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12.1.0.0 2024-25 Financial Aid Withdrawal Policy

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Issuing Office

Financial Aid

 

Affected Parties

Students

 

Policy Language

Any student taking classes in more than one sub-term who withdraws from all active courses he or she is currently attending will be considered as withdrawn unless Liberty University obtains a written confirmation from the student stating they will be attending a later sub-term in the same semester at the time of the withdrawal request. This will affect all students even if they are already enrolled in a later sub-term. Unless Liberty University obtains written confirmation from the student at the time of withdrawal, all future classes will be dropped for that student.

 

The withdrawal date, in accordance with federal guidelines, is recognized as the date the student notifies the appropriate office within Liberty University of the student’s intent to withdraw, either in writing or orally. If the student leaves without notification, the last date of attendance will be documented as the withdrawal date.

 

The date of determination, in accordance with federal guidelines, is the date that the university first becomes aware that the student has ceased attendance. For withdrawals where the student provides official intent, this date will be the date that the student notified the university. For withdrawals where the student ceases attendance without providing notification, the date of determination will be the date that the student is identified as withdrawn by Academic Support through their reports.

 

Please note that most Liberty University institutional aid, including international scholarships, will be prorated according to the same schedule as Title IV federal student aid. Because of these provisions, be aware that having enough financial aid to cover your charges at the beginning of the semester does not ensure that your financial aid will completely cover your charges at the time of withdrawal.

 

If a student would like to rescind a withdrawal and regain financial aid eligibility for courses in progress of being withdrawn, that student must submit a request in writing. The reinstatement of financial aid eligibility will be contingent upon the student being granted a return to the same courses from which the student originally withdrew.

 

If the student subsequently withdraws after rescinding an intent to withdraw, the withdrawal date is the date the student first provided notification to the school or began the school’s withdrawal process. This will affect the amount of aid that is returned to its source.

 

There are three types of withdrawals from Liberty University: academic, administrative, and medical. The charges are prorated in all withdrawal types. Academic and administrative differ from medical in that medical is calculated on a weekly basis. However, keep in mind that all withdrawals will have the same aid calculation regardless of type.

 

The following Tuition and Fees (Withdrawal/Refund) policies listed below are maintained by the Office of Student Accounts and are subject to change.

 

Resident Student Withdrawals

Resident Students should refer to the Registrar Office’s Adding and Dropping Courses-Resident policy for information pertaining to the course add/drop process and the Withdrawing from Courses- Resident policy regarding the course withdrawal process.

 

Attendance Policy

Students are required to attend classes during the first week of classes. Attendance is defined as completing an academically-related activity which include, but is not limited to… “physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students; submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam, an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction; attending a study group that is assigned by the school; participating in an online discussion about academic matters and initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course”. Students are expected to submit tests and course work throughout the term and/or sub-term. Students who begin attendance, but then cease progressing toward the completion of the course will be assigned a grade of "FN." If the student receives all FNs in a sub-term, the student will be subject to the Unofficial Withdrawal Procedure which includes the reduction and/or return of all financial aid. If a student officially withdraws, calculations are based on enrollment periods, not coursework completed. Please refer to the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar for the deadlines to withdraw from residential courses each term.

 

Resident students are considered withdrawn from the University if they withdraw from all active courses for the semester.

 

Any resident student who withdraws from the University and completes the official withdrawal procedure may receive a refund of tuition and some fees as follows:

  1. 100% will be credited if a student withdraws during the first week of the semester
  2. 50% will be credited if a student withdraws during the second, third or fourth week of the semester
  3. 25% will be credited if a student withdraws during the fifth through eighth week of the semester
  4. No tuition or fees will be credited after the eighth week of the semester

 

 

Intensives and Summer School

 

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine Withdrawals

 

College of Osteopathic Medicine students should review their withdrawal refund policy here: https://www.liberty.edu/lucom/lucom/student-accounts/tuition-refund-schedule.

 

Liberty University School of Law

 

If a student withdraws from all courses from the School of Law during the semester, they will receive a refund of tuition and fees* as follows:

 

  1. 100% before the close of the first week of the semester
  2. 50% after the start of the second week and before the close of the fourth week of the semester
  3. 25% after the start of the fifth week and before the close of the seventh week of the semester
  4. No refunds will be issued for withdrawal after the start of the eighth week of the semester

There is a $50 processing fee for withdrawing from the School of Law.

*Students must contact LUPD regarding parking registration refunds. No portion of the BARBRI fee will be refunded for any withdrawal occurring after the close of the first week of courses.

 

Liberty University Online Withdrawals

 

Online Class Attendance
Regular attendance in online courses is expected throughout the length of any courses the student is taking. Online students who do not attend within the first week of a course by submitting an academic assignment (such as the Course Requirements Checklist, an examination, written paper or project, discussion board post, or another academic assignment) will be dropped from the course roster and will not be allowed to submit further course work. The student may appeal to their instructor to be allowed back in the course.

The student is solely responsible for any coursework missed due to non-attendance. A student who presents the instructor with an adequate and documented reason for absence may be given an opportunity to make up for the work missed.

Students who attend a course by submitting an academic assignment and then cease progressing toward the completion of the course will be assigned a grade of FN (Failure for Non-Attendance) during the semester.

 

Official Withdrawal Policy
Liberty University is committed to the success of every student and will work with each student to determine the best way to handle any financial and/or academic challenges. The online withdrawal categories are: administrative, military, official, and unofficial.

 

Administrative Withdrawal
An expulsion resulting from a violation of the disciplinary system or any other valid reason initiated by the University which is approved by an authorized University administrator will result in an administrative withdrawal.  Grades of “W” will be recorded in all courses for which the student is registered.

 

Military Withdrawal
Online students who must withdraw due to military duties are required to send a copy of their orders and other supporting documentation to the Military Affairs Office.  Military Affairs will then review to determine if the student is eligible for an official military withdrawal. Additional information regarding military withdrawals can be found online at https://www.liberty.edu/military/deployment-guide/withdrawals/.

 

Official Withdrawal
Online students who desire to withdraw from one or more courses in a semester, or the University, must contact the Liberty University Online Academic Advising Department by phone or via their Liberty University webmail account to start the withdrawal process.

A total withdrawal is when a student ceases all active enrollment in Title IV (Federal) aid-eligible courses in a semester.  A partial withdrawal is when a student withdraws from the individual course(s), but has active Title IV (Federal) aid-eligible enrollment remaining in the semester of the withdrawal.

If a student withdraws from a sub-term and is registered for course(s) in the future sub-term(s) during the semester of the withdrawal, the student must submit a letter of intent to remain in the future courses.  If a letter of intent is not submitted with the withdrawal, the student will be automatically dropped from the future sub-terms, resulting in a total withdrawal from the semester.

 

Unofficial Withdrawal
The University has established a procedure in accordance with Title IV regulations, to determine if students enrolled in courses are progressing toward the completion of their courses. The Title IV regulations require universities to have a mechanism in place for determining whether or not a student who begins a course and received or could have received a disbursement of Title IV funds, unofficially withdrew.

 

Students who have begun, yet cease to submit academic assignments (such as an examination, written paper or project, discussion board post, or other academic assignments) during the enrollment period, will be assigned the grade of FN.  If a student receives the grade of FN for all courses in a semester and ceases attendance, an unofficial withdrawal will be processed for that semester. The withdrawal date is the last date an academic assignment was submitted during the enrollment period. A Title IV withdrawal calculation may be performed based on the withdrawal date and the student may be reported as withdrawn. Students will be notified by the Financial Aid Office regarding the results of the Title IV withdrawal calculation. The student will be responsible for any remaining account balance.

 

Withdrawal Refund Policy
Once a withdrawal is processed, the student will need to contact Student Accounts to receive further details about their individual refund.

Students who unofficially withdraw as outlined in the Withdrawal Policy will be charged for full tuition and fees as it applies and will be responsible for any outstanding balance on his or her account.

Any student who completes the official withdrawal procedure may receive a refund of tuition according to the schedule below. In the event of a total withdrawal, some fees may be prorated.

 

Intensives

The start of the course is defined as the first day that the course begins; it is not necessarily the first day of the in-class portion of the intensive.  Some intensive courses require pre-work and/or post-work to be completed.  These courses start as soon as the pre-work begins and continue until the last day to submit post-work. Any student who completes the official withdrawal procedure may receive a refund of tuition according to the schedule below. In the event of a total withdrawal, some fees may be prorated. For refund purposes, a week begins at 12:00 a.m. the morning the course starts and closes at 11:59 p.m. seven days later.

 

Eight-Week Courses

  1. 100% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws within the first week of the course, but before submission of the first assignment (first assignment includes the Course Requirements Checklist). The student’s request will be processed as a drop for the purpose of refunding charges only, not for Financial Aid attendance or recalculating of aid.
  2. 75% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after submitting their first assignment and through the close of the second week of courses.
  3. 50% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the second week of courses, but before the close of the fourth week of courses.
  4. 25% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the fourth week of courses, but before the close of the sixth week of courses.
  5. No tuition will be credited after the sixth week of courses.

 

Fifteen-Week and Sixteen-Week Courses

  1. 100% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws within the first week of course, but before submission of the first assignment (first assignment includes Course Requirements Checklist). The student's request will be processed as a drop for the purpose of refunding charges only, not for Financial Aid attendance or recalculating of aid.
  2. 75% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after submitting the first assignment and through the close of the fourth week of courses.
  3. 50% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the fourth week of courses, but before the close of the eighth week of courses.
  4. 25% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the eighth week of courses, but before the close of the twelfth week of courses.
  5. No tuition will be credited after the twelfth week of courses.

 

Seventeen Week Courses

  1. 100% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws within the first week of the course, but before submission of the first assignment (first assignment includes the Course Requirements Checklist). The student's request will be processed as a drop for the purpose of refunding charges only, not for Financial Aid attendance or recalculating of aid.
  2. 75% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after submitting the first assignment and through the close of the fifth week of courses.
  3. 50% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the fifth week of courses, but before the close of the ninth week of courses.
  4. 25% tuition will be credited if the student withdraws after the ninth week of courses, but before the close of the thirteenth week of courses.
  5. No tuition will be credited after the thirteenth week of courses.

 

Intensives: 

The start of the course is defined as the first day that the course begins; it is not necessarily the first day of the in-class portion of the intensive. Some intensive courses require pre-work and/or post-work to be completed. These courses start as soon as the pre-work begins and continue until the last day to submit post-work. Any student who completes the official withdrawal procedure may receive a refund of tuition according to the schedule below. In the event of a total withdrawal, mandatory fees may be prorated. For refund purposes, a week begins at 12:00 a.m. the morning the course starts and closes at 11:59 p.m. seven days later.

 

Repeating a Course

If a course is retaken after a student has previously withdrawn from it, the student will be charged at the current rate for tuition and fees.

 

Academic Information and Policies

The Office of Academic Affairs has a separate policy regarding attendance that relates to the process of grading and could impact attendance policy and more. Please review the Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalogs at this link: https://www.liberty.edu/academics/course-catalogs/

 

Policy Rationale

When students cease attendance in all of their federal financial aid-eligible classes in a given semester, they will be subject to a proration of all federal, state, and institutional aid. This proration takes into account the total number of days that the student was enrolled. For instance, if there are 100 days in a term, and a student withdraws on day 20, that student has earned 20-percent of his federal, state, and institutional aid. All remaining aid is unearned, and unearned portions of federal funds are required by law to be sent back to the federal government in accordance with federal regulations and policy.

 

Definition of Glossary Terms

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) - Students must meet Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to receive federal Title IV aid that includes the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work Study, Federal TEACH Grant, and Federal Direct Education Loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS, and Grad PLUS).  Liberty University also applies the SAP requirements to monitor eligibility for all institutional aid.  The Virginia Commonwealth programs are administered under the guidelines from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

Grants - Financial aid from the federal or state government, which does not have to be paid back. Grants from the federal government are generally need based. Grants from the state government are generally given to students attending an in-state school that is not state funded.

Loans - Financial aid which must be repaid. Loans may have a variety of repayment methods.

Title IV - The portion of the Higher Education Act (see HEA) that includes most of the federal financial aid programs.

Withdrawal: Can be the complete or partially withdrawing from enrolled courses following the drop/add period.  Complete withdrawals may require the Return to Title IV (R2T4) Calculation.  Partial withdrawals may impact aid, but do not require an R2T4 Calculation.

Ceasing Attendance: The process in which the student is no longer attending a course by way of passively or actively not submitting assigned coursework.

Proration: The process of prorating, or basing on a percentage, of aid earned according to published federal, state, and institutional policies.

Drop: The process of removing a course from a student’s schedule prior to attending the course or submitting any coursework.  This must be completed by the published deadline as applicable.

Procedural Information

Procedures

 

How to Withdraw

 

All Resident students will need to contact their professional advisor in CASAS to start the withdrawal process.

Appointment Scheduling

Email: CASAS@liberty.edu 

Phone: (434) 592-4110

In-Office: DeMoss Hall, Room 1100 (CASAS)

Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am – 5:00 pm, *Closed for Convocation

 

All LUCOM students should contact the LUCOM Office of the Registrar to initiate the withdrawal process.  

Phone Number: (434) 592-5200

Email: LUCOMRegistrar@liberty.edu;

Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm

 

All Liberty University School of Law students will need to contact Mrs. Carol Cordle, Registrar & Director of Operations, to start the withdrawal process.

Phone Number: (434) 592-3683

Email: cjcordle@liberty.edu 

Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm

 

Online students who desire to withdraw from one or more courses in a semester, or the University, must contact the Liberty University Online Academic Advising Department by phone or via their Liberty University webmail account to start the withdrawal process.

Phone
(800) 424-9595 (Undergraduate Advising)
(800) 424-9596 (Graduate, Post-Graduate, and Doctoral Advising)

Email
luoadvising@liberty.edu

luwithdrawal@liberty.edu

 

Sanctions

Cost of Attendance Recalculation

Dropping a course which reduces the number of sub-terms for which a student is enrolled will result in a recalculation of all components that make up the cost of attendance.

Example 1: A student is enrolled in two B term courses and one D term course. The student decides to drop the D term course prior to the start of the sub-term and finishes his enrollment in the B term courses. The enrollment status must then be recalculated because the time in which the student is “enrolled” for the entire semester has been cut in half. This may impact financial aid eligibility and award amounts.

Example 2: A student is enrolled in one B term course and one D term course. The student decides to drop the D term course prior to the start of the sub-term and finishes his enrollment in the B term course. The enrollment status must then be recalculated because the time in which the student is “enrolled” for the entire semester has been cut in half. This student would also be adjusted from an enrollment status of half-time to less-than-half-time, causing a reduction to the entire cost of attendance. This may impact financial aid eligibility and award amounts.

Recalculations of cost of attendance would apply to any combination of enrollment in which a partial or entire sub-term is dropped.

 

Tuition Recalculation

If a student registers full-time and subsequently withdraws from one or more courses which results in his or her enrollment changing from full-time to part-time, the student will be charged the part-time tuition rate for the remaining billed credit hours for the entire semester. If the new tuition rate results in a balance, the student is responsible for paying this balance.

 

For Residential Students: tuition proration will not be completed unless withdrawing from all courses

 

Example 1: An undergraduate student is enrolled in 12 credit hours and withdraws from one course. Once the withdrawal is processed, the student will be registered for less than 12 hours. The student will be charged the part-time tuition rate for all remaining hours.

Example 2: A graduate student is enrolled in 9 credit hours, which is full-time enrollment. The student withdraws from one course. The student is now enrolled half-time with 6 credit hours. The student will be charged the part-time tuition rate for all remaining hours.

View the current tuition rates:  https://www.liberty.edu/student-financial-services/basic-costs/    

 

Financial Aid Impact

 

A student who is a Title IV financial aid recipient who ceases attendance in a semester may need a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation to be performed, as required by the Department of Education. This calculation determines the amount of financial aid that a student is eligible for after ceasing attendance in the semester.  

 

The R2T4 calculation evaluates the percentage of a student’s scheduled enrollment that they have completed by dividing the number of days that the student has completed by their scheduled number of days for the semester. Any scheduled breaks of five days or greater are excluded from this calculation per federal regulation. This results in the percentage of the payment period that was completed.  

 

This percentage is multiplied by the TIV aid that the student is eligible for to determine the student’s remaining eligibility after the withdrawal and the amount of funds that need to be returned, if required, to the Department of Education. The R2T4 calculation then identifies the “Amount of Unearned Charges” by multiplying the percentage of unearned Title IV aid by the total applicable institutional charges to determine the “Amount of unearned charges.” The amount of unearned charges is then compared to the initially calculated return amount and the lesser of the two is returned to the Department of Education as applicable, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:  

 

 

The R2T4 calculation may determine that a student is eligible for more financial aid than what was currently disbursed to the student’s account on the withdrawal date. This is known as a Post-withdrawal Disbursement (PWD.) 

 

After performing the R2T4 calculation, the Financial Aid Office will notify the student if funds will be returned to the Department of Education if the student is required to return funds, and/or if the student is eligible for a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD) via the student’s Liberty University email address within 30 days of the university’s date of determination that the student withdrew.  

If the student is eligible for a PWD that includes loan funds, the student will need to respond within 14 days from the date that the email notification was sent indicating they would like to accept the loan funds. If the student accepts the loans PWD, they are responsible to repay their lender. If the student does not respond to the notification within 14 days, the entirety of the PWD will be returned to the Department of Education and the student will owe Liberty any resulting balance.  

Any required returns will be completed within 45 days of the university’s date of determination that the student had withdrawn. Students are responsible to repay any remaining loan funds after the R2T4 to their lender in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement. 

For more information on the financial impacts of a withdrawal, please contact the Financial Aid

Office and review the current policy: https://www.liberty.edu/student-financial-services/policies/ Students who are using financial aid must show satisfactory academic progress throughout their coursework.

 

Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) Reduction and Enrollment

In the case of a complete withdrawal, the VTAG is prorated according to the tuition adjustment. This is considered a calculation of "earned" versus "unearned" aid.

Important: A $50 ceasing attendance fee will be charged to all students who completely withdraw from the University for the term. Also, course fees, payment plan participation fees, audit fees, and late Financial Check-In fees are non-refundable. This fee will not be assessed to students who cease attendance due to dropping C or D-term courses.

*This policy was updated on 3/24/24 in accordance with the published course catalog.

 

Exceptions

None

 

Initial Approval Date

3/24/2024

Date of Last Review

3/24/2024

Date for Review

3/24/2025 (Annual)

 

Authored by Rebekah McSherry
Last modified 4 weeks ago