will be included in the period of enrollment.
• Without written confirmation of the student’s intent to attend a later module in the same semester, a student who withdraws from a module or has ceased attendance is considered a withdrawal.
• If a student begins but fails to complete the final module(s) in a semester, the student is considered to have withdrawn.
• If a student receives a failing grade for the final module (s) in a semester, the College must determine if the student ceased attending and is therefore considered a withdrawal.
• The Return of Title IV Funds calculation process will begin as soon as possible after it is determined that a student has withdrawn or ceased attendance. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after determining the student’s last date of attendance or active participation in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study. If the student returns for a later module in the payment period, the Return of Title IV Funds will be reversed.