Refund Policies

There are two separate refund policies Title IV recipients should be familiar with when considering withdrawing from all classes. The two policies are managed by different offices and have different requirements: 1) TSC’s Tuition Refund Policy, which is located in the “Tuition and Fees” section of the TSC Catalog under “Tuition Refund Schedule” and at: www.tsc.edu/apply-now/tuition-and-fee-schedule/; and 2) The Department of Education’s Return of Title IV Funds policy, which uses a federally mandated formula described below.

The Federal Return of Title IV funds formula dictates the amount of Federal Title IV aid that must be returned to the Department of Education by the school and the student. The formula is applicable to TSC students withdrawing up through the 60% point of the semester.

In general, federal regulations assume that students earn Title IV aid awards directly in proportion to the number of participation days in the term prior to withdrawal. If students withdraw completely from school during a term, TSC must calculate the portion of the total scheduled Title IV aid earned and is, therefore, entitled to receive.

The amount of assistance students earn is determined by the percentage of days the students completed during the semester. For example, students who complete 30% of the semester earn 30% of the assistance they were originally scheduled to receive. This means 70% of the scheduled award must be returned to the Department of Education.

Once students have completed more than 60% of the semester, they will have earned 100% of the assistance they were scheduled to receive for that semester.

Under Title IV regulations, students participating in programs offered in modules are considered to have withdrawn if attendance ceases at any point prior to completing the payment period or period of enrollment. The Financial Aid Office will calculate a return of aid unless students provide written confirmation at the time of withdrawal that they will attend a module that begins later in the same payment period or period of enrollment.

Students who withdraw before completing 60% of the semester may have to repay unearned Title IV financial aid funds that were already disbursed to them. If students (or parent on the students’ behalf) received excess funds based on this calculation, TSC must return a portion of the excess funds 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.