Leave of Absence, Withdrawal Notification, and Refund Policy

1.  Students requesting a leave of absence while enrolled at Midwestern University must adhere to the policies and procedures established by the College Dean. In addition, students receiving Federal financial aid must understand and follow Federal Title IV leave of absence regulations as stated in this policy, which may affect the amount of financial assistance received. As stipulated by Federal financial aid regulations, any student, including a student receiving Title IV assistance, shall be granted a leave of absence under the following conditions:
   • The student must request the leave of absence in writing to the Program Director, if applicable, with approval from the College Dean. The letter should clearly state the reason(s) for the requested leave of absence.
   • MWU will not charge the student any additional institutional charges (tuition or program related fees) during a leave of absence.
   • Students on a leave of absence are entitled to all the services afforded by the student services fee.
   • A subsequent leave of absence may be granted for the same student due to an unforeseen circumstance such as military duty, jury duty or a circumstance covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
   • There must be a reasonable expectation that a student will return from a leave of absence to continue enrollment at MWU.
   • Any additional leave of absences requests that exceed a total of 180 days in a 12-month period will be treated as a withdrawal for Title IV purposes. The 12-month period begins with the first day of the initial leave of absence.
2. Students granted approved leave of absences will maintain financial aid eligibility and all charges will remain on the student account. Students are not eligible to receive any additional financial aid during a leave of absence.
3. For purposes of administering Federal financial aid, a student who is receiving Title IV financial aid funds and is granted a leave of absence that does not meet the above guidelines will be considered to have withdrawn from MWU for financial aid purposes.
   • A subsequent leave of absence, not to exceed 30 days, may be granted for the same student due to an unforeseen circumstance such as a military duty, jury duty, or a circumstance covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
4. A student who received financial aid prior to the leave of absence and fails to return, will be considered to have withdrawn from MWU for financial aid purposes, as of the first day in which the leave of absence was granted. The Office of Student Financial Services will have 45 days after the day of determination to calculate a refund and return funds to the lender.
5. For students who do not begin attendance at MWU, MWU must return the amount of unearned Title IV Funds no later than 30 days after the institution becomes aware that the student will not or has not begun attendance.
6. Upon the notification of the conditional leave of absence notification, the Office of Student Financial Services informs the student of loan obligations, possible revisions in aid, deferment options, and consequences of failure to return may have on the student’s repayment term, including the exhaustion of some or all of the student’s grace period.
7. Students are not eligible to receive any financial aid during periods of non-attendance.
8. All outstanding balances must be paid in full prior to a student's return from a leave of absence.

1. A student must provide written notification and documentation, if applicable, to the appropriate College Dean or Program Director, stating the reason for withdrawal from MWU. If approved, the College Dean will conditionally approve a withdrawal until all clearances are obtained.
2. Upon receipt of a student’s official notification, the withdrawal date is the earlier of either the date the student begins the school’s withdrawal process or otherwise provides notification. In some cases, the student's last date of attendance at a documented academically related engagement (exam, turning-in of assignment, etc.) may be used as the withdrawal date.
3. The student must receive clearance for withdrawal from the MWU departments on the student portal leave system. The online system notifies administrative offices such as the Registrar to process the withdrawal, and Student Financial Services to prepare the required financial aid exit and calculate the return of unearned Federal Title IV aid and all other aid, as appropriate.
4. Upon submission of all completed documentation and adherence to all clearance procedures, the College Dean will provide an official letter of withdrawal to the student. If a student does not complete the online exit counseling requirement, the Registrar will withhold official academic transcripts.
5. The withdrawal date for students who do not provide notification will be the earlier of the midpoint of the payment period or the date the school determines is related to the circumstances beyond the student’s control.

MWU has instituted and adheres to all requirements included in the Federal Formula for Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) as specified in Section 484B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended).

Student Financial Services (SFS) is required by Federal law to recalculate financial aid eligibility for a student who withdraws, is suspended, is dismissed, takes a leave of absence, or ceases attendance before completion of the term.

If an R2T4 calculation is required, SFS must return the amount of unearned Title IV funds to Department of Education (ED) no later than 45 days after the student’s Date of Determination. The calculation for Return of Title IV funds is based upon the student’s withdrawal date.

For Title IV purposes, the student’s withdrawal date is the earlier date of one of the following:

• The date the formal withdrawal process begins or the date the student otherwise provides official notification of their intent to withdraw (i.e., letter, email, in-person)
• The last documented date of attendance in an academically related engagement (i.e., documented attendance in a class or lab or submissions of an assignment).

Title IV funds include – Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans, Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loans, and the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program. However, FWS funds awarded or earned by the student will always be excluded from the R2T4 calculation.

R2T4 calculation:

The R2T4 calculation determines whether financial aid must be repaid to the federal student aid programs.

1. The percentage of a payment period completed is calculated by the number of days enrolled up to the student’s withdrawal date, divided by the total days in the same payment period. The Title IV aid earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period completed. After 60%, there is no return of Title IV funds and the student is considered to have earned 100%. The academic calendar is used to determine the total days in the length of payment period.
2. Student Financial Services uses the student’s withdrawal date to perform the R2T4 calculation. The resulting R2T4 calculation form shows the percentage of earned federal aid, the amount of earned and unearned federal aid.
3. Scheduled breaks of five days or more are excluded from calculation. If a student withdraws while on a scheduled break, the withdrawal date is the last date of scheduled academic engagement break prior to the break.
4. Title IV returns are returned in the following order:
   • Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
   • Federal Graduate PLUS Loans. 
      

Withdrawal Exemptions for Title IV :

• A student is not considered withdrawn if the student completes all the requirements for graduation from the program before completing the number of days or hours in the quarter that the student was scheduled to attend
• A student is not considered withdrawn if the student successfully completes:
  • One module (clinical/ rotation) that includes 49% or more of the number of countable days in the quarter, excluding scheduled breaks of 5 or more consecutive days and all days in between modules (clinical rotation blocks).
  • A combination of modules (clinical rotations) that when combined contains 49% of more of the number of countable days in the quarter, excluding scheduled breaks of 5 or more consecutive days and all days between the modules.
• A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes coursework equal to or greater than half-time (6 credits) for the quarter.

Successful completion of coursework means earning a passing grade.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements:

If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned prior to withdrawing, a post-withdrawal disbursement may be due.

SFS must provide written notification to the student prior to making any post-withdrawal disbursement within 30 days of the student’s date of determination. MWU must receive permission from the student before it can release the post withdrawal disbursement. The student will have 14 days to respond in writing to the notice and if a response is not received within the timeframe, the school will not process the disbursement. The post-withdrawal disbursement notification will include information of the funds that will be applied to the student's account first, and any resulting credit balance will be refunded to the student as soon as possible and no later than 14 days. Students may choose to decline some, or all loan funds to not incur additional debt. Please note that accepting a post-withdrawal disbursement of student loan funds will increase a student’s overall student loan debt, which must be repaid under the terms of the Master Promissory Note.

MWU may use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of funds for tuition, fees, and housing, but must have the student’s permission to apply the post-withdrawal disbursement to any other school charges. If the student does not give permission, the student will be offered the funds in the form of a refund.

All credit balances resulting in a recalculation from the R2T4 will be refunded as soon as possible and no later than 14 days.

MWU adheres to the R2T4 Calculation formula for institutional refunds. If a student withdraws during a payment period, MWU will determine how much tuition and fees were unearned by the institution. Students who withdraw before completing 60 percent of the quarter may have to repay all or a portion of the Federal Title IV financial aid funds that have been disbursed to them.

Figures are calculated based on how many calendar days in the payment period were attended through the withdrawal date divided by the total number of calendar days in that same payment period. After 60% of the payment period, the institution will have earned the total amount paid for the payment period.  Equipment or supplies fees will be waived if the equipment is returned to the school in the exact condition for which was received by the student. MWU will refund as prescribed below any unearned amount. Please see the R2T4 Calculation section for more details.

Return of Funds by the School:

All refunds will be distributed in the following order, as applicable:

• Federal Student Loans – refer to the R2T4 calculation
• Other Federal Sources of Aid including Title VII funding - Title VII funds include Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) and Primary Care Loans (PCL). Any unearned tuition will be returned to the lender.
• Other state, private, or Institutional Aid / Scholarships (Scholarships will be adjusted subject to their donor agreements)
• The student

Students who feel that individual circumstances warrant exceptions from published policy may appeal the MWU Refund Policy. Student appeals need to be submitted to the Director of Student Financial Services & Registrar.

All Tuition Assistance (TA) funds will be returned according to the University's institutional refund policy. Up to the start date, 100% of all TA funds will be returned to the appropriate military service when the service member fails to: begin attendance, start a course (regardless if the student starts other courses), or the course is cancelled. All TA Funds will be returned directly to the military service, not to the service member.