Financial Aid Refund Policy

DBU uses student accounts to assess charges and apply payments against those charges. If a student's account balance is a credit, it is the policy of the University to refund the credit to the student in a timely manner. Credit balances caused by financial aid are refunded only after a careful review of the student's account and eligibility for aid. If a credit balance refund is due the student, the refund is made to the student within the 14 days required by federal regulations. The refund will be issued either in the form of a check made payable to the student and issued by the business office and mailed to the preferred address on file with the Registrar’s Office or deposited electronically to a bank account set up and authorized by the student.

A student who receives a refund based wholly or partly on financial aid, and who then later changes enrollment status, may be required to repay all or part of the aid received. Students receiving federal aid other than Federal Work-Study funds who withdraw or change enrollment status (increase or decrease semester hours taken) may have federal aid adjusted in accordance with formulas prescribed by the Federal Title IV Program, DBU policy, or both.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Credit balance refunds due students are processed after the Add/Drop period closes each semester (consult the semester online Schedule of Classes information for this date). Eligibility for a refund depends on several factors and will be determined by the Office of Financial Aid. Changes in any of these factors, such as dropping courses or withdrawing from the University, could result in delays in receiving a refund or in the reduction of the student's aid package, thereby removing a potential credit balance.

Withdrawal from the University

A student who withdraws from the University receives only the federal and state aid that remains, if any, after the appropriate refund calculation has been performed by the Office of Financial Aid and according to federally mandated Return of Federal Title IV Funds Policy listed below.

Federal Financial Aid Return to Title IV Refund Policy

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Congress, mandates that institutions of higher education follow federal regulations related to the return of Title IV federal financial aid funds for students who fail to complete the period of enrollment by officially or unofficially withdrawing from the University. The University must determine the earned and unearned portions of Title IV federal financial aid as of the date the student ceased attendance based on the amount of time the student spent in attendance. These regulations are primarily outlined in the following documents:

Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 5, Chapter 1: Withdrawals and the Return of Title IV Funds Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 34, Section 668:

34 CFR 668.22

34 CFR 668.164

34 CFR 668.167

Dear Colleague Letter GEN-11-14 July 2011

DBU utilizes the Department of Education Website to determine the prorated amount of Title IV funds the student earned through the time of withdrawal. Based on federal regulations, after the 60% point in the period of enrollment, a student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive, and no return of funds is required.

Updated guidance for interruptions of study related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) was updated June 16, 2020 is available at https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/fsa-assessments/2022-11-17/return-title-iv-funds.

Policy and Procedural Statement

At DBU, Title IV federal aid funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that he/she was originally scheduled to receive.

If a recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds withdraws from school after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, the unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, he or she may be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received.

DBU determines the withdrawal date and date of last academic participation in order to complete the return to Title IV calculation based on federal regulations. A student's withdrawal date and date of last academic participation vary depending on the type of withdrawal: either official or unofficial. When a student provides official notification of his/her intent to withdraw by utilizing DBU’s official withdrawal process, the withdrawal is defined and treated as an official withdrawal. When the student does not complete the official withdrawal process, but simply discontinues participation in all classes, and no official notification is provided by the student, it is considered an unofficial withdrawal and will be calculated based on the last known date of attendance or academic activity.

Withdrawal Process

As defined above, a student who desires to discontinue his/her enrollment at the University and follows the formal process for withdrawing is considered an official withdrawal. A student who desires to discontinue his/her enrollment at the University and does not follow the formal process for withdrawing, but simply discontinues his/her participation in all academic courses is considered an unofficial withdrawal. Either type of student is considered to be leaving the University with no intention of returning, as DBU does not have an official leave of absence policy.

A student deciding to withdraw from the university should take the following steps:

• Complete a Withdrawal Form (can be obtained from the Registrar’s office);

• The form must include all necessary signatures, or the process will not be completed.

• Return the completed form to the University Registrar's Office, 3000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75211.

Determination of Withdrawal Date

Official Withdrawals (Official Notification Provided by the Student)

Those withdrawals defined as official are processed in accordance with federal regulations. The Office of the Registrar receives official withdrawal forms and posts information in the University computer system to denote those students’ withdrawals from various classes. The Office of Financial Aid runs reports at least weekly to determine which students have withdrawn from ALL their classes for the term. This information includes the date of withdrawal, the date of last known academic engagement, and the semester of attendance. This information is maintained in the University’s student information system. For students who officially withdraw, their withdrawal date is the earliest of the date of the official withdrawal, or the date the student expressed his/her intent to withdraw to an advisor or other University official. Official withdrawals will be processed as prescribed by federal regulations, and students will be notified of any return of funds within 30 days from the date that a student withdraws, and any return of funds will be processed within 45 days.

Unofficial Withdrawal (Official Notification not Provided by the Student)

For a student who withdraws without providing notification to DBU, the institution determines the withdrawal date using defined criteria based on federal regulations. This category of withdrawals may include students that drop out and students that do not earn a passing grade.

To identify the unofficial withdrawals, the Registrar works with faculty of each class to determine the date of the last academic engagement for students in each class. When each faculty member assigns grades for the course at the end of each term, he/she also assigns a date of last academic engagement or attendance. For students who receive a passing grade, this date is the last day of class. For students who receive a failing grade, they are also assigned a date of last attendance or last academic activity when the faculty member assigns the grade. If that date cannot be determined by the faculty member, the date used is the mid-point of the semester (because DBU is a school that is not required to take attendance). If that date is within the last two weeks of class, the student is considered to have completed the course and “earned” the failing grade. If that date is earlier than two weeks before the end of the term, the faculty member determines when the student last participated in an academic activity for the class and uses that date, or the date of the mid-point of the semester. Once all grades are posted for the semester, the Office of Financial Aid runs a report to determine which students received all failing grades, and from that list, determines which students require the Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation. Unofficial withdrawals will be processed as prescribed by federal regulations, and students will be notified of any return of funds within 30 days from the date that a student withdraws, and any return of funds will be processed within 45 days.

Calculation of Earned Title IV Assistance

The withdrawal date is used to determine the point in time that the student is considered to have withdrawn so the percentage of the period of enrollment completed by the student can be determined. The percentage of Title IV aid earned is equal to the percentage of the period of enrollment completed. The amount of Title IV federal aid earned by the student is determined by using the Department of Education administered Website. Once a student has completed at least 60% of a term, all awarded aid (100%) is considered to be earned. The percentage of federal aid earned and the order in which the unearned aid is returned are defined by federal regulations.

The calculation of earned Title IV funds includes the following grant and loan funds if they were disbursed or could have been disbursed to the student for the period of enrollment for which the R2T4 calculation is being performed.

• Pell Grant

• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)

• Federal Direct Loans

Programs in Modules

DBU is a standard term school that offers its courses within three main standard terms/semesters per year: Fall, Spring, and Summer. DBU also offers various “mini-terms” or modules within and in combination with these three standard terms. Most combinations of these mini-terms or modules with the standard terms make a student eligible for aid because of the dates of attendance and number of hours for which the student is enrolled. However, some combinations of terms/modules are not eligible for federal aid. DBU financial aid staff carefully monitors student enrollments to determine which combinations of terms are eligible for aid based on federal regulations.

A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time of withdrawal that he or she will attend a later module in the same payment period; and for standard and nonstandard term programs, excluding subscription-based programs, that module begins no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending. A student is not considered withdrawn for Return of TItle IV Funds if a student successfully completes:

All requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that the student was scheduled to complete;
One module that includes 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period;
A combination of modules that when combined contain 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period; or
Coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution's definition of a half-time student.

Institutional Charges

Institutional charges are used to determine the portion of unearned Title IV aid that the school is responsible for returning. DBU ensures that all charges for tuition, fees, room, and board, as well as all other applicable institutional charges, are included in the Return to Title IV calculation. Institutional charges do not affect the amount of Title IV aid that a student earns when he or she withdraws. The institutional charges used in the calculation usually are the charges that were initially assessed the student for the period of enrollment. Initial charges are only adjusted by those changes the institution made prior to the student’s withdrawal (for example, for a change in enrollment status unrelated to the withdrawal). If, after a student withdraws, the institution changes the amount of institutional charges it is assessing a student, or decides to eliminate all institutional charges, those changes affect neither the charges nor aid earned in the calculation.

Return of Unearned Funds to Title IV

If the total amount of Title IV grant and/or loan assistance that was earned as of the withdrawal date is less than the amount that was disbursed to the student, the difference between the two amounts will be returned to the Title IV program(s) and no further disbursements will be made to the student. If a student has received excess funds, the College must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of the student's institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of funds, or the entire amount of the excess funds. The funds will be returned in the order below as prescribed by federal regulations, within 45 days from the date of determination that a student withdrew.

Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
Graduate PLUS Loans
Parent PLUS Loans
Federal Pell Grants
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
Federal SEOG
TEACH Grants

Exception: No program can receive a refund if the student did not receive aid from that program.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

If the total amounts of the Title IV grant and/or loan assistance earned as of the withdrawal date are more than the amount that has been disbursed to the student, the difference between the two amounts will be treated as a post-withdrawal disbursement of aid that is due to the student. In the event that there are outstanding charges on the student's account, DBU will credit the student's account for all or part of the amount of the post-withdrawal disbursement up to the amount of the allowable charges. Any amount of post-withdrawal disbursement loan funds will not be credited to a student's account but will be offered to the student within 30 days of the date that the institution determined that the student withdrew. The student will be notified by mail of any federal loan funds available to be credited to his/her account. Upon receipt of a timely response from the student, the College will disburse the funds within 180 days of the date of determination of the student's withdrawal date. Federal Grant funds earned by the student will be credited to the student’s account.

FINANCIAL AID

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