UW Colleges Financial Aid
Impact of Academic Withdrawal
on Financial Aid
Withdrawing from College may have both academic and financial aid consequences. You are encouraged to understand the consequences before you decide to withdraw.
A student who has received financial aid and is considering withdrawing should be sure to discuss the situation with the campus Student Services Office to learn the implications of such a decision and about established withdrawal procedures and process.
How Withdrawing Affects Your Financial Aid
- If you complete 60% or less of the term prior to withdrawing, you will be required to repay a portion of your financial aid.
- All students must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted hours to remain eligible for financial aid under the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. Withdrawing from classes will affect your percentage of credits earned. If you withdraw while on SAP Probation, you will be denied financial aid for the upcoming term until an appeal has been submitted, evaluated, and approved. For additional information, please review the SAP Policy.
- You may become ineligible for part or all of the assistance from other sources, such as merit based scholarships and scholarships from private donors.
Return of Funds
Aid policy presumes that a student should not be given aid for living expenses tied to the weeks that he or she did not attend, nor should a student have aid for more than a proportional amount of tuition expenses. More specifically, the Federal Return of Title IV Funds policy mandates that students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all classes may keep only the financial aid they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal. State and institutional programs may require similar treatment in certain circumstances. Financial aid funds that were disbursed in excess of the amount earned must be repaid.
In the event that a student withdraws from all classes, the UW Colleges Financial Aid Office will determine the amount of financial aid a student has earned and how much must be returned. Any student withdrawing prior to the 60% point in the term should expect to have to repay financial aid in a percentage roughly equivalent to the percentage of time not in attendance. If the amount of aid already disbursed to a student for the semester exceeds the reduced eligibility, it will be necessary that appropriate payment be made to repay unearned aid. This could be from tuition refunded by UW Colleges (Refund Schedule) or from funds that were given directly for living expenses via a refund check for excess aid. After the 60% point, no aid has to be repaid.
Unofficial Withdrawal
If you stop attending all classes during the term and do not go through the official withdraw process, you will be treated as an “unofficial withdrawal” if you received federal aid during the term. At the end of each semester, the Student Financial Aid Office identifies all students to which this applies. If it is determined that you will have to repay some of the aid that you received, a Return of Funds calculation will be processed and you will be notified of the amount owed.