Title IV Funds

If a student registers for a programme but formally withdraws up to and including Monday of week 4 of the Autumn or Spring Term no tuition fees will be charged for the period of registration. This applies to undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes.

If a student registers for a Postgraduate Research programme but formally withdraws within the first 4 weeks of starting the programme no tuition fees will be charged for the period of registration.

If a student who is in receipt of U.S. Direct Loans withdraws, suspends for more than 180 days, returns to the U.S. or drops to a ‘less than half-time’ enrolment status, the University of Reading is required to determine whether any funds must be returned, adhering to the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations on returning Title IV funds. We will apply the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations regarding returning Title IV funds in conjunction with the University’s policies surrounding withdrawals, suspensions and credit balance refunds.

The Student Financial Support team will use calculation worksheets provided by the U.S. Department of Education to determine the amount(s) of loan(s) that can be retained by a student and the amount(s) that must be returned to the lender.

For U.S. students with federal loans the date of withdrawal used for return of funds to the US Department of Education, and to inform NSLDS, will be the last date of recorded attendance.

See Section 4 of the University including Refunds PolicyFees Policy available at the Tuition Fee Tables webpage.

The University makes disbursements “in advance” for the whole payment period. If the value disbursed to the University or student before withdrawal is less than the earned value, then a post-withdrawal disbursement will be made by bank transfer in pounds sterling to the student.

A student who is owed a post-withdrawal disbursement will be notified within 30 days of the date of determination that the student withdrew. The notification will contain the following details:

• The reason why there is a PWD;
• The type and amount of loan funds that make up the PWD;
• A reminder that the PWD is a loan and must be repaid along with the rest of their outstanding loans;
• The student can accept all, part, or none of the funds:
• The student has 14 days from the date of notification to respond with their decision to accept or decline some or all of the PWD funds;
• If the student does not respond to the notification within the 14 days from date of notification then the University, will not disburse the funds and notify the student in writing.
• PWD will be distributed to the student's account within 180 days of the date the University determined the student withdrew.

However, as the University draws down disbursements in advance and immediately pays any credit balances to the student, there would not be any post-withdrawal disbursement due.

Please contact the Student Financial Support team on USLoans@reading.ac.uk or +44 (0) 118 378 5555.

If we notify a student that there are loan funds that have already been paid to them that must be returned, the student should repay in accordance with the term of the Promissory Note for their loan. A student could find themselves in this position if they have received a scheduled loan disbursement payment for a particular period of study or payment period and, before the end of that period, they then withdraw, suspend, return to the U.S. or drop to a ‘less than half-time’ enrolment status.

Full details of Federal requirements can be read in the latest FSA Handbook which is available on the Federal Student Aid website where the handbook can be found and downloaded.

U.S. Direct Loan entitlement is ‘earned’ on a daily basis. If a student who is in receipt of U.S. Direct Loans withdraws, suspends for more than 180 days or drops to a ‘less than half-time’ enrolment status, the University of Reading must determine and return any ‘unearned’ loan funds for that payment period to the lender (i.e. the U.S. Department of Education). When the Student Financial Support team has calculated the amount(s) that the University and the student need to return, a payment will be sent to the lender to return ‘unearned’ funds. The student will be notified if they need to return any funds that have already been paid into their bank account.

Loans are returned in the following order:

• Unsubsidised Stafford
• Subsidised Stafford
• PLUS (Graduate or Parent)

The University will return any funds due to the Department of Education as soon as possible and no later than 45 days after the date of the University’s determination that the student withdrew.

As this policy uses a different calculation to the University of Reading fees policy and withdrawal policy it may mean that the student owes the University once the money has been returned to the lender. Students will be notified if this is the case and a copy of the calculation sheet will be sent to the student.

In order to follow US Federal Regulations the University is required to calculate the Title IV Funding students have earned prior to the date they withdraw from the University of Reading.

If a student withdraws having completed 60% or less of a payment period the student has not earned all of their funding and therefore a return of funds is required. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that period is considered to have been earned.

The percentage of the payment period a student has attended is calculated based on the number of calendar days in the payment period. The payment period is the term for which the loan was certified and the per cent of attendance is calculated by dividing the number of day attended by the total number of days in the payment period. For example, if the student completes 30% of the payment period or period of enrolment, the student has earned 30% of the assistance they were originally scheduled to receive.

Any students in receipt of Title IV Funding should contact the Student Financial Support team (USLoans@reading.ac.uk) if they are considering withdrawing from their course. The US Loan Team will be able to offer advice on the percentage of a payment period a student has completed.

If, having sought advice from your Student Support Co-ordinator and the Student Financial Support team on usloans@reading.ac.uk, you have decided to withdraw from your studies, please complete and return the Notice of Intention to withdraw form. Here is an editable version if you prefer to complete a form electronically. If you are submitting your Notice of Withdrawal via email, please ensure that you use your University of Reading student email account. Your Student Support Co-ordinator will confirm that your withdrawal has been processed in writing.